Amazing Trees and Views that Please

(2025 Wild West Wander Ep 8)

Smiles as we enter Sequoia National Park

As the California Condor flies, it is about 30 miles from Alabama Hills to Sequoia National Park. Percy and Pap (and other land vehicles) can’t fly unfortunately and must detour nearly 275 miles around the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Thus began our five-day visit to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Limited Choices and Hot Camping

When making our camping reservations back in January, we learned all but two of the campgrounds in the parks are closed until late May or later in the summer. Sierra Nevada winters are long and the campgrounds are snowed in until late spring some years.

At Potwisha Campground near Sequoia, summer had already arrived. It was 90+ degrees on our first two days so we ate dinner outside. Fortunately, it cooled once the sun set and sleeping was comfortable. Temps moderated on our third day and remained pleasant for the reminder of our visit.

Getting There Was NOT Half of the Fun

Sequoia is known, of course, for its groves of magnificent sequoia trees. Potwisha has an elevation of 2100 feet and the sequoia groves are at about 6000 feet. Connecting the two is a tortuous 16-mile road that is very steep with dozens of very sharp turns and numerous switchbacks. The drive takes nearly an hour.

We left Pap at the campground for our first two days. When we left for Kings Canyon on the third day via the same route, we had to stop midway to let our truck’s transmission cool.

Enough of driving challenges – on to the BIG trees!

Biggest of the Big

Our first hike in Sequoia NP was a half mile downhill walk to the General Sherman Tree.

A few other Sequoias are bigger around. Some are taller. Others are older. But no other tree in the world has more wood in its trunk than the General Sherman Tree. The tree is estimated to have a volume of 52,500 cubic feet – enough wood to build 200 medium-sized homes!

Our children, Liz and Phil, at the base of the General Sherman Tree in 2001

We stood back to take in the whole tree and admired the nearly football field height (275 feet) of the tree.

The tree is estimated to be 2200 years old. Like other mature Sequoias, the top is dead and the tree doesn’t get taller. Instead, each year the trunk grows wider. The girth of this massive tree at ground level is 103 feet!

We waited in line closer to the tree for a photo. A six-foot-tall human looking up at the General Sherman tree is like a mouse looking up at a six-foot human – an interesting perspective indeed.

Perspective of 5-foot, 4-inch Pat beneath a tall sequoia tree

Like photos of redwoods or skyscrapers, those of General Sherman and other sequoias don’t give a good sense of the size of the trees.

More Big Trees

The Congress Trail continues more than a mile beyond the Sherman Tree as it passes by dozens of sequoias. We ate lunch while viewing two groups of the trees, labeled appropriately as the House and the Senate. This is a must-do five-out-of-five boot hike.

An immense sequoia cross section at the end of the trail tells a story: the tree was about 2210 years old and experienced at least 80 different fires hot enough to leave a scar. Mature sequoias live quite well despite large fire scars. Thick, fibrous bark on the trees provides insulation and holds little sap or pitch that is flammable.

Sequoia tree bark is several inches thick and protects the tree from fire

Saving the Sequoias

Sequoia NP was formed in 1890 to protect Sequoia Trees from the imminent threat of logging. In more recent years, development in the groves was also deemed to be a threat. At the grove near Round Meadow, a restaurant, campground, dozens of cabins, utilities, roads crowded the sequoias. The park service began removing these in the 1990s and the last building was removed in 1999. Today there is no sign of the past development in the grove.

No signs of development in the Round Meadow grove

We’re standing in the footprint of **Ed by Ne**d, two intertwined sequoias whose combined base was 34 feet long and 25 feet wide, big enough for a swimming pool

Moro Rock – Above It All

On our second day we climbed 350 steps to the top of Moro Rock. Handrails and resting places made the climb easier and the view from the top of the 6725-foot granite dome was amazing. To the east were the snow-covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. To the west, the California coastal range seen on clear days was not visible due to haze.

This is another must-do five-out-of-five boot trail at Sequoia NP.

View of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the top of Moro Rock

It was very windy at the top of Moro Rock – I held onto my hat!

Nada Means NADA!

Leaving Moro Rock, we passed by Tunnel Log.

When a sequoia fell across the road in 1937, a CCC worker suggested cutting a tunnel through the 275-foot long, 21-foot-high tree. The result was a cutout 17 feet wide and 8 feet tall, big enough to drive a car through.

Percy perhaps?

Recalling our experience driving through a rail tunnel in Kentucky during our travels in 2025, I listened to Pat’s NADA this time and took the bypass around the tunnel instead.

You can’t drive on the Auto Log unless you use CHATGPT

We also passed by the Auto Log tree. Many vehicles have been photographed on the unusual and unique driveway on the top of a sequoia that fell in 1917.

Kings Canyon

Kings Canyon NP adjoins Sequoia NP and we drove 30 miles west where we camped near the Grant Grove.

The General Grant Tree is the star of the grove. Second largest in the world by volume, the 268-foot-tall tree is the widest known sequoia with a diameter of 40 feet and circumference of 107 feet, more than General Sherman Tree.

