National Park and other Resource links related to the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020

This is a listing of resource pages and links to National Park resources as of early 2020.  These links provide a quick way to find specific places to visit when needing more information related to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Covid-19 related openings and closure links

Campendium resources

Open RV parks page
Campground closures page   

Escapee Park Closures

Covid-19 Park openings
Escapees Coronavirus page.
Rainbow parks resources page.
Escapees Rainbow parks page.
Escapee SKP Co-op parks

NPS Updates due to COVID-19

Public Health update.
Office of Public Health page.
Individual Parks, find a park page.

National Geographic resources 

National park fees waived but health risks remain page. 

Other News Sources 

National Parks to waive entrance fees CNN article 

Grand Canyon National Park

Hiking down South Kaibab trail into Grand Canyon

Our first visit, and hopefully not our last, to Grand Canyon National Park was in February 2020 towards the end of the month.  Earlier that month we had visited our most interesting Harvest Host, Rock Springs Cafe in Black Canyon Arizona.  Also, we'd bought the new truck (February 10th) and then decided to 'go North' west no matter how cold it would get to see the Grand Canyon!!

Here is the photo album I've been working on for the Grand Canyon.  Lupe and I both contributed photos to this album and there are, in my opinion, some of our best photos so far.  Of course, it WAS the Grand Canyon so what we were shooting was an amazing plethora of beauty LOL. Bert

Ernst Tinaja and the Dead horse Mountains

Ernst Tinaja, a series of rock watering holes, is reached by hiking up a half-mile into the amazing Boquillas formation created 90 million years ago. The difficult part is getting there.  The Tinaja (Spanish for "large earthen jar") is accessed from Old Ore Road, which is a 27.5-mile backcountry road in Big Bend National park connecting the RGV (Rio Grande Village) area to HWY 385, the park entry road coming in from Marathon.

And while we believe 'The Green Monster', our 1500 RAM, is the best truck in the world, it is not a 4x4 vehicle, however, since it IS a monster we decided we'd try the road anyway to see the tinajas.

We began our trip from the southern end of Old Ore road, so the side road to the Ernst Tinaja camping area was about 5 miles down that road. Along the way, we had amazing views of the Chisos Mountains as the morning began.  We started about 9 a.m. to avoid hiking in the hotter afternoon heat.

Along Old Ore Road you get many beautiful views of the Chisos

Along the way, we passed multiple camping areas, including Candellia, which was named after the very abundant Candellia plant, used to produce fine wax in Mexico

and the grave of Juan de Leon who was murdered at La Noria in 1933 following an argument with Joe Loftin, who was never convicted of the crime. I hope my grave looks this good when I'm put in the ground!!

Anyway, we arrived at the Ernst Tinaja camping parking lot and started our hike.  The weather was wonderfully cool and perfect for the hike.  We immediately started to notice all the water that had collected on the exposed bedrock probably still there from the 2.5 inches of rain RGV had received two-weeks prior.

As you begin the hike, up the wash, you walk on exposed, whitish limestone sheets uplifted and angled over time, each holding a little water full of tadpoles and small creatures.

hiking towards Ernst Tinaja

As noted in Falcon's Big Bend Hiking Guide, continuing up the wash you are walking back in geologic time.  The type of rock changes from large white limestone sheets to thinner and more colorful limestone and shale.  Fossil remnants indicate these beds were originally deposited on the ocean floor 90 million years ago.

entering the tinaja canyon

Walking into the Ernst Tinaja canyon, rocks become even more colorful, layered and more folded while the white limestone base rock that forms the tinaja, known as budda limestone, starts to appear.

Ernst Tinaja

Looking back from where we had hiked in, the shot of Ernst Tinaja shows the deep green color of the water; you can't see the bottom. The water level was higher than what I've seen in other photos probably due to the recent rains. Many references to this tinaja talk about how animals get trapped in its water and drown as the water level drops, with the sides slick with algae preventing them from escaping.

Just past the tinaja the horizontal, layered walls become twisted and pushed into cave-like structures.  Years of sand and rock-filled water traveling through the canyon and high speeds have also changed these formations smoothing the lower rocks like a rock tumbler would.

Smooth white budda limestone formations are abundant.

continuing into the canyon past the tinajas

We continued into the canyon another quarter mile, climbing up, over or under many of the smooth rock formations

eventually, stopping where we didn't have the climbing skills to pass. I call it the big hanging rock!

At the formation where we stopped, there was a bee-filled pool, where they could take a cool a drink.

We hiked back out of the canyon passing many flowering plants with birds fluttering around them.  The tinaja supports a small community of plants and animals all year long, an oasis that allows for life in the typically hot Chihuahuan desert.

Dead horse Mountains pouroff

We decided to continue down Old Ore Road toward 385 which we found out was the more challenging part of the backcountry road, especially for the truck.  To the East, we were blessed with beautiful views of the Dead horse Mountains and high mountain pouroffs along the way.

And to the west, we again had the distant Chisos Mountains to watch for between the undulating McKinney Hills

where we also found remnants of the McKinney ranch.

Along with more beautiful, flowering plants along the road.

Here's our Google Photo Album of all photos from this trip.

