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!

(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

(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!

(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.