Deep Canyon Drive to Road’s End

We drove the 29-mile road through King’s Canyon to Road’s End, the starting point of numerous wilderness hiking trails into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We had spectacular views of the glacier-carved canyon that is over a mile deep, rivaling the Grand Canyon in depth.

Next Week

Our son, Phil, joins us for a visit to Yosemite National Park.

Worms and Wonder in Alabama Hills

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 7)

From Death Valley California highway 190 rises nearly 5000 feet as it winds westward across several mountain ranges toward Lone Pine, CA. The 80-mile drive can be perilous during summer’s intense heat. Signs recommend that drivers turn off their AC to reduce the chance of overheating.

At just over 11,000 pounds, Percy and Pap are a heavy combination. Overheating (especially the transmission) is a real concern. We drove the route in the morning when temps were in the 70s and were thankful to make the trip with no issues.

Alabama Hills

Our destination was Alabama Hills, a scenic area of rounded rocks and eroded hills nestled at the foot of the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lone Pine, CA. We bypassed several developed campgrounds nearby and boondocked for three nights in the midst of the hills instead.

Our campsite was surrounded by rugged rock formations

We enjoyed this view while sitting outside

Each morning, sunlight started at the tops of the Sierra Nevada mountains, worked its way down to the hills and finally to our campsite. Sunsets were the reverse – shadows engulfed us, then moved eastward until just the tops of the Inyo Mountains to the east reflected the golden sunset.

This footlong **chuckwalla** was on the rocks behind our campsite. These lizards are herbivores, feeding on desert flowers, leaves and fruits

400+ Movies

The rugged beauty of the Alabama Hills has attracted Hollywood movie makers for more than 100 years. More than 400 movies and dozens of television shows have been filmed in and around the hills.

Pat in front of the Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine, CA

The Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine is a great place to learn about the films made in the area.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto were one of the exhibits

Many of the movies made in the area were westerns. Tom Mix, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, William Boyd and others starred in the movies that featured characters like Hopalong Cassidy and the Lone Ranger. The movie and TV show list includes classics like Gunga Din, How the West Was Won and Bonanza.

Nothing is more western than Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Roy’s first starring feature was filmed in Alabama Hills in 1938

Portions of science fiction and action movies were made in the area. The list includes two Star Trek movies, a Transformers movie, Man of Steel, Iron Man and Godzilla.

Scenes in Gladiator, Django Unchained, two Tarzan movies and even Gone in 60 Seconds were also shot in the hills!

Several of the large cameras used to film movies can be found in the museum

What’s with the Worms?

One movie filmed in the hills, however, stands out.

In the movie, giant worms up to 30 feet long hunt by detecting seismic vibrations in the ground. They devour people, cars and more in the isolated desert settlement of Perfection, Nevada. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward take on the creepy creatures in the 1990 cult classic Tremors.

Lots of interesting Tremors memorabilia was on display

(BTW, did you know there are eight movies in the Tremors series?)

Sets and Relics?

You might think with all the movie-making there would be sets and relics throughout the hills.

We drove Movie Flat Road, a bumpy dirt road that winds several miles through the hills. We searched for movie locations using a map that shows where several movies were filmed.

The landscape was nearly pristine, with no signs of moviemaking.

One of the few moviemaking relics we found was an anchor shaft from a bridge in the movie Gunga Din

We did find one small set of relics – two metal shafts anchored in rock and several concrete pads used for a bridge in the 1939 movie Gunga Din.

Mobius Arch

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees this national scenic area.

We hiked several interesting trails, including a short one that leads to the area’s most famous natural feature – the Mobius Arch. You get a perfect view of Mount Whitney in the distance by looking through the arch’s natural viewfinder.

Beneath the Mobius Arch with 14,504-foot Mt Whitney in the background

Next Week

We circle the Sierra Nevada Mountains to find the world’s largest trees and a deep canyon.

Hottest, Driest, Lowest

Featured

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 6)

At more than 3.3 million acres, Death Valley is the largest national park in the contiguous US, larger than Yellowstone, Big Bend and Everglades national parks. Our three-day visit to the park gave us ample time to see various historic and geologic exhibits, visit better known areas like Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells, and hike several trails.

How Death Valley Got Its Name

In 1849-1850, a group bound for the California gold fields became lost as they crossed the valley. They feared they would perish in the harsh, unforgiving environment When they finally left the valley crossing mountains to the west, one of the pioneers said ‘goodbye, Death Valley.’ The name stuck!

Death Valley is an area of remarkable extremes.

Lowest

At 282 feet BELOW sea level, Death Valley’s Badwater Basin is North America’s lowest point.

Salt flat panorama taken at Badwater Basin

Zoom in on the red circle above – the SEA LEVEL sign is a long way up the mountain

We walked on the eye-numbing white salt flat that extends several miles to the Panamint Mountains to the west. Death Valley salt flats cover nearly 200 square miles.

Hottest

Death Valley is known for its extreme temperatures.

In 1913, temperatures reached a staggering 134°F – the hottest on earth and still the record.

In 2024, temperatures were over 120°F on 37 days and there were nine consecutive days where they did not get below 100°F.

