No passports? No Mexico!

Day 5

CAMPGROUND: Maverick RV Park at the Lajitas Golf Resort.  Paved spacious sites, some pull-through.  All full hook-ups.  Fire ring.  Picnic table.  Swimming pool.  Activities available – horseback rides, shooting range, zip line.  $55/night.  4 stars out of 5
LOCATION:  Lajitas, Texas
DISTANCE DRIVEN:  1/2 hour
WEATHER:  In a word…..112

Mornings are nice and cool here in the desert.  We bought a breakfast burrito (one of the best we have ever had) from the food truck in front of Paisano RV Park where we stayed last night.  While we were eating, a large coyote trotted through the park!

We had a busy day planned….Paisano RV Park said we could check-out late, so we wanted to return to Big Bend.  Our plan was to go to the far east side of Big Bend to the Mexico border crossing and visit a village there, which we had done several years ago.  We were almost there when I realized that I had forgotten our passports! 

On to Plan B….

We visited the park’s fossil exhibit.  It has been very nicely done.  Bones from this  huge flying dinosaur were found here, and they think it is the largest of its kind.

And this photo is what this area looked like millions of years ago….

The landscape around the fossil exhibit was stark and beautifiul.

We drove on to the easternmost part of Big Bend.  We did a one-hour hike on a nature trail.  It was brutal.  I had forgotten my hat (too!), so used George’s bandana to keep my head from boiling.  I dumped water on it once in a while.  The trail followed what is left of the Rio Grande River in this area.  Not much!

Along the trail, we saw little trinkets like these made by Mexican children.  They sneak over at night to leave them.  During the day, gringos pick them up and put some coins in their money jar.  Our guide told us that Border Patrol is aware of this, but leaves them alone.  Thank goodness!

This dramatic mountain faced us on our way back to Terlingua. 

While we were unhooked, we decided to check out the jeep tour guide’s house where we have a reservation through Harvest Hosts in a few days.  It is out in the middle of nowhere.  The pavement ended and we drove on dirt roads.  When we hit a few swales, we looked at each other and said “no!”  So, I will be contacting Chris (The Desert Dude with Gratitude) to tell him we won’t be staying.  He has built the place himself and lives totally off-grid.  It was interesting to see his set-up.

Then, back to Paisano RV to pack up.  This is the RV park….

We drove only a half hour to this resort.  We had heard rave reviews about it.  Half of it is an RV park and half is a golf resort/spa/upscale hotel with a little shopping village. 

I tried to help get set-up but I thought I would die in the heat.  I think I got “prickly heat” as my skin just felt like it was on fire.  We hurriedly hooked up the electricity.  While Joy was cooling off, we went over to the village in the resort.  It is like an oasis….amazing what a little irrigation can do!

This is a retama tree which is in full bloom this time of the year.  Its yellow petals carpet the ground.  The community where we spend our winters is called Retama Village.

We were in search of the Thirsty Goat Saloon at the resort.  It is down a shaded walkway, really pretty.

We drank our drinks slowly to enjoy their A/C and to give Joy her time to cool down.

DINNER:  It is too hot for George to grill outside and I don’t want to heat up the trailer by doing a lot of cooking, so I am microwaving most of our dinners.  Tonight was warmed up rice with a packet of Trader Joe’s Indian Tikka Vegetables.  Not too bad!