Tag: hiking

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That’s One Big Bend

This year for Mardi Gras, we decided to pull the trigger and head to the southern border, and visit Big Bend National Park. We had been hesitant about the time of year because Texas got a really bad snow storm over Mardi Gras a few years back. Thankfully, that is a rarity, and we had terrific weather (lows in the 50s, highs in the 80s).

We flew into Midland, which is a solid 3+ hour drive, but it is the closest major airport. Something to in mind is that there are plans to renovate the Chisos Basin area in the near future, which will shut down much of the park. Those plans have been pushed several times though, so check before making any plans. Something else to consider is that, evidently, Homeland Security has plans to build part of the border wall directly through the park.

Politics aside, I hope that this doesn’t come to fruition. It would mar much of the natural beauty and would render certain excursions no longer possible. This is not an area where illegal crossings occur, as there is nothing on either side of the border for several hundred miles. If it does come to pass, much of what we did might not be available, so keep that in mind.

What We Did

River Tour: We used a group called Big Bend Boating and Hiking, which offers all sorts of excursions, including several river tours. We did a half day tour that actually started in Big Bend State Park. We canoed through Dark Canyon for about two hours, bouncing back and forth between the US and Mexico side. It was a great time, and a great way to see a lot of the area.

Boquillas Mexico Tour: One of the best things to do is visit the small town of Boquillas just across the Rio Grande. You can do this on your own or go with a guide. We used the same company that took us boating. We first did a short 1.5 mile hike in Boquillas canyon, which was optional, but also a very nice introduction to the area. You get ferried across the river, which is only about two feet deep and then have the option to walk, ride a truck or ride a burrow about half a mile into town.

Once you get into town, there are plenty of little shops to buy souvenirs, a few restaurants and a couple of other touristy things. We ate at Jose Falcons (goat tacos), which was excellent. Our son took the opportunity to drive golf balls from the back of a small Mexican’s house into the desert.

I strongly recommend you take the donkeys, and don’t forget to bring a pretty decent amount of cash and your passports.

Hiking: There are all sorts of trails of various lengths, so I recommend doing a lot of research into what makes the most sense for you.

The Window Trail is one of the most popular trails in the park. You can start from the normal trailhead or the amphitheater trailhead, which has more parking. The amphitheater route is a bit shorter, but you end up walking from the lot about 3 tenths of a mile. The round trip, out and back is about 5 miles one way or the other. The payoff at the end is really interesting, but you should keep in mind that this a downhill out, so on the way back, be prepared to walk back up.

The Lost Mine Trail is another very popular trail, and probably the one with the most difficult parking. We went by at around 8:30 am, and the very small parking lot was already full. This was when we did the Window Trail, but on the way out, a spot opened up, so we decided to pull the trigger on the Lost Mine as well. This made our day of hiking over 10 miles, but it was worth it.

The Lost Mine Trail is great. It’s relatively strenuous on the way, but the payoff at the top is spectacular. While I enjoyed the Window, the windblown landscape at the top of the Lost Mine Trail is nothing short of spectacular.

Also in this area, Chisos Basin, is the Window View Trail. Be sure not to confuse these, as one is about 4 tenths of a mile and the other quite a bit more. We did both, just to knock everything in Chisos out. It’s an easy, paved loop, and we actually saw a small herd of deer, so for us, it was worth it.

The Grapevine Hill Trail is outside of Chisos off the main road, and requires that you have an adequate vehicle. We were in a Suburban, which was fine, and probably overkill. I am not sure a 4WD, high clearance vehicle is actually necessary, but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable in a Honda Civic. The trail is pretty fun. It is a very graduate incline for the 1 mile way out, culminating in a rock scramble that leads to Balance Rock. If you’ve got a car that can handle it and enjoy a good climb, I definitely recommend it.