Hot temps were forecast from May 8-12, the week after our visit

We were fortunate – the highs approached 100°F on two days of our visit and 85°F during our last day. Highs for the week after our visit were forecast to be between 106°F and 114°F!

Driest

Death Valley is also very dry, with an annual average rainfall of 2.15 inches.

When it does rain, the results can be devastating. In 2023, parts of the valley had 2.2 inches of rain IN ONE DAY causing flooding and road damage throughout the park.

The effects of water were very evident during a couple of our early morning hikes.

Mosaic Canyon

Elsewhere on the trail one can see and touch the colorful rock mosaic

We hiked two miles up Mosaic Canyon passing through eroded canyon narrows with polished marble walls and colorful mosaics of conglomerated rocks,

We met three women from California and when we told them about our travels and RabbiTRAILS blog, they asked to take a photo with us. We felt like celebrities.

Posing with friends met on the Mosaic Trail – we were RabbiTRAILS celebrities

We left the ladies as they discussed whether they would scramble up a 15-foot rockfall to continue the trail, and began our return to the start of the trail.

Mosaic Canyon is a mostly easy four-out-of-five boot trail. Start early in the day and bring lots of water.

Dante’s View

As the day got hotter, we drove to Dante’s View, where Badwater Basin was visible 5700 feet below. The view was amazing and it was nearly 20 degrees cooler!

Death Valley salt flats cover more than 200 square miles

Red Cathedral Scramble

We scrambled through narrow passages to get to the Red Cathedral

We started early the next morning to hike up Golden Canyon to the Red Cathedral. To reach the base of famous red colored amphitheater, we had to squeeze between, crawl over and duck under a number of large boulders.

The 3.3-mile trail was beautiful, challenging and fun – a Death Valley must-do hike that we would rate five-out-of-five boots!

Harmony Borax Works

Death Valley is associated with images of 20-mule-teams transporting massive wagons of borax across the valley, primarily due to long running radio and television series that featured true stories of the American old west.

At the historic site of Harmony Borax Works, processing equipment and a double borax wagon are displayed. When in full operation, 40 men produced three tons of borax daily. More than 20 million pounds of ore were transported 165 miles to a railhead in Mojave, CA, a ten-day trip across the barren and hostile wilderness. Processing at the location ended in 1888, after only five years.

Borax is a multi-purpose cleaner used in laundry detergent and a number of industrial processes.

Salt Creek

Salt Creek bubbles up and flows across the valley floor not far from the Harmony location. A half mile boardwalk follows the stream where the saline water starts its flow and eventually disappears as it soaks into the desert floor.

Pupfish like this one only live in Salt Creek. To survive, they must stay close to the creek’s source because the creek shrinks during the hot summer

The stars of the walk are pupfish. Thousands of the one-to-two-inch-long fish dart in and out of underwater vegetation. The endangered fish have adapted to live in the creek, which has a salt concentration several times that of sea water.

Other Death Valley Views

At Devils Golf Course, crystallized salts cover chunks of the valley floor

Colorful rock layers can be seen along the 9-mile-long Artists Drive

The Ubehebe Crater at the northern part of the park was formed about 2000 years ago when rising magma came into contact with groundwater, resulting in a steam and gas explosion that left a half-mile wide and 770 feet deep crater

Next Week

We boondock in a rugged location where more than 400 movies have been made.

Happy Cows and Race Boats

Featured

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 5)

(This week I behaved myself: no border crossing dramas and my hat has stayed on my head. Who knows what future RabbiTRAILS will bring! Ed)

Sky Islands

There’s a term we learned as we journeyed across New Mexico and Arizona – sky islands. Sky Islands are isolated mountain ranges that rise up from the surrounding desert landscape. Because of their isolation, sky islands can have unique plants and animals.

Chiricahua (pronounced cheery-cow-a) is one such sky island in southern Arizona, close to the New Mexico border.

Our travels took us to both sides of the happy cow mountain range.

We stopped at the ranger station surrounded by the scenic mountains of Cave Creek Canyon

The Elusive Trogons of Cave Creek Canyon

On the east side of the range campsites weren’t available. We boondocked nearby on the side of a small creek near Cave Creek Canyon. We were totally off-grid where it was peaceful and quiet, except for the occasional vehicle passing by on the bumpy and very dusty dirt road.

The area is popular with birders – this is why the campground was full. Birders are persons who enjoy seeing, hearing and identifying their feathered friends.

An older bearded gentleman told us birders were at the canyon to spot elegant trogons, 12-inch-long birds that migrate from Central America and Mexico. They have a red-orange chest and deep green back, and a very distinctive call – like the bark of a dog!

The elegant trogon is beautiful (Wikipedia)

As Pat and I hiked along mostly dry Cave Creek, we stopped and listened. Bark, bark, bark. We wondered if it was a trogon.

Two younger birders hiking by confirmed the call was indeed from a trogon. The four of us scoured the nearby trees and brush for several minutes with no success. Later, they told us they sighted both male and female trogons.

