We were up early today, having decided that we needed to get a jump on a hike before the heat set in. There are hot springs on this side of the campground, and we found a trail headed that way.  This area had been settled by farmers who built pumps and irrigation ditches to grow crops. After all the rocks and dirt we saw yesterday, this was an unexpected change. I knew the river was there, just wasn't expecting to see ditches full of water and puddles around.  The first part of the hike was to the top of a hill/mountain, then the real goes back down the other side and follows the river to the springs. It was cool this morning, but as soon as we started up the trail it warmed up quick. At the top was a great overlook of the river.  We both were thinking it, and once we saw this sign at the top decided we would pass on a long hike.  I was already worried about how hot it would be on the way back, which meant climbing up and down this mountain all over again...

I woke up right at sunrise and had a beautiful view of the beginning of our day.  We decided to hike one of the more popular trails in the park, Lost Mine Trail. We were lucky to get the last open spot in the parking area, but since we had kind of a late start there were people on their way back down already.  During the hike we saw a mule deer and this cool Mexican Jay. The trail was 5 miles total, out and back, and about half the time was in the shade. Uphill the whole way, which meant we had some awesome views at the peak. At the top we met a lady who said she was hiking Big Bend for her 70th birthday, and her birthday wish was that everyone she met in the park will still be hiking when they are 70. I'm going to give it my best shot. We stopped for lunch on the way back down, found a perfect shady spot with an excellent breeze and ate shelf stable tamales, which are surprisingly good. After the hike we drove further into the C...

We woke up early, both excited to get on the road since today was our first day at Big Bend.  Made a quick stop at the grocery store just down the road to stock up on a few final things. I'd rate H.E.B. 9/10 as far as grocery stores go.  We had about 5-6 hours of driving today, lots on the same road. Unfortunately, this road had lots of bridge construction so lots of temporary stop lights over areas that were one lane. The two lane parts were pretty rough - Joe says it was like chip and seal with #4 rocks. The last decent sized town before the park is Fort Stockton. We stopped to fill up our water jugs, last minute van maintenance, and another store for some backup sunscreen.  Texas had been pretty flat so far, but we were finally starting to see some hills as the landscaped changed.  Made one last fuel stop in Marathon.  There's fuel in the park, but it's going to be pricey. Stopped and paid our entrance fee, $30 for the week...

Casino parking lot was a pretty quiet spot to sleep for the night. Barely any road noise. I did wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of a plastic cup blowing across the whole parking lot.  We went back into the casino to use the bathroom before heading out, and against my better judgement I took my $42 winnings from last night and immediately lost it all. Surprising amount of people inside for 8am. We decided to avoid tolls for the rest of the state, and the road we choose took us past lots of cows, a crazy looking high school made of a bunch of round buildings, and what I swear was a pet camel in a backyard.  Once we crossed into Texas we were on an extremely long, extremely boring stretch of highway. Very flat, scrubby little trees, lots of land. Joe pointed out a Catholic Church a block over on on his side of the road and the words "it's abandoned" were barely out of my mouth before he had his turn signal on.  Great stop, and surprising how un-vandalized the...