Hike to Hot Springs, Big Bend NP, TX

In the middle of the night we both were awoken by the sound of the step going in and out, the previous day we had some trouble to keep the step out once parked up, but now it seemed like it had a mind of its own. In the silence of the night it made an awful loud sound. After a number of attempts to suss the bloody thing out, we both went back to bed we could hear the steps go in and out a couple of more times. After that we both fell asleep again. In the morning Wahid managed to keep the step out, hoping that it would go back in once we had to drive off. After a slow start we wandered around the campground, the trail to the Nature Trail had been closed due to a big flood in September 2008. The boardwalk was completely destroyed. Via another path we managed to get on to the trail any way and could avoid the boardwalk. We climbed up to the top to admire the view, in the distance we could see a number of kayaks peddling down the Rio Grand, if only we had a kayak. At the top a Mexican vendor had left some trinkets as souvenirs, but we did not have any money on us, midway the trail we could see him at the top, looking if we had bought anything. Unfortunately the Mexicans that live in this side of Mexico have to travel a long way to get to civilisation, a good 150 miles either way, they used to before 9/11 take tourist to the little restaurants on the Mexican side. But now the tourists are not allowed to cross the Rio Grande and their livelihood has been destroyed. How they survive is beyond me.

After arriving at the campground we got our bikes out and cycled to the Rio Grand Store, cycled to the trailhead for the Hot Springs, when a couple of bird watchers asked us if we wanted to see a Black Hawk, apparently very rare in Big Bend. We did get a good view via the bino´s, However the bird was too far away to get a proper photograph. Back at our site we stayed in for a good hour or so, it was too hot, nearly 100 degrees. We had planned to hike up to the springs once it was a little cooler. Around 3:30 pm we hit the trail but in effect it was still too hot. I was suffering big time, but we made it to the Hot Springs in the end. The water was too warm; the river looked more inviting I did not fancy the climb down some rock because I was feeling a little shaky. After spending some time in the Springs we hike back the same trail (2,5 miles one way).

Overlooking the Rio Grande (the Hot Spring Trail)
Half way we met a guy who was hiking to the springs at this late hour. The next day we would meet him again on another trail, again he was going when we were coming back. He told us than that by the time he was heading back it was too dark to take the same trail and he hiked back via the Hot Springs Road where he was picked up by a car to take him back to the campground. Some times you wonder if people are okay when they do late hikes and for ones we did get the answer. He did tell us that he all most had stepped on a rattle snake just before he was picked up by the car, luckily indeed.

The Rio Grande, on our way back to the campground.

Drive from Abilene to Big Bend via Fort Stockton, TX

We woke up really early and since we had not finished our shopping the evening before we had to go back to Wal*Mart straight away once out of bed. It is a weird phenomenon, being able to shop 24 /7. It is so easy to get lost in one of those superstores, too many things to choose from and not able in finding where everything is. In the end the shopping took us longer that we had anticipated and by 10:00 or so we were finally on the road.

We arrived in Fort Stockton quite late; from there it is still over 120 miles to the park. After filling up with gas and treating ourselves on a mocha latte from Dairy Queen, we went on to the park. The drive was slower that we had thought and we arrived late in the park, the entrance was open, but we could not get our national parks pass since there was nobody at the entrance. Also the visitor centre at Panther Junction was closed by the time we arrived there. We parked up at Rio Grande Village; it was good to be back in nature, although it was much hotter than we had thought. First we had to unpack our stuff and give every thing its place. After a quick snack we went to bed, mozzies pestering us all night long.

Motor home pick up at El Monte

We woke up quite early, but stayed in bed a little while longer, Wahid thought that breakfast was at 7:30, but when we arrived in the breakfast room it was busy already. We had an American style breakfast, with waffles & hot cherries, donuts, potato wedges and scrambled egg etc. There was simply too much too choose from, good thing that we will not have that kind of breakfast in the motor home all the time. At 8:30 we phoned up El Monte to arrange our pick up time.

We had to meet at the Hyatt Residence at the airport between 12:00 and 12:15 which gave us some time to go back to the Grapevine Mills. But when we arrived there all the shops were still closed. We waited for a while, but Wahid was a tat tired and went back to the hotel. I stayed behind and went to the shops that opened at 10:00 o’clock. I managed to find a nice dress and blouse at Ann Taylor, I had been holding off on buying clothes till we were in the States. Gosh it is most of the times so much cheaper. Then I had to rush back to the hotel for the shuttle but to take us to the Hyatt Hotel at the airport. The wait at the hotel was only 10 minutes or so before the El Monte van appeared. The drive to the El Monte depot took just under an hour, the paper work and motor home inspection took a couple of hours, so before 15:00 we were on our way to Abilene. That was a good drive and we arrived late in that city. In spite the fact that we both were tired, we had to do some shopping for the motor home, like pots and pans and of course food and other supplies. At around eleven, we both crawled into bed, exhausted from travelling over the last couple of days.

On our way to Dallas

Going back to the States, on Friday morning we had to leave around 5:30 am, around 6:15 we were at Hoofddorp where we left the car. We took the train to Schiphol, which was only a 5 minute ride. The check in at Schiphol went without a hassle. We had a couple of hours before we had to board the plane, so we went to the Executive Lounge. Since the last time, I had been there the lounge had a complete make over. We had a light breakfast and before we knew it was time to go to the gate, on the way we had a quick look at a couple of the shops, Wahid spotted the clog like slippers and bought a pair for us both. The waiting time at the gate wasn´t too long, once on the plane we could finally relax. Once travelled with business class you get sort of spoilt and do not want to travel long haul in economy class. Besides it is always nice and a tat decadent to start your journey with a glass of Champagne.