We extended our Cave Creek Canyon hike up the Burro Trail to a volcanic formation of red rocks – we’d give the seven-mile hike four out of five boots

BTW, if you have aspirations to become a birder or are just someone who enjoys birds in your back yard, Merlin is a phone app that can be used to identify birds not only by their appearance but also by their call.

Chiricahua National Monument

We circled the range and approached the Chiricahua Mountains from the west.

I was ahead on the winding trail, and Pat took this photo of me below

My photo of Pat looking upward at the same formation

The trail wound through the layered Echo Park pinnacles

We camped in Chiricahua National Monument and drove the seven-mile Bonita Canyon Scenic Drive to hike to amazing rock pinnacles. We descended nearly three miles on the Echo Canyon trail, where the formations have names like Echo Park and the Grottoes. We came up with our own names for some of the unnamed formations – Homer Simpson, the potato and the skull.

The Echo Canyon Trail is 3.5 miles long with a 550-foot elevation change and lots of great scenery. We rate it five out of five boots!

Chiricahua became a national monument in 1924 after being donated by a family whose parents from Sweden settled in the area in 1888. Their homestead, Faraway Ranch, is part of the monument.

There’s some talk about Chiricahua becoming a national park in the future – perhaps it will be #64.

We bought lunch from a food truck in Willcox, AZ, a town between the east and west sides of the Chiricahua Mountains. We were in search of a Sonora dog.

A Sonora dog is a grilled hot dog wrapped in bacon, topped with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes and mayonnaise, with a jalapeño on the side; it originated in Sonora, Mexico. The verdict? Delicious but the pepper was insanely HOT!

The next big rock in our itinerary is Death Valley National Park (next week’s episode). Enroute, we decided to explore the lower Colorado River.

Three Dams

There are three dams along the lower Colorado River.

The massive Hoover Dam between Arizona and Nevada (Wikipedia)

The 726-foot-tall Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. The well-known concrete arch-gravity dam generates electricity for millions of homes. Behind the dam is Lake Mead, the largest US reservoir. The lake is popular for recreation and provides water for 16 million people across the southwest. We toured the dam in 2001 with Liz and Phil, our children.

We visited the two other dams on the Colorado River as it flows between rugged mountain ranges.

Davis Dam is an embankment dam 70 miles downstream from the Hoover Dam. The dam is a huge pile of rocks and landfill more than a quarter mile wide and 200 feet tall. Lake Mohave backs up from the dam. The dam includes a large spillway where water is directed into hydroelectric generators.

Compared to the massive Hoover Dam, the Davis Dam was called “a dwarf – an ugly duckling of the dam family” when it was completed in 1951.

Parker Dam is between Arizona and Colorado

Parker Dam is 88 miles further down the Colorado River. Completed in 1938, the 320-foot-high concrete arch-gravity dam has the distinction of being the deepest dam in the world, with 235 feet of the dam built below the riverbed. 45-mile-long Lake Havasu backs up from the dam.

We visited Oatman, AZ as we traveled between the Parker and Davis dams; Oatman is an old mining town on Route 66 where burros roam freely

This burro found lunch in front of a store along a narrow street that runs through town

London Bridge in Arizona?

We camped several nights near Lake Havasu. The lake and town by the same name are popular recreation destinations.

The town has an interesting distinction – the London Bridge!

The REAL London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ complete with a British phone booth

The London Bridge was moved in pieces from England and reconstructed on Lake Havasu in 1971.

Crowds and Fast Boats

The waterways were crowded near the London Bridge during the Desert Storm boat parade

Boats in the boat parade included a number of powerful ‘cigarette’ boats

Traffic and crowds were very heavy as we drove into the town.

After parking near the London Bridge, we asked a bystander why so many people were at the waterfront. They said a boat parade was about to begin.

Dozens of large, high-powered boats rumbled under the London Bridge. Smaller boats paraded by as well. From time-to-time prop planes trailing smoke and helicopters flew overhead.

The parade was part of Desert Storm, one of the largest performance boating events in the western US.

We camped in Kershaw-Ryan State Park for several nights before continuing to Death Valley and hiked to the top of a canyon; the view from the four-out-of-five boot trail was beautiful

This gnarly horned toad crossed our path

Next Week

Death Valley Days

Crazy Things Ed Does While Pat Watches!

Featured

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 4)

Our Wild West Wandering continued early on a Sunday morning as we began the long drive to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far west Texas. We were thankful for Ed’s successful return from Mexico and for the pleasant temperatures while we were dry camping in Big Bend. We even had a couple heavy rain showers the evening before we left.

Marfa, Home of Mystery Lights and More

Our route took us past Marfa, TX, a remote and rather interesting west Texas town.

A few miles outside of town there is a rest stop and viewing area for the Marfa lights. The lights, visible on many clear nights across the Chihuahuan Desert near Marfa, appear in various colors as they move about, split apart, melt together, disappear and reappear.

^{Photos of Marfa lights (Google)}

The Apache believed the lights were stars dropping to the earth. In 1883, a young cowboy reported seeing them, thinking they might be campfires. Since then, there have been many speculations – UFOs, ranch house lights, vehicle headlights, St Elmo’s fire, and so on. The lights mystery remains unsolved.

