THE DOGRUN

A few weeks ago a few friends and I embarked on our first trip to the mountains of Big Bend. We camped out under the stars in the Chisos Basin and took in some of the most beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen. From the "party rock" as it became known we watched bears wander around the slopes by day, gazed through The Window as the sun set behind the mountains, and by night we searched the skies for constellations, satellites and shooting stars.

On our first day we tackled the tallest mountain in the park, Emery Peak. The views from the top were incredible, a 360° panorama of the unending desert and into Mexico Beyond. We could even see our camp site down in the center of the basin!

After our hike we decided to take a relaxing dip in the hot springs down by the Rio Grande. However, once we got there the idea of swimming in a hot spring in 110° heat suddenly felt less enticing so we settled for a nice lounge in the Rio itself. Some U.S. rocks may have been donated to Mexico in our throwing competition...

On the banks of the Rio Grande stand various ruins and Native America remains. On the left is an abandoned house from some of the early settlers in the region and on the right are ancient cave paintings on a rock wall that follows the Rio.

Along our journey we made a few wilderness friends. We saw a total of seven bears including this cute little cub who was chillin’ and having a snack just off the road. On the lesser cute side of things we came across two rattle snakes that we had to scurry past on our hike and one neon pink snake. (If anyone knows what kind of snake this is let me know, he was awesome!)

For a full sensory experience, the trip included a little taste test. Here I am at the top of Emery Peak. Boy did victory taste sweet! (apparently victory also tastes a bit gritty)