Flora-Fauna of Big Bend National Park:My Road Trip There :)

The entire Big Bend area is great cactus country. If you go through Sanderson on your way to Big Bend Park, you might want to get off the highway and meander through the streets and look at some really large, pretty cactus growing in the yards. To show you how great the cactus does there, this photo shows a cactus plant in a lady's backyard. It was planted from a couple of small 12" cactus plants I dug up on private land and planted in her yard 5 years ago.

Just beautiful! Since I moved down here I have been wanting to visit the area. I am so jealous you got to see an ariocarpus in bloom in natural habitat. And the mountains are breathtaking. I need to plan a trip sometime.

:) Kim

Adaptation is the name of the game. Here is a picture showing how birds in the Big Bend area utilize the cactus. Bet they don't have any problem with critters climbing up to raid the nest! Sorry, but the hatching was finished and I did not get to see the birds that built this nest.

Aren't they the prettiest things, Kim? I found a few with 2 blooms too! All within about 10' of each other... such a wonderful find.

Nice cactus, Txwillie... :)
Thanks for sharing!

Melanie

That is a lovely photo of the road heading up to the Chisos basin, Txwillie....that particular drive up to the cooler mountains from the desert is absolutely breathtaking
I took this photo on that wonderful road up to the lodge.. :)

Honestly Kristi, I thought that the time that we went this late October was perfect. The nights were chilly...and the days warm and dry. Not alot of crowds ....hardly anyone driving the roads and back dirt roads.....and as quiet as can be. Of course I've been there in late March...and its just so darn isolated...that even the "crowds" at that time aren't much to speak of. :)

Melanie

Beautiful pictures Melanie, thank you for posting them, I hope to go there sometime.
Josephine.

I picked out another photo from my collection today...one that I found rather interesting. It was taken again at the Terlingua ghost town cemetery. Folks still go out there on Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead...being tomorrow, Nov. 1st....and following an old tradition from Mexico, still clean and spruce up the old grave sites on that day. I guess these old jars and the statuary were left there from last year. Rather pretty colors tho... :)

Melanie

Thanks Josephine...you should definitely go...alot of plants to add to your wish list...! :)

Melanie

Thank ya'll for sharing these photos and the information. This is just the perfect place for us to go and get away from it all....but we'll wait and avoid those spring breakers ;>}

TxWillie, your bird nest belongs to (I'm not joking) the Cactus Wren. A beautiful bird with a lovely song and a lively disposition.

If you're a birdwatcher, the best time to visit is late April/early May or late June-to-August. If you just want to "get away" then the best time is now. October is the "rainy" season in the park and, if enough rain falls, the wildflowers and cacti will be in full, glorious bloom. And the temps are very nice.

I highly recommend Big Bend -- for whatever you're looking for. It is a respite from everything. I can also highly recommend the Chisos Mountain Lodge and their restaurant. They don't have television or phones in the room (internet service and phones are available in the lobby), but all rooms come with a microwave, small refrigerator, and coffeemaker ... and the best view you could ever imagine! (My photo simply doesn't do it the proper justice.) The Lodge has a nice website, a quick Google search will get you there.

Carla

Wonderful photo, Carla....by all means, send some more photos if you have any. I'd love to see them. :) lol, I used the public phone by the lobby and restaurant at night but was warned of a sow bear and 2 cubs in the area, but used it anyway. :)

I think of the 3 times that I've gone....this October was definitely the best, without question. The night sky was the clearest that I had seen it, tho it usually is every night of the week. We wondered over to the Window overlook down the paved path from the Lodge, in the dark of night...and absolutely gasped at the amount of stars that were present in the night sky. Unbelieveable....I wish I could have gotten a photo of that. My Boston born honey was in deep awe to say the least. Plus, being the "rainy season"...I could see alot of green thru-out the country....with little hints of color from blooming low-ground cactuses. Wouldn't it be interesting to have a "DG field trip" out there? Hmmm....lol This photo is of The Window when we started our hike....it looks much closer then it is!

Thanks for sharing.
Reminded me of our river trip from Lajitas to Dryden in '79. 5 in our party and we did not see another human in 6.5 days. Did not take many pictures - would like to do it again and would do a few things differently.

At one of the rapids, we found tracks of many animals and among them were 3 kinds of "cats". The largest dragged his/her tail, so there was a trail between the paw prints.

