Big Bend State and National Parks (March 2019)

Jen's Account of the day: March 31st

The wind howled and the motel walls were thin, but I was so exhausted I had little trouble sleeping. After breakfast some place called the Chili Pepper Café or something like that we headed back into the park for today’s planned hike: The Lost Mine Trail.

It was in the 40s, windy, and overcast when we started, but the winds finally started to die down a little and the sun came out a mile or two in. It wasn’t a long trail, nor was it very difficult, but I’ve been having problems with my legs since starting the new medicine and they felt like lead pipes. I made it, eventually. The view was spectacular. I’m glad we started early; the parking lot was full when we left.

Now, I didn’t think finding a picnic table for lunch would be that hard, but apparently there are, like, five of them in the whole damn park. After striking out in the Basin and Headquarters (you know, the two most populated areas of the entire park) we finally found one in an oasis called Digging Out or something. We finally successfully grilled our sausages before they went bad and were taunted by a roadrunner. I finally snapped a picture or two of the speedy little jerk while I was cleaning up.

It was nearly 3 before the coals were out and safely disposed of, so we decided to go check into our cabin (for real this time). Somehow, we knew exactly where it was and how to get there. We were both pretty beat so “relax with a beer or two” quickly became an afternoon nap. Now we’re chilling on the futon as the sun is about to go down. I’m going to see the sunset.

We had frozen chili with macaroni for dinner, which was nice and simple, and turned out well, aside from me inhaling a chunk of hamburger meat it took me several hours to cough up. Was only a minor impediment to me sleeping though; I was so tired.

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Day 1 of the Trip - Day 3 of the Trip