The Tuff Canyon Overlook really isn’t a hike, but a very short path with a few canyon overlooks. It is worth it if you’re taking the Ross Maxwell Drive, as the canyon is pretty cool

The same thing goes for the Mule Ears Overlook and the Sotol Vista Overlook. Neither is really a trail, but there are some really nice views. We weren’t there at the right time, but I think Sotol would be a great place to watch the sunset.

The Santa Elena Canyon trail was my favorite of the trip. At the end of the Ross Maxwell Drive, there’s a great trail with decent parking that takes you into the canyon itself. If you’re an All Trails user, keep your eyes open. For one, it is not 1.6 miles but more like 2.5, and two, the trail on the app isn’t super accurate.

You take the trail over the beach, then cross a rock bridge over an offshoot of the river and climb up a few switch backs. On the way back down, you go through several tunnels of tall grass that really block out any sound and are almost eerie. At the end, you can walk out onto several rock formations that give great views deep into the canyon. This trail is not to be missed.

Where We Stayed

Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa: I know this sounds fancy, and it kind of was, but we had a very nice experience. The positives are that the resort is well done, has a few restaurants, a pool, a bar and ice cream. The negative is that it’s a good 45 minutes to the park entrance. We looked at other options which I’ll discuss, but even with the distance, we found this worked best for us.

In the small town of Terlingua, there are a few motels and lodges, but none of them looked very nice. There are also several AirBnB options, like igloos and tent style tiny homes. The reason we passed on these is that most didn’t have their own restrooms. The ones that did were super expensive

There is also a lodge in Chisos Basin, which is open at the moment but is planned to be remodeled. They appears very rustic, but certainly would be the most convenient if you were willing to eat most of your meals in the park.

Where We Ate

Believe it or not, there are several really good restaurants in the Terlingua area, which as mentioned, is about halfway between Big Bend and Lajitas.

Upon arrival, we stopped at the Starlight Theater, by far the most popular restaurant in the area. It’s housed in a remodeled adobe building, and they have expanded to include a general store and an outdoor bar. It opens at 4:30 pm and evidently, if you want to eat right away, you need to get there at 4. When we arrived, we were told it would be an hour and half plus wait, so we visited the store, went to the bar and ordered a few drinks, along with chips and queso.

The wait turned out to be less than 45 minutes, so don’t be put off. The experience was incredible, 5 stars, but the food is probably only 3.5 stars or so. Everything was good, and they’ve got great local offerings like antelope and quail, but it wasn’t the best food of the trip.

Long Draw Pizza is probably the second busiest restaurant in the area, and is actually just a bit outside of Terlingua. It was mostly full when we arrived, and a lot of the seating is communal, but we did not have to wait long. This was my favorite meal of the trip. The pizza was great, the beer was cold, and we went after our 10 mile hike day. It’s hard to beat a pizza after a long day on the trails.

On our third night, we ate at High Sierra Bar and Grill. This is part of a hotel, and the food was good, but it was definitely the meal we enjoyed the least. It’s kind of an odd place staffed by odd people, but we had a nice experience.

DB’s Rustic BBQ was our last stop, and it was great. There was live music, the people were very friendly, and the food was classic Texas BBQ (don’t skip the sausage).

What We Didn’t Do

We had at one point booked a UTV tour of the area, but it was canceled for insurance reasons. Had we wanted, we could have booked with another company and fudged on Clara’s age, but we felt we were already pushing it to see everything within the park itself.

We were hoping to eat at Taqueria el Milago, the reportedly best Mexican restaurant in town, but when we arrived, we realized it was BYOB, and we didn’t bring any. I get this makes it seem like we might have a problem, but sometimes all you want after a long day of hiking is an ice cold beer.

The one trail that we didn’t get to, about which I’d heard great things, was the Upper Burro Mesa Trail. If we’d had one more day, it would have been a nice 3.6 mile hike, but we simply couldn’t find the right time.