Our arrival was in the morning, so the only light we saw was from the sun. Perhaps we’ll do a nighttime visit on a future trip.

Marfa, although a very small town, is known for its arts community and several renowned restaurants. There are galleries, murals and artwork throughout the town and on highways approaching the town.

Standup murals on the edge of town depict several famous western movies

Another Marfa art creation is made from shipping containers…helped by a tornado, perhaps?

About 40 miles west of Marfa (we thought it was in town) there is a Prada store. Similar to world’s smallest Buc-ees we came across east of Marfa (No Gas Pumps. No Brisket. Buc-ees?), the small building, containing shoes, handbags and other items, is an art project modeled after a Prada boutique. It doesn’t function as a place of commerce – the front door can’t be opened.

Reflections in the Prada Store window west of Marfa

Space, The Final Frontier

That afternoon we spotted a cluster of buildings several miles to the east. A highway sign indicated it was the Blue Origin launch facility, where Amazon’s New Shepard rockets are launched to the edge of space. From this location, William Shatner, Jeff Bezos, Katy Perry and others have been launched for a 66-mile-high view of earth.

Blue Origin’s remote launch facilities near Van Horn, Texas

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Looming ahead was Guadalupe Mountain, an 8751-foot-high peak that is part of a mountain range that juts up from the west Texas flatlands.

Approaching Guadalupe Mountain NP from the south

From the national park campground, hikers are challenged with a strenuous nine-mile, 3000-foot elevation gain trail to the top of the peak. A neighbor of ours encouraged us to give the hike a try, but this trail was a bit much for us.

Instead, we chose to hike the McKittrick Canyon Trail (shorter and much less elevation change) to Pratt Cabin. The stone cabin, built in the early 1930s by Wallace Pratt, and surrounding land, were donated in 1961. We were intrigued by the roof of the building – flat pieces of stone grouted together – and were appreciative of rocking chairs on the front porch, where we ate our lunch.

Hiking the McKittrick Canyon Trail in Guadalupe Mountains NP

Relaxing on the porch of Pratt Cabin before our return hike to the parking lot

Lots to See In Las Cruces, NM

In west Texas and near Las Cruces, NM there are huge groves of pecan trees. The trees are flooded so they flourish in the desert

A large roadrunner statue in an eastbound I-10 rest area near Las Cruces is made from recycled items

World’s largest Chile pepper (Ed added for scale). The 47-foot pepper is next to a Las Cruces hotel – the Big Chile Inn of course!

Evening view in the Rockhound State Park

New Mexico Rockhounds

Continuing west, we camped at Rockhound State Park, located on the rugged slopes of New Mexico’s Florida Mountains. Park visitors are encouraged to take home samples of rocks and minerals.

Pat transformed into a ‘rockhound’, complete with hand shovel, gloves, arm protectors and collection bag. We searched for agates, geodes, opals, jasper and other rocks amidst prickly pear clumps and desert bushes along the two trails in the park.

Pat had a great time searching for rocks

There is a variety of cacti throughout the park, many with colorful blooms

Gila Cliff Dwellings

The next day we drove north to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. We followed a 25-mile winding road with views of the remote Gila Wilderness area to reach the park. It was established in 1907 by Theodore Roosevelt to protect prehistoric materials and culture of Mogollon people and others who inhabited the area.

A half mile trail leads to the dwellings that are tucked in caves in the sides of a cliff. Similar to cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde NP, one can walk along stone walls into various rooms and peer into other rooms via strategically placed ladders. There is even a storage area containing corn cobs more than 800 years old!

A view across the largest of the cliff dwellings

Pat descends a ladder from the largest of the dwellings

The dwellings, lived in by around 40 persons, are in excellent condition, with more than 80% of the original structures still intact. The Mogollon people moved from the dwellings around 1300 AD, possibly due to changes in the climate.

Hat Rescue

We descended a 20-foot ladder to the trail that would take us back to the parking lot. A sudden gust of wind blew off my hat and we watched it roll down the canyon side. It’s gone for good, we decided.

The arrow shows where my hat landed after being blown from my head

Fortunately, the hat landed on a ledge about 50 yards below us, not far from a steep dropoff to the canyon floor.

I resolved to rescue the hat. With nothing to reach or snag it, Pat anxiously watched as I passed by an area with loose stones and made my way down a gentle rockface just above the hat. I laid down on my back and after several minutes of scooting past cacti and large rocks, I finally reached the hat and safely tucked it into my shirt. Pat guided me as I scooted back up the rockface and finally stood on solid ground.

I carefully scooted back up the slope after rescuing my hat

Hat retrieved, I make my way back to safety

My hat (and I) live for another day!

Next Week

Happy cows and race boats.

Stranded in Mexico?

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 3)

Our 2026 Wild West Wander continues with a three-day visit to Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend is remote, rugged and beautiful

There’s a border crossing to Mexico in the park. After eating lunch in Boquillas, a small Mexican town across the Rio Grande River, we returned to the US. At the US border control building, I handed the border agent our passports. He checked a computer screen and handed my passport back to me.

“Mr. Thompson, I am sorry you don’t have a valid US passport.”

