Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Touring the Big Bend Loop with the Dogs!

So we did our usual routine this morning. Then we went back to Big Bend NP with the dogs. We took Maverick Road to Santa Elena Canyon Overlook and and then the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. There was a visitor center at Castolon, but we did not enter.  Yesterday when we drove through the park there was about a half mile backup of cars at the entrance station (where this sign is). This morning it was a short backup. Of course we did not get up early - which would be the wise thing to do when visiting any national park - because they get crowded. Also we did not hike, because dogs are not allowed on trails in national parks. Dogs can get out at campgrounds and parking areas and along sidewalks though.
So the first part of the drive today was a dirt road -which is fine by me. I was raised around dirt roads and I like them. We drove along about 25-35 mph which gave us time to see things. We saw a coyote, which seemed unusual since it was around noon. But he was in no hurry to move on. I did not get a picture, but Steve did with his long lens.

I think this is Ocotillo Cactus - Not sure if this is the correct name.

This might be Rattlesnake Mountain

We saw these cactus- some were green and some this weird color.

A dwelling from a previous era

This is the Santa Elena Canyon as we got closer

 There are two areas to drive through by the Rio Grande - The first area was packed and had 2 or 3 Park Rangers herding people and cars. A mess! The second area appeared to have a boat launch or haul out and picnic tables and outdoor restroom.  We got out here and took pictures and used the outdoor facilities. Buster almost got away from Steve (slipped his harness) and Steve fell down but kept Buster from getting away and running amuck.  That was lucky! We both had a sigh of relief and Steve was not injured.

Rio Grande River

South side Rio Grande-Nobody is crossing here!

 So touring this big loop probably took us about 3 hours. When we finished, it was back to the RV.  Steve and I decided to go out to eat tonight. I picked out a place on Trip Advisor and we drove west of Terlingua to get there. But it seemed not to be accessible or open. So we went back toward Terlingua and ate at La Kiva. It was packed, We had a 40 minute wait for a table and then after getting seated, another 30 - 40 minutes for our supper (just burgers). It was an interesting looking place and probably has some weird history to it.  Some lady wandering around kind of explained it to us, but she seemed to be into her wine pretty good - so not sure how true her story was.  We went back to the RV and called it a night.

Some tepees in the distance on our return to Terlingua