If the mood strikes you to drive south into the desert, I strongly recommend you stop at Big Bend. It is really nothing short of spectacular and has something for everyone. Plan ahead, as you’ll want to know if Chisos is open or closed and if someone split the park in two with a huge wall. I think if Chisos had been closed, we would have waited, but even without it, there’s still a lot to do.

Next up for the Traveling Igoes is our annual Easter/baseball trip. We’ll be flying into Pittsburgh and out of Detroit, so stay tuned.

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A Mammoth Adventure

For the past two years, our family has taken a short trip over the kids’ fall break. If you don’t recall having a fall break as a child, keep in mind that you are not alone. I never had one until college, but evidently, it is common place these days, especially in private schools. The rule, apparently, is that the more money you pay, the less time your kids actually spend at the school, but I digress.

Last year, we went to Hot Springs National Park and Little Rock in Arkansas. Two years prior, we spent the break in Washington D.C. We decided that this short break is a good time to travel to National Park Service cites that are close to bigger cities. There are several National Parks near major airports or within a short drive. This year we choose Mammoth Cave.

Several factors played into this decision. For one, Mammoth Cave National Park is less than an hour and a half north of Nashville, and we were able to fly direct on Southwest from New Orleans to Nashville both ways. Second, and just as important, compared to some National Parks, Mammoth Cave has very few COVID restrictions. The park in general, the lodging and the visitor’s center were all open.

We left in the middle of the day on Friday, just as Hurricane Delta was making land fall in western Louisiana. This season has been more active than any I can recall, but so far, we have been lucky. We landed at BNA in time for dinner, and headed into town. We unintentionally ended up at a restaurant called Ole Red on Broadway. We had not planned ahead for dinner, so looked up something close to where we were that was family friendly.

While I cannot deny that Ole Red is family friendly, I was unaware that in Nashville, Broadway would be akin to Bourbon Street in New Orleans or Beale Street in Memphis. There were heavy crowds, long lines and a lot of bachelorette parties. The food was good, including the hot chicken sandwich, and they had a kids’ menu. We all enjoyed the live music, but did not linger, as we felt quite out of place. This is no fault of anyone but ourselves, and I would definitely recommend Ole Red under the right circumstances.

From there, we drove north about half an hour and stayed at a Holiday Inn. While there is often little special about a Holiday Inn, we always find them clean and accommodating. The morning of the second day, we woke up early headed for Kentucky. First off, we had scheduled a canoe trip with Green River Canoeing, Inc., on the Nolin River. Unfortunately, the rain from the Gulf hurricane followed us, and we got a call saying that the trip had to be cancelled. It ended up barely sprinkling, but I understand the need for safety.

Instead, we went straight to the park and checked into our lodge. We stayed in the park itself, at The Lodge at Mammoth Cave. While the cabins were rustic, they were perfect for out family. There was running water and electricity, but no air conditioning or TVs. It was perfect for this trip.

Since our day had to be rearranged, we went to the cave and arranged a tour. The earliest we could get was at 2:30 pm, so once we got tickets, we loaded back into the car and headed north. While it was not part of our original itinerary, it turns out that Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace is only an hour from Mammoth Cave.

This might have actually been my favorite part of the trip. The kids were able to stamp their passport books and get Junior Ranger badges, and we were all able to see the cabin in which Lincoln was born. In memory of old #16, a monument with 56 steps has been built and enshrines the cabin. The visitor’s center has a great video and there is a lot to see. While this was not part of original plan, I think it ended up being just as worthwhile as any other part of our trip.

Once we finished the tour, we turned around and headed back to Mammoth Cave. The only major COVID restriction in the park is that only one, self-guided tour of the caves is available. There are actually dozens of different tours, and if they were available, I think we would have done one each day. That said, the self guided historic tour is quite impressive, and gives park-goers a really well-rounded, broad cave experience.

