Wading the Rio Grande in Big Bend

First sunrise here at Maverick RV.  We were getting ready to head out when we heard a knock on our door.  Carol opened the door to find Debbie, the lady we met at Davis Mountains State Park.  The Shelby Mustang group was forming a caravan to drive from this park to Presidio so she looked us up.  We walked to see the cars as they get in line and talked to her a bit more.  What a surprise that she remembered that we were from Illinois and would be camping at Maverick.  She is such a nice lady.

 

The Mustangs lining up.  Debbie and her husband David's car is the second from the last.  It is white with a silver stripe.

This is the leader of the pack.  It is a 1967 Shelby and is owned by the assistant park superintendent of Big Bend.  He is the president of the group.  I guess that is why the rally is held here.  I did not know anything about Shelby Mustangs.  They were developed by a chicken farmer here in Texas. He personally signed the earliest ones.  Most of the cars at this rally have his signature inside the car on the dash.  His name is Carroll Shelby.

After saying goodbye to Debbie (a second time) we headed to Big Bend to take the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.  

We took this picture at the beginning of the drive and didn't know at the time that one of the formations in this picture is called "Mule Ears."

This is Tuff Canyon.  There is a trail into the canyon but we opted to make our hike of the day the one to Santa Elene Canyon.

We are wearing long-sleeved shirts because it was cool this morning for a change.

This is where the trail to Santa Elena Canyon begins.

To get to the beginning of the trail, you have to wade across the Rio Grande.  Not sure if we crossed into Mexico by doing this or not.  We had been told by other hikers that your shoes would get wet. I carried by Crocs and a towel in my backpack so my shoes did not get wet.  I changed into the Crocs on one side and then back into my tennis shoes on the other side.  So glad I heeded their warning. 

Others trying to decide whether to wade or not.

The trail immediately begin to climb up one side of a canyon.  The trail was 1.7 miles round trip.

The closer to the end of the canyon, the lower the trail went.

Made it to the end of the trail.

These canoers avoided the steep trail.

This picture is proof that we made it to the end.

Carol did not heed the warning of fellow hikers so he removed his shoes and walked barefoot across the river.  We were surprised the water was cold.

This picture was taken from the "Mule Ears" overlook.

In the early 1950's a man named Sam Nail and his wife tried to ranch here.  This old windmill and another windmill he put up are still standing.  One of the windmills is still pumping water.

This is all that is left of their house.

It was a very nice day.  We enjoyed the hike and the drive on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.  The temperatures were in the 70's.  We got to talk again to a new friend, Debbie.  It has cooled down and we both are wearing long sleeved shirts/sweatshirts.  Should be great sleeping tonight.  Tomorrow we plan to go to the Chisos Basin area of the park.  We have been told it is very beautiful.  We do not have any long hikes planned.  We hope to get out to the park early and return to camp earlier than we have the last few days.