Mild panic started to set in as I sat there. Would I be stranded in Mexico?

Find out below!

Big Bend Geography

Take a look at a Texas map. Big Bend National Park is located where the Rio Grande River makes a big U-turn through southwest Texas. On one side is the United States, on the other, Mexico. The headwaters of the Rio Grande are in Colorado, far from the river’s passage through Big Bend. We were surprised that not much of the river is from US sources because of irrigation, dams, agriculture, manufacturing and evaporation. The water in the river that one sees in the park is primarily from Mexico’s Rio Conchos.

Big Bend is remote, rugged and beautiful. The park is more than 80 miles south of Marathon, a small town that is remote itself. The highway takes you past Chihuahuan desert scrubs, prickly pear cactus clumps, and gangly ocotillo stands, with rugged mountains in the distance.

Windshield view of mountains on the way to Chisos Mountain Basin

We visited Big Bend in 1986 in a converted Chevrolet van, our first RV. Notice the mountains above are similar to those in the prior photo

After nearly two hours of driving, we continued up a winding, steep road to reach an area in the midst of the mountains, the Chisos Mountains Basin.

Pat and our daughter Liz eat dinner during our first visit to Big Bend in July 1986

The basin is a popular destination during the late spring and summer because the temps are noticeably cooler than those in the desert below. A lodge, restaurant, campground and great hiking trails are welcome amenities.

Before sunrise the next morning we arose to hike a challenging trail to the Window, a narrow, V-shaped area between the mountains that has a view of the desert below. Sunlight touched the tops of the mountains as we ate breakfast sandwiches prepared the night before. After admiring the view for a few minutes, we began the steep hike back to the campground.

The sun touched the mountain tops as we descended to the Window

Posing at the Window, with the desert far below us

We took a short side trail to get a broader view of the desert and saw four Aoudads (Barbary sheep) across the canyon. Later that day, a ranger told us that Aoudads were introduced to area game ranches in recent years and are now being removed because they are considered to be an invasive species.

Two Canyons

On the western side of the park the Rio Grande flows through Santa Elena Canyon, an impressive limestone gorge with 1500-foot walls. We hiked into the gorge where it is was shaded and cool. People were wading across the river and touching the walls on the other side, thus becoming impromptu visitors to Mexico.

Further into the Santa Elena Canyon hikers waded across the Rio Grande

At the opposite side of Big Bend, the river exits through another limestone chasm, Boquillas Canyon.

Souvenirs from Mexico along the trail to Boquillas Canyon

Along the trail to the canyon there were assortments of Mexican souvenirs, each with locked cashboxes for payment. Nearby Park Service signs warn that visitors could be fined if they purchase the illegal trailside items!

Wild horses cross the Rio Grande to Mexico

Nearing the gorge, we watched a chestnut mare and her white colt graze on underwater grasses. They waded across the river to a beach on the Mexican side and we wondered about their country of citizenship.

Javelina in the Rio Grande Village campground

That evening we camped near Boquillas Canyon in the Rio Grande Village. As we ate dinner (inside Pap), nearly a dozen javelina wandered about nearby. We read they can be ferocious, but these wild pigs seemed at ease among the tents and RVs.

A large number of dinosaur bones have been found in Big Bend and are on display

Cast of Alamosaurus femur found in Big Bend – the long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur was up to 80 feet long and weighed up to 65,000 pounds!

Lunch in Mexico

Like dozens of Big Bend visitors each day, we walked from the US border control building to the Rio Grande. A young Mexican man walked us across the river in less than five minutes.

We were in Mexico!

Boquillas, our lunch destination, is a small town about a half mile up a dusty dirt road from the river. While others ride burros or horses into town, we chose to walk.

Some visitors ride burros into Boquillas – we walked

Christian, a Mexican boy in fifth grade, was our guide to Boquillas. He spoke no English and we only knew a few Spanish words

At Boquillas Restaurant, one of two restaurants in the small town, we sat with a couple from Arkansas where we shared our mutual travel experiences. Lunch was tortilla chips, salsa and amazing guacamole, and a combo plate that included carnitas tacos.

Carnitas? Goat, of course.

We ate lunch on the front porch of Boquillas Restaurant

Marvelous chips, salsa and fresh guacamole (with jalapenos on the side)

After lunch we browsed several souvenir stands along the dusty street and made our way back to the river crossing.

Stranded in Mexico?

Back at the US border control building, we learned my passport had expired. We wondered and prayed about the outcome.

Would I have to return to Mexico? Send Pat home to get my valid passport? Pay a big fine? Something else?

After the border agent helped several others reenter the US, he made a call and then had me enter information about myself on his computer. He submitted the information and we waited several tense minutes for an outcome.

My US return was approved! We breathed huge sighs of relief and praised God as we were welcomed back to the US.

(Before leaving on our Wild West Wander, I retrieved the two passports on top of the other items in our safe deposit box. Somewhere further down is my valid passport. We resolved to VERY carefully check passports and other documentation before future trips)

Next Week

We continue west to New Mexico. Pat searches for rocks and I retrieve a wayward hat in the shadows of an ancient cliff dwelling.