More kayaking from the Hot springs Historic Area

Lupe didn't get enough kayaking on his trip two weeks ago (AusTexGuys Blog: Our first adventure with the new Kayak on the Rio), so this week he was on the Rio Grande again kayaking a little further away, putting in at the Hot Springs Historic Area.

On the way to Hot Springs put-in

The drive from Rio Grande village (RGV), where he would get out, to the historic hot springs area is about 3 miles. So we thought this would be a better test of the new inflatable kayak and his skills.

The first run was from the RGV Daniel's ranch area to the RGV boat launch which was only a mile.

Headed to Daniels Ranch put-in on the Rio Grande, from the first trip

This attempt was 3 or more miles from the Hot springs to Daniel's ranch.

Where Lupe put-in

Getting Started

kayaking by the Hot Springs.

And getting ready to hit the 'rapids', where he lost his glasses :(

The trip was very successful with a lesson learned.  Lupe got back, sans his glasses, but was happy to make it through hot springs canyon and see some wildlife too. Here's the entire photo album.

See the local 'wildlife'? 

One side of Hot Springs Canyon

Our First 2018 hike in the Chisos, the Lost Mine Trail

Our first hike in the Chisos Mountains during our 2018 stay at Big Bend happened during the two days we were camping at the Basin Campground.  We knew we wanted to hike while up there but weren't sure which one we had time for.  

We did the Windows Trail and (secret) Falls trail in 2014 but never got to the Lost Mine trail.  Lost mine is known for having incredible views of the Chisos most of the way up and that was absolutely true!  The hike took about 3 hours and we ascended about 1800 feet to about 6800 feet in elevation.  

We camped at the Chisos basin campground for two days so we'd be near the hike, and hiked the Lost Mine trail early in the morning to avoid the heat of mid-day.

Here's a photo of the great view from the top. Bliss Moment! 

Here's the photo album of the hike

Christmas 2016 in Denver and a wonderful 2017 Birthday

Christmas in 2016 started early for us.  We had to take the Airstream in to be fixed before our planned 2017 trips, and we knew it would be at least two weeks for the work to be completed.  We had a soft floor in front of the sink that needed to be investigated, and we believed the hot water heater was leaking under the dinette.  So, we left the Airstream in Buda, Texas at Camper Clinic II and drove to Denver for Christmas on December 17th.

2016 Christmas in Austin

But first, to wrap Christmas up in Austin, we did hit the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, the Zilker trail of lights with Lupe's little sister and many good friends, and had early Christmas with Lupe's family.

December 2016 is also when the Green Monster got its side scratched at the Decker Lane Self Storage (which they refused to pay for).  Sad face.

'last' haircut with Farah

And, I got a beard trim, with Farah, my favorite hairdresser, and stepdaughter!!  

Thanks, Farah for taking care of me for our last year in Austin.

Randy always has lots planned for Christmas in Denver.  One thing we always do is visit the Denver christkindl market, where there are lots of magical, German gifts and surprises as well as LoDo and the 16th Street mall where there is ice skating.

Pre-Christmas festivities in Denver

So, on to Christmas in Denver after all the shopping.  As we approached the 25th, the rest of our close family from Texas arrived in Parker and we had another wonderful Christmas there.

Here's the fireplace the night before Christmas.

Sometimes it feels like we go overboard for Christmas.  As you can see in the photos there are lots of gifts.  I'd have to blame our mom, Ingrid since she was the one that always provided so many gifts around the tree.  It was never about the $$ you spent but about the thought behind the gifts.  We still do that, always getting gifts that, we hope, match what that person needs.  Here's the link to the Christmas 2016 Album showing the many gifts and good times we had on the 25th.




Since we had family in town, we decided to visit the Denver Zoo to spend time outside and give the kids some fun.  The nice cool weather was a change for those of us that live in Texas and usually have Christmas there.

Eventually, all the 'Texans' left and Lupe and I were left there in Denver waiting on the Airstream to get fixed.  I called Camper Clinic II regularly, but we knew it was the holidays and they would be slow to get the leaks fixed.  As it turned out, it wouldn't be two weeks to get it all done.  After many calls, Camper Clinic got Airstream Company involved after finding how significant the water damage was.

They found that the kitchen faucet had been leaking behind the counter onto the floor since we got the trailer.  That small drip finally started to damage all floors in the front of the RV and had soaked so much of the subfloor that they had to replace all the flooring from the dinette forward.  They had to remove the galley, the dinette, and the L-shaped couch and then replace all that subfloor.  That work wound up taking 2 months.  We finally got a call in early February 2017 that the trailer was ready!

However, the good in all this was that we got to spend a lot of time with Randy and Kenny, and we had an opportunity to explore Colorado for great outdoor adventures.  Here are some of the places we visited during that time. 

Cherry creek state park album, the Kathy Griffin show, Rocky mountain arsenal National Wildlife Refuge album, Chatfield state park, Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs album, and the International Snow Sculpting Competition in Breckenridge Colorado

Entrance to the International Snow Sculpting Competition  

Rocky Mountain National park + the famous Stanley hotel next to the park.

And of course, during that time I had my 2017 birthday at Linger in downtown Denver.  Who knows how old I became that year LOL but Randy and friends put on a fantastic birthday for me.