Sunday, November 16, 2008

Big Bend, Day 2

By morning we learned that the days in Big Bend are like San Antonio (weather wise) 70's and 80's. But the nights are more like Wyoming. It was COLD! We packed lots of warm stuff but it was rough for the children. By the last night we folded down the seats in the SUV (I am so grateful to have this car!) and slept in the back -pictures later. We left one night early so as not to sleep like that again. It was all good though bc we planned on waking up Friday morning, packing and leaving - so we didn't miss anything by leaving one night early.

Let's rewind. These pictures are from Tuesday.

We spent the entire day hiking the Lost Mine Trail. The kids did great but we carried Ethan most of the way. We took our time and enjoyed the views as much as possible.

We hiked up...


and we kept hiking up - these mountains are cool, they look like a castle!



..and up ...
...and up ...
...and up...


Finally! We got to the top where we stopped and played.


I thought it would be refreshing to practice some asanas. B took pictures. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

After I balanced all wobbly like on top of a rock perched on top of a windy mountain, I sat down for pranayama - ok, it wasn't really pranayama - but i did practice my ujjayi breathing.I like the BW better - but the sky was so beautiful in the color version that i decided to post both. Primrose, I hope you like these my friend bc I had you in mind while I did them! For who else would I risk life and limb by crawling out on such a rock to do YOGA?!

and we looked down at mountains.


my wild man climbing a rock face...
then we began the descent...


we stopped off along the way to rest, be silly and take pictures...



Another gorgeous view. An expert in geology told me that this mountain formation is called "monkeys flicking you off".


Here is some additional info about the hike from the Big Bend website:
The Lost Mine Trail
4.8 miles roundtrip
This moderately difficult trail begins at mile marker 5 along the Basin Road. With it's accompanying trail guide (available at the trailhead), this is an excellent introduction to the plants and animals of the Chisos Mountains. The trail starts at an elevation of 5,600' and steadily climbs to the top of a 6,850' promontory overlooking Pine and Juniper Canyons. If you don't want to hike the whole way, one of Big Bend's greatest viewpoints is at the end of the first mile. Take a lunch and enjoy the sights and sounds of the High Chisos

Yeah, it was awesome.

2 comments:

Nadine said...

The pictures look like you all were having fun. The pictures are beautiful. I don't think I would have done well in a tent. I'm not the outdoors type but admire those who hike and camp. Doing with small children - well, let's just say, "You're the woman."

Krista P said...

It's gorgeous there!
I bet those cold, uncomfortable nights were so worth it.


Love the yoga shots - while examining the pranayama shot, I was thinking this would look amazing in B&W - guess you thought so too!

For a split second, I pictures B tubling down that rock and you dragging him down the mountain on a piece of wood.

On a final note: I think G will make a good Abercrombie model some day.