I plan to touch more on the cave itself as we go on, but suffice it to say that Mammoth Cave is one of the most awe-inspiring things that I have ever seen. I relate it to an underground version of the Grand Canyon, and while it does not receive the same notoriety, it is something that every American should see.

After finishing the tour, we headed north again to a distillery that is part of the craft bourbon trail. Kentucky is well-known for producing some of the finest bourbon in the world, so my wife and I felt we would be remiss to not experience it. The Boundary Oak Distillery is also only about an hour north of Mammoth Cave. It is a small operation, but really well done.

My wife and I paid $8 a person for a tasting, which included six different bourbons, while the kids spent some time on their iPads. Boundary offers several different house-made bourbons that are each distinct, and are sold in bottles featuring icons from American history, including Abraham Lincoln and General Patton.

We ate at a BBQ place called Mark’s Feed Store. This is a local chain, and to say that the staff was friendly is an understatement. Frankly, I hope that people from Louisiana treat visitors as well as the Kentuckians; a more hospitable group would be hard to find. The food was great, and was really a perfect way to end our first day in bluegrass state.

We woke up early on Sunday and set out for a quick hike. One of the great things about Mammoth Cave NP is that it offers dozens of miles of above ground trails appropriate for all ages, in addition to the underground wonders. We combined the River Styx Spring Trail, the Green River Trail and the Dixon Cave trail to make about 1.5 mile trail that offered beautiful views of the river and another smaller cave entrance in the area.

Around noon, we drove to the Double J Stables, where the kids and I did a five mile horse ride through the north end of the park. One of my main goals on these trips is to continue to familiarize the kids with outdoor living. Getting them on the water, getting them on a horse, getting them on the trails is something that I hope builds character and helps them to grow to be well-rounded adults.

We drove back, and at the suggestion of the guides from the stables, embarked upon the Sinkhole Trail. Aside from the cave itself, this was the most striking thing we saw. It was 1.5 miles round trip, but included over 150 stairs. The entire area is a sinkhole, and this trails leads all the way down to the bottom whilst staying above ground. It was definitely more taxing than any of our other hikes, but the payoff was fantastic.

There are not a whole lot of restaurants in the area, but we initially found what sounded like a decent steak house. I am a bit embarrassed to say that when we found out that they did not serve alcohol, we decided to go elsewhere. Say what you like, but sometimes, you just need to be able to sit down and have a drink. We found a Mexican restaurant called El Mazatlan, and while it was nothing special, it hit the spot. We actually saw several other families that were staying in the park eating there as well.

On Monday, our flight was not until the early afternoon, so we made a reservation for a zip line tour with Adventures of Mammoth Cave. The actual tour was great, but the guides showed up 45 minutes late, to the point that we almost left. My wife and kids said it was worth the wait though, so I guess we cannot complain too much.

While the three of them zipped through the sky, the baby and I set off on our own adventure, a short hike nearby, less than half a mile, called the Sand Cave Trail. Shocking enough, this trail leads to the entrance of Sand Cave. Of note, one can only go to the entrance but not inside, as several years ago, a man became trapped and actually died in the Sand Cave. It seems to me like the cave should have been renamed after that, but those decisions are not mine to make. That said, this is an easy trail with a cool payoff at the end, so I definitely recommend it if you are looking to add something.

I picked up the rest of the family, and we headed back to Tennessee. We had a bit of time, so instead of stopping in Nashville, we went through to Murfreesboro where we stopped at the Stones Creek National Battlefield. We did a short driving tour, and the kids got their passports stamped. We inquired about the Junior Ranger program, but the rangers present were not particularly helpful or friendly, so we decided to go without.

The flight home was uneventful, which is always nice with a three-month old, and we made it home safely. I recall having a great time at Mammoth Cave as a six year old, and this trip did not disappoint. The cave is beautiful, and the surrounding area provided us with plenty extra to do. If you are looking for an easy but memorable trip, Mammoth Cave should definitely be on your list.