Next to us was sitting a lady from Uganda with her 14 month old baby girl, I have to say that I have never met a child that well behaved on a long haul flight. She whimpered maybe once or twice during the whole flight, which lasted maybe 30 seconds. She was awfully cute, she even sat on my lap for a whole, unfortunately she understood only French and since I know only a couple of phrases in French, the communication was not going so smoothly. Anyway with kids you do not really have to speak their language, because she liked the attention anyway. The food on board had a South African theme and was very tasty, one of the other perks flying business class, the food is much better on board. After dinner we watched a movie, had a snooze for a couple of hours and that just before snack time we played a couple of games on the in-flight console. Have to say that the 10 hours in the air went fairly quickly.

Arriving ahead of schedule at Dallas DFW, of course we had to go through the Homeland Security, since we are not married we could not go together to the officer, in his regard America is so backwards. After answering a number of questions I received my visa approval for 6 months, and all though Wahid had made it to the desk before me, he still had not finished his interview. I had to move into the corridor while I was waiting for Wahid. Via a mirror I could see that he had been requested to move to a separate room. Too me it seemed it took ages before Wahid came, they had done a random interview, but in the end they had approved his visa as well. During the time I was waiting, my mind was running wild with things that could go wrong. What if they would refuse the visa and put him back on a plane home. Luckily none of that happened and we went to our hotel not far from the airport. Once there, we discovered that the Grapevine Malls were just a short walking distance away. First we popped into Bass Pro Outdoor World, a huge outdoor store where they sell all sorts of fun stuff, from speedboats to camping gear. After that a quick visit to the mall, went back to the hotel fairly early to catch up on some sleep. We both slept like a log.

Next week by this time, we will be on our way to America. Our flight is around 10 in the morning, so we have to leave the house early in order get to the airport on time. We still need to be about 3 hours before departure at Schiphol. Hanging around at any airport for a number of hours in not my favourite thing to do, but since we can stay at the KLM lounge makes it a little bit more bearable. I am sure that will have gulped down a glass of Champagne before we get onto the flight.

Amsterdam (Schiphol) to Dallas (Fort Worth)
Departure / Arrival time
Fri 24 Apr 09 - 1000
Fri 24 Apr 09 - 1310
Flight number KL 0669
Booking status Confirmed
Seat numbers 1A & 1B

In Dallas we are going to stay at one of the many Marriott’s in town, a Residence Inn at DFW Airport North/Grapevine. We prefer to stay at one near the airport, the next morning we have to be picked up at one of the other hotels at the airport, the Grand Hyatt DFW by El Monte. Hopefully the pick up is going to be in the morning so we can have a earlyish start and reach Abilene later that afternoon.

The Route

Friday 24 April - Flight from Amsterdam to Dallas Saturday 25 April - Pick up motor home in Dallas, drive to Abilene (215 miles)
Sunday 26 April - Abilene to Big Bend Bend National Park (380 miles)
Thursday 30 April - Big Bend NP drive to Guadalupe National Park (280miles)
Sunday 3 May – Guadalupe drive to White Sands National Monument (205 miles)
Monday 4 May – White Sands drive to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (205 miles)
Tuesday 5 May – Gila Cliff Dwellings drive to Petrified Forest National Park (250 miles)
Wednesday 6 May – Holbrook drive to Las Vegas (340 miles)
Saturday 9 May – Las Vegas drive to Zion National Park (165 miles)
Wednesday 13 May – Zion drive to Monument Valley Tribal Park (240 miles) Planned serval hikes in this park, we are participating in the lottery for a back country permit for the Subway Hike. We are probably going to hike up to Angels Landing and maybe a part of the Narrows, weather permitting.
Friday 15 May – Monument Valley drive to Arches National Park (151 miles) Planning to do some horse back riding and maybe 4x4 drive.
Tuesday 19 May – Arches NP drive to Rocky Mountain National Park (405 miles) Serveral hikes planned. A visit to Estes Park, a town near the park is on our list and we are hoping to see one of our friends who is living in North Dakota, who will be visiting her daughter in Colorado in May.
Saturday 23 May – Rocky Mountain drive to Denver drop off motor home at El Monte (90 miles) total of 2928 miles without internal driving. We are staying at one of Marriott’s in the centre of town, hoping to find some time to do some sightseeing.
Sunday 24 May – Denver flight to Detroit – Amsterdam
Monday 25 May – Arrival at Schiphol

* This is the planned route, but we might make some changes along the way.

Making plans

After our yearlong trip in the States, we decided to spend our holidays for a couple of years in Europe. In 2007, we did not go on a long holiday, just a couple of weekend away, France, Germany and Luxemburg. I managed to squeeze in a couple of weeks in London too. At the beginning of 2008, we went for 3 weeks to Whistler, Canada on a ski holiday. This gave us the opportunity to catch up with friends of ours who moved to Vancouver just a couple of months before. In September that same year, we drove to the North of Spain for a three-week holiday. This year we are going back to America for another motor home holiday, we simply could not resist. The journey will take us from Dallas, Texas to Denver, Colorado. Currently we are looking into which parks to visit and planning everything we want to visit. This time we will have only one month and it is hard to decide which places to visit, there is simply too much too see in too little time. In spite the fact, this is going to be our seventh motor home trip; we still haven't seen it all.