Big Bend National Park 2 and Javelinas

Dec. 16th, Sunday . (This post is picture heavy.... for my kids and grands)

 As I left Boquillas Canyon, I headed back towards Panther Junction. Here is the tunnel you have to go through on the road between Panther Junction and Rio Grande Village. I didn't get a picture of it going in so I was sure to get one going out.

Getting back to Panther Junction I then took the road to Cottonwoods campgrounds.

Here are some scenic pictures of the mountains along the route.

 

Fins of Fire rock chain....

You can see a large "fin" to the left in the photo above.

See the "mule ears" to the right of the sign.

and here....

Another traveler.. they were hiking over to get a better look at the "ears". Check out their website.

I haven't had time yet but intend to...

I decided this was as good a place as any to eat lunch. That granola bar I'd had fro breakfast was way past gone! My h-m bread with tuna salad and a Roma tomato with green olives on the side.

Then on down into the valley below.

More interesting mountain shapes....

 

The different colored layers of  rock formations are especially intriging to me.

I stopped at the Cottonswoods store and information building. I failed to get a picture of it but theses old buildings were near there.

I didn't stay long, just wanted to get to the campgrounds and set for the night.

As I went to walk the pups, I saw this herd of Javelinas across the drive. Whoa, I better wait a bit...

Interesting creatures, but I had been warned about them, so stayed my distance,

They will eat your dog!

Lowering sun glowing on the mountain at the end of the campground.

Tonight, we sleep under the beautiful cottonwoods!

and more to come tomorrow!





Still at Potter Creek.....

I decided to stay an extra few days because of the cold snap coming in. No sense being out on the road having to use up my propane for heat when I could have electric hook-up here and could get caught up on some painting. (been having too much fun and not tending to business...)

Miss Izzy and Curley Joe were in agreement, so it was unanimous!

Meanwhile the deer have been coming back and I got some pretty good photos today, I thought.
I happened to see this buck passing as I was sitting at my table painting. This photo was taken through the window.

They were crossing in back of my rig, so I went quietly out the door with my camera.

There were several of them....

I just kept snapping pictures

Three in the photo below. Can you see them?

This brave buck walked right toward me...

Then more followed. Wow! Three bucks plus a few does!

I zoomed in a little on this one

Then he turned and they started to leave. I shot the next photo so quickly that It came out dark with the eyes of the deers glowing. Had to lighten it to post. 

Here is the best-looking doe I have seen since being here. 

Then they were off, looking for food elsewhere. They did not find much here to their liking.

 It has been a beautiful day after an extremely cold night.

This is tonight's gorgeous sunset. I feel so very blessed to be able be out here in all this wonder!

Good-night all!

Canyon Lake - Potter Creek Park-COE

Part of the 8,230-acre lake with 80 miles of shoreline.I found this by putting the coordinants in my Garmin GPS. Love Garmin! It's a GPS for dummies, er, it was a wise investment for me.

Anyway this is looking toward the lake from down below my campspot.

Below, the campsites of the left loop. Nothing for shade except for the roofed picnic shelters, which I guess is ok.

Far across this field is the right loop down closer to the water.

The fur-pals and I took a long walk across this field this morning and they got their sniffing, running, pottying time in.

Of course I had to watch out for holes like these, about the size of the first half of my shoe.

They were all over that field.

At least the dogs tired out before I did this time ;-)

(The down side of this campground is the little burrs that are all over. They had to be combed out of the dog's fur everytime I took them outside. So if you visit here be prepared if you have dogs.)

Back to the camp we went, where I had parked near some trees on the back side, which is the west.

The cement pads are pretty level and backing in was not a problem.

As I had electric hook-up, last night and today were crock-pot days.

(except that, reading "Traveling with John" made me realise I was eating like I was still up north in the cold) Well, got to fix what I have , no matter the temps. So here's my dried bean, lentil, veggie, polish sausage hearty soup.

...and my cooked apples because I had left home with a peck of good northern apples and some I had left are starting to wither, so I cut up the worst ones. Still good, mind you. I can have these with pancakes or make a biscuit topper, or just plain eat them; there are many ways to use these.

I carry a 3 qt and a 1 1/2 qt crock-pots with me.

Thats what I do when I get to a place with electric is cook up enough for several days. It saves my propane for boondocking and I don't have to eat at Burger King.

 

Opps! I downloaded the wrong picture of the deer.... just a minute....

There, that one is better.....

This is right in back of my RV. They are not scared at all. There is a ban on feeding them now, in fact a huge fine if you do, because of over-population. They hope to eliminate 130 deer this year because they have been eating off the trees for lack of proper grazing per number of deer. It seems that way in alot of places.

I am kicking myself tonight because there was a beautiful sunset and I forgot to carry my phone with me when I walked the dogs. And I leave tomorrow to head west....

Got to plan my route. Have a wonderful evening and may the Lord keep you all safe.