Poor little PJ has bronchiolitis and mild pneumonia (in essence, a nasty, nasty cold). The doctor bequeathed us with a nebulizer of our very own to help PJ with her coughing and noisy breathing. You might think a 15-month old would resist having a misty-smoky mask held to her face, but PJ takes it like a true stoic. In fact, I think she likes it. Here she is, complacently inhaling Albuterol like a champ. It was such a sweet, yet pitiful sight. Lest you think we're just amusing ourselves at her expense, she is feeling much, much better.

Don't get me wrong: I love being with my little girls more than just about anything in the whole wide world. I cherish every day that I spend with them, and frequently inform them that they are not allowed to move away from me. Ever.

That said...Derek and I just took our first vacation without children, and I have to say that I am really looking forward to some future day when the two of us can be together all the time. Preferably in an RV, touring the national parks. Okay, so maybe I'll change my mind on that particular mode of transport, but it does hold a certain appeal, especially after our gorgeous trip to Big Bend National Park.

My parents drove up to watch the girls, so that Derek and I could take our delayed-anniversary trip. In our dating and early marriage years, we spent many weekends camping and hiking in southern Utah, and thus mountainy desert regions are symbolic/reminiscent of the days when we first fell in love. Turns out that if you drive about 8 hours southwest of Austin until you hit the Rio Grande, you end up in a beautiful mountainy desert (the Chihuahuan Desert, to be precise). Big Bend takes up the tip of that left-most triangular jutting out on the bottom of Texas (or, the "bend" in the Rio Grande). And wow, is it spectacular. It's hard to believe it's still Texas, especially after a whole day's drive, but it is indeed our state.

It's so BIG and we had so much FUN that I have split this trip into 3 blog posts. Go ahead and roll your eyes. I can't see you. Here's the breakdown of the posts, so that you can plan your afternoon of reading:

1. This one with heartwarming pics of loveable old us
2. The famed rock art of Big Bend
3. The novice-naturalist's incomplete guide to Big Bend

So while in Big Bend, we camped/froze; hiked; rafted the Rio Grande; and slept one luxurious night in the park lodge (luxurious is relative, of course: there were showers.)

Our tiny little backpacker's tent hadn't seen light in a couple of years, sadly. It kept us warm enough, though the first night was BITTER cold (in the 30's, which is piercing for us wimpy Austin-dwellers). Thank heavens our sleeping bags zip together. Dinner that night was burgers.

Breakfast in the morning, prepared with frosty-numb fingers before the sunshine reached our humble little site, was eggs and bacon and hashbrowns, and I tell you, that breakfast was manna from heaven. Delicious.


Our campsite was amazing--in a basin surrounded by the Chisos Mountains and really out in the middle of nowhere. But oh, yeah, there were clean toilets and a little park store over the hills. We also had a covered picnic table and bear lockers (see above, behind the table). Yep, BEAR lockers. That only added to the adventure.

So we hiked some beautiful trails. Now my purpose for hiking was threefold:
1. Spend time with the dear husband
2. Enjoy nature
3. Have an encounter (harmless, preferably) with a wild animal. My desire to see a specific animal was directly related to the probability of actually seeing it, thus I wanted to see, in this order: a mountain lion, a black bear, and a javelina.

While I thorougly enjoyed the scenic wonders around every corner of every hike, I must admit that I was a tad preoccupied with the task of finding a wild animal. This was not out of anxiety or fear, I assure you. Once the park ranger explained the unlikelihood of being hurt by a bear or mountain lion, I was totally cool with a little wildlife tete-a-tete. I think that Derek found it rather distracting that I halted conversation every 20 seconds to freeze and listen for footsteps of those dozens of animals I was sure were hiding behind each prickly pear. We pretty much talked about bears for one entire afternoon's hike, as if enough discussion would entice a beast into our presence. And while bear sightings were plentiful in the area, we saw nary a one. Nor did we spot a mountain lion, despite my constant scannings at dawn, dusk, night, and day.

But javelinas! Ah, they did not disappoint. We had three separate sightings of the bristly little peccaries, including an entourage of 20 javelinas with several babies. This picture is not one I took, but it sure is a cute little guy.

Lest you mistake a javelina for a pig, keep in mind the following obvious ways to identify a javelina: it's ulna and radius are fused; it lacks sweat glands; it has a complex, non-ruminating stomach; and its name is pronounced with a jaunty Spanish accent [have-a-leen-a]. Oh, and they're nasty buggers. Don't plan on being chummy with a javelina, especially after inadvertently calling it a pig!

Here are a few pictures from our hikes. I think built-in stairs on a hike automatically place it in the wussy category, but this one sure was pretty:


Derek on the "Window" trail, taunting Death. It was a very, very steep fall about 10 feet past where he's standing.

Ah, happy-to-be-alive Derek.




Phew! Good thing Sandy packed water in this barren wasteland. Too bad she'll die of BPA poisoning from her outdated Nalgene! (Christmas gift, anyone?)

Aww. Sandy sprouts a century plant from her back. Must've been the BPA.

And finally, our river-rafting adventure. It was not as turbulent as we had hoped, but we had a great day on the river, as you can see by our dry and smiling faces.



Best of all, we made two clandestine trips to Mexico (my first time there) while on the river trip: once for a hike into a canyon; and once for lunch. We found the Mexican people to be a very quiet folk who kept to themselves; we didn't see a single soul.

Our Mexican dining experience, while not what I would have considered the traditional fare of that country, must have represented a more authentic Mexican cuisine than we are accustomed to back in the U.S. While we are familiar with burritos, enchiladas, and double-decker taco supremes in our home country, in Mexico, they apparently eat things called ham and turkey sandwiches with deli mustard; sun-dried tomato pasta salad, Chips Ahoy, and Fritos. Fascinating!

