December 29-30, 2008

The night was chilly, with temperatures in the 20's. We were trying out our new tent on this trip. It had plenty of mesh which makes it light to carry, but didn't do much to keep out the cold.

After breakfast, we decided to go on a hike. We chose the Chimneys Trail, about 6 miles there and back. The Chimneys are a rock formation on the west side of the park. They have eroded over the years into distinctive, craggy shapes. They also bear the marks of petroglyphs carved into them by Native Americans thousands of years ago. We had lunch on a rock ledge at the Chimneys and explored the rock formations and artifacts before heading back.

After the Chimneys, we drove along the Ross Maxwell Scenic drive to park headquarters at Panther Junction to gas up the Subaru. With a full tank, we decided to do some exploring on the Glenn Springs Road, one of the unpaved roads in the park. Rob and his brother, Mike, had camped along this road in 2006, but today we contented ourselves to driving to the Rice Tank campsite and exploring the ruins found there.

After some beers at the ruins, we started to head back to camp. Since neither of us had ever been to the "Dugout Wells" located near the junction of the Glenn Springs Road, we decided to make a side trip to visit them. The natural springs here were improved upon and early settlers built "dug out" shelters to live in. The springs encouraged the growth of plants and cottonwood trees, attracted wildlife, and gave shade to travellers. One of the first schools in the region was built under the cottonwoods, making this the "cultural center" of the Big Bend.

After dinner, we played "Kings in a Corner" by headlamp, a card game that Rob's family would play in Nova Scotia. The stars stretched overhead from horizon to horizon.

The next morning, we broke camp and visited a few more locations in the park, like the Buro Mesa Pouroff and the Mule Ears Peak Overlook. After that, we headed north towards Marathon and Fort Stockton, then it was west towards home.