Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Photos of Big Bend from Peter's Perspective








 Our camp kangaroo rat- Lily and Samantha were so interested in this. 








 Loaded to the brim and ready to head out! 



Couple Selfies from Big Bend

Hiking and trekking through life together! 









Big Bend Day 5

We had so much fun playing on the Sand Dunes! The kids, except for Samantha who was done once she got sand in her face, had endless energy climbing up, sliding down, building jumps, and doing it all again and again. 






 See Samantha in the back, sitting by herself, with her back to the wind. 

We took a shower to get rid of most of the sand after we played and then loaded up and headed back home! We had Mexican food for dinner since we spent so many hours right by the border or literally staring at Mexico, it seemed only fitting. 
We will definitely make a return trip to both Big Bend and the Sand Dunes. 

Big Bend Day 4

Day 4 greeted with some beautiful colors dancing on the clouds! 
We had to pack up camp and that is always an ordeal. But we got it done and then headed to the park for a last hike and a visit to the Dinosaur Fossil Exhibit. 



 The sky was so very very blue on this day. I hope these pictures will always remind me of the beauty of that day. 

 Our hike was to balanced rock and Joseph really wanted a picture where it looked like he was holding it up. We did pretty well, and this one looks like he is keeping it from smashing the man underneath the rock in the background. 


 It is always really interesting to learn about the landscape so long ago and what types of creatures lived there. 
 And finally, we spent the afternoon driving to Monahans Sand Dune State Park. We minimized the camp we set up by just doing one tent. And as we settled down for the night this was the scene in that one tent- so much reading! 
We all slept really well this night even though it was a bit cold again. 

Big Bend Trip Day 3

 Thanksgiving day was filled with a lot of hiking! We loved seeing the corners of the park. We saw some spectacular views! 



 The Rio Grande has carved some incredible canyons. 
 And here we convinced our kids to cross this little part of the Rio Grande and stay on the US side but be across from the Mexican side. Yes, that is Mexico on the left. 

 I will share some pictures from Peter's camera at the end of the trail. The landscape was so different on the other side of the river. There was bamboo! The funny story of this hike is that Samantha was tired and we had packed some snacks. She wanted a beefstick (jerky stick in he plastic wrapper). So, we gave her one to carry in her pocket and said she could eat it at the end of the trail. She asked a few times along the way if we were there yet, and we said no. I just thought that she was tired and wanting the end to hurry up and get there. Then, we made it and I said, "Samantha, this is it the end." She then exclaimed, "YES! Beefstick!" and quickly pulled her beefstick from her pocket, opened it and started eating joyfully! Peter has taken to calling her Beefstick since and she has answered! 
 This is my favorite picture I took of my favorite people. Samantha is on Joseph's back. It was just a delightful day! 






 Our final hike was filled with a beautiful view of the sunset! And a mark in the rock that looks like a footprint! 

And here is our Thanksgiving feast! We packed the leftovers from our Sunday thanksgiving meal and turned it into a thanksgiving leftover shepherd's pie in the dutch oven. And then we made a pumpkin pie! So yummy after a long day of hiking and sightseeing.