Yesterday and today we were at Falcon Heights State Park. Very nice lake in a desert setting. We could only hike about 4 miles per day due to limited trails.We were serenaded to sleep by coyotes last night. We didn't see much wildlife on our hikes. However, while doing yoga outside this afternoon, a very large javelina wandered through the back of our campsite during downward facing dog. He was only about 20 feet away but didn't seem impressed by my excellent form :) We had some showers this afternoon so Denny did a few "home" maintenance projects while I worked on a quilt.
Tomorrow we will move to an RV retirement community for a few days to visit some friends. That should be an entirely different experience from the mountains and desert where we have been camping. The hiking will end but we'll get out our bikes!

We spent 2 nights at Lake Casa Blanca International State Park. It was a strange park, in that it was located in the middle of Laredo. The lake was lovely and there were a lot of birds. We identified a few that we had never seen before. We hiked all the available trails, about 6 miles each day. The prickly pear cactus here are much taller and with bigger leaves because of the water.

It was strange being on a seemingly desert path, seeing javalina, deer and rabbits and at the same time hearing the traffic in the distance and seeing airplanes land at the airport nearby. Time to move on...

We forget how dependent we are on technology. It was so nice last night to have cell phone reception, TV and internet. I had a nice long talk with Rochelle after little communication for over a week. We are having a great time but need to know that things are okay at home too! Denny was happy to be able to see TV, we have gone through nearly all of the DVDs we brought with us! I think we are back into more populated areas from now on. So, hopefully, we'll be better able to communicate.

1/26 through 1/28
Seminole Canyon State Park. We took a guided tour of the Pecos River Pictographs, hiked 6-8 miles per day, saw deer, rabbits, jackrabbits, and several awesome canyons. I'd like to say we are getting leaner and stronger, but unfortunately all of my clothes still fit  :)

Seminole Canyon and the cave where the pictographs are located

Seminole Canyon

 Here are a few pictures of the 4000 year old pictographs. Click or double click on any picture to enlarge.

The next day we hiked the rim of the canyon. We saw some deer, rabbits and jack rabbits as well as some awesome scenery.

And, the answer to does a bear shit in the woods....

Cause...

and effect

1/24/15

One last day at Big Bend, one last canyon. The Rio Grande runs through the Boquillas canyon  and Mexico is on the other side.Click or double click on any picture to enlarge.

An illegal border crossing...he crossed the river into the US and bought hay for his horse and forded the river back to Mexico with the hay under his arm. He is riding a mare and that is her 8 month old colt following.

We also went across the border to the small town of Boquillas, there is actually an official border crossing in the park.We had lunch and then crossed back.

View from our lunch restaurant

This was our transportation across the border. His shirt said International Border Crossing Ferry. Lol!

We are at Seminole Canyon state park and have very bad internet and no cell reception.Back in a couple of days!

1/22/15
Hiked all day in Big Bend. It was cold, 46 degrees was the high but the wind chill made us feel like we were in Michigan! We hiked with gloves and winter coats. I won't bore you by posting a million pictures of mountains, but they were awesome!

We did find a little fixer-upper that we are considering buying but I don't think the national Park will let it go.

1/23/15 Woke up to snow in the mountains, but at least it was sunny and warmer. It was strange to see big blobs of snow hanging on the cacti. All the snow had melted by mid-afternoon. Hiking was much more pleasant today.
I kept looking for a mountain lion or bear but only saw these coyotes who stopped and let me take a picture.

A mama javelina with 3 babies was not as cooperative so all my pictures are of  blurry javelinas running away! We have seen many road runners but usually only running across the road. I kept saying "meep, meep" to them but none answered my call. Denny did get a picture of one today when we were hiking at Santa Elena Canyon, This canyon was cut by the Rio Grande river and divides Mexico and the US. Just a few pictures to show you how awesome it was. One more day and then we move on.