The Savage Traveler: Winter Trip 2015: Seminole Canyon

Mon. Feb. 9: First thing in the morning we all dressed quickly and by 7:45 we drove up to the Lodge to eat their Breakfast Buffet as the sun began to light up the desert floor as viewed through the Window. When we had eaten our fill we walked the short Window View Trail before returning to get ready to leave. Marv had packed the truck while I made dinner the evening before so we took down the camper and were ready to leave at the same time as Robertsons. We drove out of Big Bend using the north entrance and stopped briefly at the Persimmon Gap Visitor Center before exiting. We both bought some gas in Marathon at $2.50 and then filled up at Sanderton for a more reasonable $2.09. Marv and I bought green chili pepper meat burritos at the gas station/café to eat on the road. They were HOT but tasty! There was very little traffic on rolling US90 and it was cloudless and around 80 the whole way with a slight headwind. Arriving at Seminole Canyon State Park about 3:30 we got two campsites with electricity and water near each other. The campground has no shade trees but large campsites and ours were both on the outside of the loop so they looked out over the desert. We had a weak Roaming phone signal and there is free but very slow Wi-Fi near the restroom so we felt like we were getting back to civilization. After setting up we relaxed in chairs and talked at our campsite as the sun set. Marv and I had leftovers in our camper before we walked up to Ann & Shelby’s to play “3-13”, a card game, before showers and bed.

Sunrise in the Chisos Basin

Peggy, Marv, The Window, Ann & Shelby

Tue. Feb. 10: After Marv and I had a simple breakfast of Raisin Bran to use it and our milk up, all four of us piled in Robertson’s van to drive up to the Museum/Store for the 10:00 hike into the Canyon. There were 72 fourth graders just unloading in the parking lot but a Volunteer came out to assure us they had their own program and wouldn’t be on our hike. One group was in the Museum so we couldn’t look around much but then our tour began so it didn’t matter. A Volunteer Ranger named Kevin was our leader. People are only allowed into the Canyon with a guide and only under certain weather conditions. We had a perfect day for our hike--another cloudless sky, temperatures in the 60s and rising, and a pleasant breeze. Kevin stopped several times to give us information as we began our descent into Seminole Canyon. He was extremely knowledgeable and, although we had done the hike 5 years ago, his delivery was so exceptional it was wonderful to hear him tell the story of the pictographs and petroglyphs. He told us some new information that a renowned expert is postulating as her Ph.D. book. Since our last trip here she thinks she has “cracked the code” for the meaning of these 8,000 year old images and feels that they were drawn during a sort of confab of the nomadic people who visited the area regularly. And they also now think that the people (who aren’t claimed as ancestors by any local Native American tribes) may have descendants in a reclusive tribe of people in mid-Mexico. The strenuous climb down and then up into the natural shelters of the Canyon was well worth the exertion and we were happy to have done it again with such an excellent guide. We returned to the campers for lunch and a short rest then we rode our bikes 6.5 miles on the Rio Grande Trail along the triangle formed where the Canyon meets the Rio Grande. From several lookouts along the rim we could see across the canyon to the Panther Cave, which is not accessible right now because of the low water levels. It has a 9 foot panther drawing and a whole panel of other petroglyphs which we had to enjoy with binoculars. Marv and I were shocked by the low river level. Last time we were here the Rio Grande was very wide, reaching from side to side of the towering rock walls on the American and Mexican sides because there is a large reservoir just downriver that backs up beyond this point. Now both sides of the river have wide swaths of willows growing in the shallows along the cliffs. The return trip was mostly uphill on the rocky two-track road so we were all pretty tired when we returned. After a brief rest we got together for tortilla chips with cream cheese and corn relish dip and guacamole as the sun set over the desert. For dinner we had spaghetti with sauce that had cooked all day in the Crockpot and a big salad. It all tasted wonderful after all our exercise! A last card game of Golf finished off the evening.