Big Bend National Park

2009-08-05: Big Bend was unbelievably hot. I thought I knew what a hot day was, but this was beyond anything else I'd experienced. It was easily 110° F and there was no breeze and no shade anywhere. Nonetheless, I wanted to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico by foot. I wanted to see the Chihuahuan Desert. I had plenty of water and the will to endure. The park was nearly empty when I arrived and the staff seemed surprised that anyone would be there in August.

A sign was prominently posted informing people of what would happen if they crossed the Rio Grande. If you set foot in Mexico, and then tried to cross back into Texas anywhere but an actual border crossing, you would be subject to arrest and imprisonment. Furthermore, if you bought anything that the local Mexicans were selling, it was contraband, and you would also be subject to up to a year in prison, all of this by order of President Bush. I was disappointed.

I went to find a campsite in the empty campground and found a shady spot. As soon as I left my vehicle I was swarmed by literally half a hundred mosquitoes. I swatted them as fast as I could and sprayed insect repellent on myself, but they kept coming. I jumped back into the car and decided that I could find somewhere to camp in the sun to avoid them. It would be brutal for sure, but I could just lounge around until dusk. The mosquitoes were waiting for me again. I packed up my things and decided that was enough. I drove to a few of the sites at the park and took a look at Mexico from across the Rio Grande, which was actually quite small, little more than a muddy stream, it seemed. At one place, across from Boquillas de Carmen, there were some little scorpion sculptures made from twisted copper wire, and a can for money. I was hailed from across the river by a Mexican asking me to buy one. I shouted back "¡Es contraband! Lo siento...".

The park had a place for laundry and showers so I took advantage of those services. Outside, roadrunners loitered in the shade, but even they looked to be suffering from the heat. I left in the early evening, pointing my vehicle toward San Antonio where I would meet my cousin, who I'd not seen in decades. I knew I'd have to stop somewhere to sleep. On the way out, I got stopped by the Border Patrol who wanted to make sure I wasn't hiding any people in the back of my car. They were polite and not accusatory and I appreciated that. My GPS would have had me head toward Ciudad Acuña, but given the waves of drug related violence, it seemed like a bad idea to have to stop anywhere near there. So I planned a route along some rural highways.

Later that night, on an otherwise empty desert highway, I noticed a flash of movement in my headlights and tried to brake as quickly as I could, but unfortunately I ran right over several rabbits. There were dozens of them in the road. I braked and swerved as much as I could but they just didn't move fast enough if at all. About 30 miles from my destination I saw police lights in my rear view mirror and prepared for the worst, as always. Thankfully it was the Border Patrol again, and they were confused as to why anyone would use this road; apparently, it hardly sees any traffic ever. They didn't even ask to search my vehicle which was unusual for me. I made it to I-10 and found a rest stop and was much relieved to sleep.