Yep, that's Mexico for ya!


By the way, the girls had a fabulous time with my parents, who were so so so wonderful to volunteer their services so that we could get away for a little while. Both grandparents and little girls had nothing but happy reports from their time together, and I was even a little jealous at how well-behaved my girls were for my parents. We were sad to see them go.

In conclusion: Go see Big Bend sometime in your life. It really is a big bend, and it really is amazing.

Perhaps you are not aware that Big Bend is noted for its incredible array of rock art. These ancient pictographs can be viewed in the park near the Burro Mesa Pouroff. Archaeologist, art enthusiasts, and anyone with a brain can appreciate the skill and finesse that created these celebrated, unique pictographs over 10,000 years ago. I have included the inspired titles of each of the pictographs below.

Perhaps most strikingly, the art reminds us of the timelessness of human relationships, forever uniting us with our ancient Paleo-Indian ancestors--our brothers and sisters of yesteryear.

"Woman Sneaks Up Behind Man and Kicks His Butt"

"Archetypal Dream of Capturing Two Humans Simultaneously in Air for Single Moment"

"Agonizing Woman/Man Nowhere To Be Found"

"Standing Woman Wonders What The Heck Man is Doing"

"Man and Woman Thinking it is Funny to See Shadow of Woman's Leg on Man's Back"

Irrefutable evidence of a land bridge between present-day Texas and Asia is found in the stunning pictograph entitled "Hiii-Ya!"

The Texo-Asiatic link is also indisputable in this one, "Paleo-Indian Tai Chi, Ma Boo Form"

And apparently some gestures of kindness and goodwill have indeed withstood the test of time, as seen in "Waving Man, Waving Woman"

Big Bend is the least visited national park (due to its out-of-the-way locale); has the most species of birds, bats, and cacti in a national park; is the exclusive home to 7 different types of butterflies; and is digs to mountain lions, javelinas, peregrine falcons, black bears, and hundreds of types of birds and insects. It's even better known for its varied and fascinating geology. By the time we left the area, I was really wishing I had a little geologist in my pocket (maybe in the future we can breed these) to explain to me the huge variety of rock formations. This would be a good place for me to explain those wondrous creations of the past gazillion years that formed the region, but I'll just refer you to the nps site (here)--not quite as good as Mr. Pocket-Geologist, but it does the job.

Derek and I decided to become amateur cactologists (yes, that's a word, because it's on the internet. I just put it there.). We became expert at identifying our favorite plants and cacti:

• The prickly pear cactus, the pitaya cactus with its strawberry-flavored fruit (cactus fruit is called tuna), and the claret cup cactus were all spotted on our hikes. But not photographed.

• This is a [?] cactus. Shoot. Can't remember. Can't google a picture.
  

• The century plant (my personal favorite) is an agave that leads a tragic life. After growing for 20 years or more, it sends up a giant 10-15 foot flowering stalk, which blooms, and then the plant dies in the same month as the stalk's appearance. We wept a few silent tears each time we saw one. Of course, little bats and hummingbirds eat up the flower nectar, so it achieves immortality in the end.

• The lechugilla is an indicator plant of the Chihuahuan Desert, which means that it only grows there. It is similar to the century plant in that it toils away for a long time before sending up a tall flowering shoot that heralds its immediate, certain death. It looks different, though: spiky and narrow leaves. Plus it's used by the Mexicans to make a liquor of the same name. No need to be thirsty just because you're in the desert!

• Sotol is another liquor-plant. It also send up a tall stalk, but the stalk is grassy and grows every year. The drink made from this plant is called sotol and is purportedly fiery. Wikipedia reports that each plant provides enough stuff to make only one bottle of sotol.

• This beauty of a tree is called the Texas Madrone. Every year its bark sheds off and leaves a white layer that is as smooth and cool as marble. The bark turns pink or red as the season wears on. Bright red berries adorn the branches. So pretty.

This is where we're going tomorrow! WAHOO!

Derek and I are going to cavort with the mountain lions, bears, javelinas, and drug smugglers in Big Bend National Park. And NO kids are coming! WAHOO!

I love color. If I were three years old, I'd dress in as many colors as I could, too.

A few weeks ago, Mom and Dad and my oldest brother Eric came to visit. Eric was just with us for a few days, then my parents hung on an extra few after that. We had a lovely time, though I am going to keep the play-by-play brief. Really. In short, I love having my parents visit. They are gracious, helpful, accommodating, and fun. They also had a mission while they were here: to cram as much Mexican food into 5 days as possible. More on that later (but briefly!).

Then we spent the weekend in San Antonio, scouring the Riverwalk for the best chips, salsa, and enchiladas. Yum-yum. Manhattan Mexican, aside from its unconvincing name, was de-lish!


We cruised the river, too. Oh, and Derek and I got to go out on a date for, yes, more Mexican food (dessert and virgin margaritas, specifically).

Unfortunately, by the time this photo was taken, Eric had left. He was like a 3rd parent, and I mean that in a very good way. He was always there to swing Ava onto his shoulders, feed a hungry PJ-mouth, hoist a stroller down the stairs, and help out with anything that Ava's and PJ's biological parents couldn't (or wouldn't) do for them. We just wish he could've brought his wife and girls along with him.

The last few days in Austin, we ate more Mexican, and then more Mexican. And really, I think we all could have kept going. Have I mentioned there's really good Mexican food here? All you Bostonians need to hop on down here, because I know you're not getting it there.