Hot Sauce and Big Buns!

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(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 2)

We continued west toward the Land of Buc-ees, crossing a crazy high bridge across the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, LA. At 175 feet, the narrow four lane bridge is the highest on the Mississippi River!

Another long bridge was ahead – the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. The 18-mile-long parallel bridge was at the time the second longest bridge in the world when completed in 1973, behind the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.

There’s something about long bridges in Louisiana, huh!

Hot Sauce on the Bayou

On the edge of a west Louisiana bayou, we toured the home of Tabasco Sauce, a popular spicy condiment that has been burning taste buds for nearly 160 years.

Red tabasco peppers are used to make Tabasco Sauce. The ripe peppers are one-to-two inches long when picked

Family tradition has it that Tabasco sauce inventor Edmund McIlhenny obtained pepper seeds from a Mexican War veteran in 1852. He claimed the seeds, from the State of Tabasco, Mexico, produced peppers of especially fine flavor. McIlhenny planted them at Avery Island, the family plantation near New Iberia, LA, and the quality of the peppers was so good, they became the basis of the flavorful hot sauce.

Today peppers used to produce Tabasco sauce are grown in Louisiana, South and Central America and Africa. Fourteen varieties of sauce (including super hot Scorpion Sauce and Raspberry Chipotle) and a variety of other spicy products are available.

Mashed tabasco peppers are stored in oak barrels and aged for up to three years

Pepper mash is blended with high quality distilled vinegar and stirred periodically in 1800-gallon wooden vats

Before bottling, skins and seeds are removed and the sauce is tested for consistency, color, heat levels and other qualities.

We sampled a variety of Tabasco-flavored products including chocolate and ice cream

The Geography of a Long, Long Road

The next day we started across Texas.

Interstate 10 spans nearly 880 miles from Orange in east Texas to a few miles past El Paso in the far west, about one-third of the distance across the US.

El Paso is 72 miles closer to western end of I-10 near Los Angeles than it is to Orange. and Orange is almost 100 miles closer to the eastern end of I-10 in Jacksonville, FL than it is to El Paso!

A Family Visit and Surprise in Boerne, TX

We spent the night near Boerne, TX, where we visited with my brother Jim and sister-in-law Mary. (Boerne is at I-10 milepost 341, not even halfway across the state!)

That morning we rose early to research an unexpected find at Richter Bakhous in Boerne.

The Bakhous has become famous for HUGE cinnamon buns.

Our cinnamon bun was massive – it filled the takeout box, and iced to perfection, nicely flavored and pillowy in texture. We split the bun and still had some left over for another breakfast.

Texas-sized cinnamon bun from Richter Bakhaus (fork added for scale)

In 2023, we evaluated amazing (and huge) buns in Alaska and along the Alcan Highway in Canada. We wondered how a bun from less than a dozen miles from my brother’s home in Texas would compare.

The result? See the end of this episode below.

Ancient Art

Further west in Texas, we visited Seminole Canyon State Park. Near the Rio Grande River, the area is arid, with scrubby cedars and large clumps of prickly pear cacti. This is the land of tarantula spiders and rattlesnakes. Fortunately, we didn’t see any.

We hiked along the rim of Seminole Canyon before taking the Fate Bell Shelter tour

Texas state park ranger Tonya led us along the canyon bottom to the ancient artwork

Ranger Tonya provided history as we walked along the sheltered area

Fate Bell Shelter art – some is nearly 9000 years old!

This sculpture at the top Seminole Canyon was created using elements of the antient artwork

We were led by Ranger Tonya nearly 200 feet down a steep cliff to several overhangs where ancient indigenous artwork is preserved in the Fate Bell Shelter. The art dates back to nearly 7000 BC and is believed to be some of the oldest in North America. The shelter is named for Fayette Bell, one time owner of the land.

Excavations of the overhangs occurred in 1932 and later in 1963. Texas Parks and Wildlife purchased the land and opened the park in 1980.

Texas vs Alaska vs Yukon: The Best Bun

The Boerne bun was a VERY close third place to the winner bun from Braeburn Lodge in Yukon and a second-place bun from Chicken, Alaska.

First place bun from Braeburn Lodge near Whitehorse, Yukon (Pat added for scale)

Third place or not, the Boerne bun was the best we’ve had in the lower 48. We will continue this important research as our RabbiTRAILS travels continue!

Next Week

We explore Big Bend National Park, including expansive desert areas, rugged mountains and the Rio Grande River. Our visit includes crossing the river into Mexico, where we enjoy lunch and an unexpected event on our return to the US.

Angels, Dragons and A Water Crossing

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(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 1)

As with many of our past road trips, our 2026 Wild West Wander started with an overnight visit with our daughter, Liz, and her family in Georgia. We had an early 6^th birthday celebration for Emilia, our granddaughter.

As we prepared to leave, Liz and husband Josh, Emilia and Henry, our 8-year-old grandson, posed for a photo. You’ve heard and probably said it a million times about children and/or grandchildren: “They’re growing up too fast!”

An Air Show at an Old Fort

From Georgia we traveled southwest to Santa Rosa Island on the Gulf of America. We camped at Fort Pickens, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The campground and fort are located on barrier islands across the bay from Pensacola, FL.