Great pics Melanie! Thanks for taking the time to share your pics and dialog....Oh,...we gotta go there sometime soon! :~)
Lee

You should go again..Bubba.....I reckon things have changed quite a bit in Lajitas since 79...since the resort has opened there....tho I haven't seen it myself.

lol Lee....I'm ready to go back tonight...if I could. :) You and Dee should get away for 4 or 5 days and head out there. (lol, I feel like that Big Bend National Park Tourist Commission President) :) My honey and I have been talking about perhaps getting a pop-up camper or large tent and do the camping thing, since reservations are so hard to come by and lodging is pricey...but worth it, I think. I still think a field trip would be interesting, lol.

This is yet another photo of the indention that water has made at The Window over the centuries on its way down to the basin.

Melanie, a friend told me this morning that The Window trail is currently closed. The cooler weather is bringing the bears out of the mountains, and they are slowly making their way to their Mexican wintering grounds, foraging in that area as they go. Looks like you had your experience just in time.

The mama and 3 cubs were seen daily along the Pinnacles Trail this summer. Everyone (humans and bears alike) kept a respectful distance and luckily there were no closer-than-wanted encounters. Overnight camping on the mountain was prohibited for awhile, though.

Here are my friends admiring a Colima Warbler. This lovely little Warbler nests nowhere else in the United States.

Carla,
I heard about the Colima Warbler while we were there...and would have loved to have spotted one. I think you pretty much have to hit the back country tho...? I can't remember the name of one particular trail where sightings occur most often.

Wow....very interesting about the Window trail. I remember seeing a gate bar open to the side and was wondering why they would actually close it, if flash flooding wasn't happening at the time. Now I know. :) Good info to know about the black bear population thru the Chisos and surrounding area. You mention 3 cubs...but we were told about 2. I hope mama bear didn't lose one if its the same wee family. Find out if you can what happened to this particular hiker last week. All that I saw was the usual banner at the bottom of our local evening news screen. I was just wondering what the situation was to end a hiker's life like that. Tho as I've said, there are quite a few opportunities out that way for a mishap or 2 to occur.

Great photo, Carla....thanks again and keep them coming... :)

Me at The Window :)

I haven't heard anything about a hiker dying recently. And I might be wrong about the number of cubs. I thought Mama had 3, but it could be that she had 2.

The Colima Warbler is found only by hiking up either Pinnacles or Laguna Meadow (which start in the Basin, near the Lodge). They are a high elevation bird, nesting along the mountain sides. The good thing about these hikes is that you're going up, so it gets cooler as you rise in elevation. It is possible to spend the entire day hiking and never break a sweat. Some of my very best days were spent hiking up there.

Here are some of the local inhabitants you frequently see near Emory Pass (on the Pinnacles trail).

Carla

I got a good look at a Hermit Thrush...while it was poking around in the underbrush of some trees on the Window trail. This little guy is probably one of my favorites out there...just because of the way they move in and out of leaves, etc. looking for goodies. Just really precious... :)

I can't tell, but are those mule deer or white tail? I know that white tail inhabit the higher elevations...as opposed to the mules occupying mostly desert terrain.

Melanie

Wow . . . what a wonderful experience . . . I need to get out there myself someday. Thanks for share'n everyone.

Oh and TxT . . .

lmbo GD!......hmm..ya know...I never really interpreted them quite that way, lol. You never know...lol ;) Amazing how that red ochre can last so, so long. I actually took a few more photos of the pictographs/petroglyphs on the shale wall..just so that I could study them a bit more when I got home again. Apparently there are parts of the park that are really prolific with these types of images.... :)

Melanie

How wonderful to see a remnant of another life style from long ago. Thanks Melanie!

I like your interpretation GD :~)

Wonderful, aren't they, Lee? :) So fascinating... I took this one in the same location. Those layers of shale reminded me of the layers of a book....thru time, I reckon. :)

Melanie

Here is another shot of some more close by... :)

Melanie

Melanie, in your picture there are also some mud nests built by swallows under the rock outcrop.

Txwillie.....I know.. :) I would have loved to have seen them while nesting....but being late in the season....they had already moved on....

I'm including another photo that I took of a large ocotillo bush growing on a cliffside near the Window. I was actually almost looking straight up in this photo as well....

Melanie

So,...if I was standing above that Ocotillo...and lost my footing,....I'd have the Ocotillo to grab a hold on..... :~)

Oh the spines of the Ocotillo......they're almost Nature's answer to velcro....once you're snagged by them.....they don't want to let go! Beautiful when the fruit is ripe!

lol Lee...well.....I reckon if ya had to grab hold of somethin'.....I figure that ocotillo would have to do...in that case, lol. Yeah, I do love this plant. I loved it the minute that I saw it way back in the mid 70's. Something about it just looks elegant...and those blooms are gorgeous and so odd looking, just like red tufts at the end of each long branch. :)

Melanie