Big Bend Day Three

Welcome to another day of exploration in an amazing National Park. On this day, we decided to hike to see the Balanced Rock, a 2.2 round trip hike with an 80 foot elevation gain. After four-wheel driving six miles down Grapevine Hills Road, we arrived at the base of the Grapevine Hills Trail. The surrounding Grapevine Hills are called a laccolith formed by magma that welled up near the Earth’s surface into a dome-shape roughly 27-38 million years ago. The magma cooled underground, and has become exposed by erosion over time. This info was unbeknownst to me until I read about it on the park’s educational plaque at the trailhead. The X-factor on this hike was the 102 degree heat. We began our excursion carrying only one bottle of water each as opposed to the recommended 3 liters per person stated on the trailhead plaque. We were unprepared. The last .25 mile was a steep uphill, boulder-littered climb, but the view at the top was worth it for two 64-year old senior citizens. It is bewildering to me that a large boulder is supported by two vertical, equally large, rock formations that balance it, forming a window to the Chihuahuan Desert below. And how long have they been there like that? With plenty of stops in the sometimes breezy shade of boulders along the way, we managed to complete our journey with red satisfied faces.

Our next adventure would take us four-wheeling 12.6 miles down Old Maverick Road. This is a slow, unpaved adventure through the Terlingua Creek Badlands. It was a gradual downslope to Santa Elena Canyon and the Rio Grande River. On the way, we stopped at Luna’s Jacal. It is a very primitive house made using rock, dirt and plant fiber. Gilberto Luna built it and raised his family here. He farmed with irrigation from the Alamo Creek until 1947. Luna was a centenarian who lived to be 108 years old. When you step into the structure, the first thing you notice is the 20+ degree cooler change in temperature. Jacal structure is sometimes called “wattle and daub”. Luna applied mud plaster to latticework walls of cane grass and ocotillo to weatherproof the structure. Again, the park provided the information for us to appreciate the preservation of this house out in the middle of this vast, isolated part of the world. I can only imagine the harsh living conditions in this Terlingua desert environment.

As we continued down Old Maverick Road, we could see the large split in the canyon wall created by the Rio Grande and thousands of years of erosion. When we arrived at the base of the Santa Elena Canyon, we were taken aback by the steep walls of the narrow canyon. I cannot begin to imagine the force of the water it took to form the canyon. The water level of the Rio Grande was very low because of the drought conditions in the Big Bend area this spring. The whole week we were there, the park had record temps over 100 degrees every day. The water levels were so low, we waded into the water to stand on the Mexico side of the river where someone had written in the sand, “Welcome To Mexico”. I also captured some more unique pics of the canyon walls from mid-river vantage point. Though the temperature was unusually hot for April, it was moderated by a cooling wind whipping through the shaded canyon walls. Flying over this structure and then wading between its walls left us in awe of God’s magnificent creation for us to enjoy. You cannot help but feel closer to God when you stand among his beautifully designed handiwork.

Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have being.”

Thanks for joining me on this journey to Big Bend National Park and stay tuned for one more entry into this breathtaking piece of real estate. God bless you and enjoy the video.

Tim Lumpkin

Legacy-outdoors.net

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