The 15-inch cannons at Fort Pickens each weighed 50,000 pounds and could fire a 450-pound solid projectile three miles

Fort Pickens was one of several forts in the area constructed after the War of 1812 to protect Pensacola Bay, the location of a navy yard, depot, naval timber reserve and more. As warfare technology and strategies changed, the forts were abandoned decades later.

The campground is close to the western tip of Santa Rosa Island, more than seven miles from the heavily developed eastern end of island. We biked to the end of the island where we explored the partially reconstructed fort. We peeked into passageways and storerooms, and climbed to elevated areas where huge cannons once targeted ships attempting to enter Pensacola Bay.

The US Navy Blue Angels were scheduled to practice during our stay and we, along with hundreds of other spectators, enjoyed amazing (and noisy) aerial maneuvers for nearly an hour. The Blue Angels are based at Pensacola Naval Air Station across the bay.

The Blue Angels do a low pass in Delta Formation

Soaring over Ft Pickens in Parade Formation

The day ended with a sunset walk along the white sand beach a ten-minute walk from the campground.

Waves approach a sandcastle during a Santa Rosa Island sunset

Dragons and Swans at Bellingrath Gardens

From Fort Pickens and Pensacola, we continued west across Mobile Bay where we visited Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, AL. Pat and her family visited the gardens to see the azaleas and other flowers when she was seven.

Blooming azaleas at Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile (from Google)

Although our timing wasn’t ideal – azaleas and camelias had recently finished blooming and hydrangeas, roses and other spring flowers had not yet started to bloom – we did enjoy colorful displays being setup for the Gulf Coast Chinese Lantern Festival later this spring.

Colorful dragon display set up for Gulf Coast Chinese Lantern Festival at Bellingrath Gardens

Another beautiful display at Bellingrath Gardens

A Louisiana Bike Ride

We continued across the narrow southern ‘handles’ of Alabama and Mississippi and camped at Fontainebleau State Park in Louisiana.

From the park, we rode a portion of the Tammany Trace, a former Illinois Central Railroad rail corridor converted to a paved hike and bike trail.

Lunch on the bayou – Shrimp Po-boy and sauteed Brussels Sprouts

We rode to Mandeville, a quaint bedroom community north of New Orleans, where we ate lunch at Nan’s New Orleans Café. We shared a shrimp po-boy and sauteed Brussels sprouts. The crusty French bread sandwich was covered with fried shrimp and dressed with lettuce, sliced tomato, mayonnaise and dill pickles. The sprouts were tender, flavored with onion and bacon. As they say, anything tastes better with bacon, even Brussels sprouts!

Fontainebleau State Park is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We spoke with a man and his wife fishing from a pier that extends into the lake. He told us that a variety of fresh and saltwater fish can be caught in the lake’s brackish waters. He was hoping to catch a shark, claiming it was some of the best fried ‘fish’ he ever had.

Crossing the World’s Longest Bridge

The lake above is bisected north-to-south by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. Percy (sans Pap) carried us across the 23-mile-long bridge and back, a one-hour roundtrip. The New Orleans skyline was visible during part of the drive.

Halfway across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway – where is the shore?

Halfway across, between mileposts 11 and 12, land is not visible ahead or behind. It was like being at sea!

Next Week

Hot sauce on the bayou, lunch with my brother and his wife, and Native American art at a remote canyon near the Rio Grande. And a special surprise from Richter Bakhaus in Boerne, TX reminiscent of our travels to Alaska in 2023.

Celebrating Birthdays and a New Series!

Featured

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 0)

2026 Wild West Wander

Join us as we wander west to find new RabbiTRAILS

We’ll

visit National Parks – Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, and Death Valley, Sequoia and Yosemite in California
camp on the edge of Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain, scratch for rocks and explore cliff dwellings in New Mexico, and examine Native American drawings on canyon walls in west Texas
hike to amazing geologic formations at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona and admire the rugged splendor of the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho
And to top it all off, we hope to spend July 4 at Mt Rushmore for our nation’s 250^th birthday.

Come along for these adventures and more as we embark on our 2026 Wild West Wander series!

On March 30 we celebrated Pap’s third birthday.

Pap has been our travel companion to Alaska (2023), Great Lakes and New England (2024) and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and Beyond (2025). Closer to home, we’ve camped in the Florida Keys, Everglades NP and at a number of other Florida state parks.

(2023) Remote camping on the Denali Highway in Alaska

(2024) Crossing a covered bridge in New Hampshire

(2025) Visiting Chimney Rock in western Nebraska, an important landmark to 19th century pioneers on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails

We’re thankful for God’s protection during several travel mishaps, including frayed wires (above), flat tires, bent jack legs and a cave scrape that damaged Pap’s roof

In three years, we’ve camped 401 nights in Pap and expect to surpass 500 nights during our 2026 Wild West Wander!

Next Week

Enjoy a smorgasbord of RabbiTRAILS: an old fort, high flying jets, and the world’s longest bridge all made flavorful with a sprinkle of bayou hot sauce.