What we've been up to this Winter of 2018

Well, we don't really have an excuse for not posting for 2 months other than we're in Fredericksburg Texas and having a great time this Winter of 2018.  As you may know, this is our second Winter here and we've really learned how to do it.  Christmas parades, the Marketplatz, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, great shopping and wineries all over the place!  Fredericksburg has it all and it's even better in the Winter, according to us.

First off we learned last time we were here (October 2017 - March 2018) that there was a winery circuit we needed to check out when we got back.  Lupe joined the Grape Creek wine club, after a lot of tastings, and I joined Becker's.  So, we learned, after a lot of trial and error (LOL) how to go to two wine tastings every day we are in town and get two free glasses of wine, each!

At Becker wine club, chillaxing with Lupe drinking White Wing Chardonnay

So far, it's just December 15th, we've made it to both tasking rooms 50+ times since joining in October. I guess we're getting our money's worth!  That's probably not a record but we've had fun every time.  You and a guest get a free glass of wine each day and on certain days at Becker they have locals night with free charcuterie.  WARNING: To be Wine club members, you agree to get quarterly wine shipments which are usually 3-6 bottles.

Charcuterie at Becker Tasking room

But even before we hit the wine circuit we already had a scheduled event.  We got the Garrison Brother's email inviting us to participate in their October bottling while we were still at Big Bend National Park.  We'd been waiting for a year since we tried last season to get in after our Distillery tour.  At that time they told us to signup via email and we'd get notice if we got picked.   And we did.  So, the first week we were back we headed to Garrison Brothers Distillery to bottle some of their amazing bourbons.

And, it's a secret but here goes: when you are done you get 'employee pricing' for a day at their shop - on top of the gifts Dan Garrison graciously provides us after 2 days of bottling.

Thanks to Dan Garrison for a great time

With that great start, we both realized how lucky we were to be right here, right now.  Lupe began looking for seasonal work and I began my volunteer work as a park host at Enchanted Rock SNA.

Hiking Enchanted Rock's Echo Canyon under October's stormy clouds

And as luck would have it the first thing that happened here at the park was a flood.  Mid-October this area got massive amounts of rain just like many parts of Texas.  There was major damage and clean up to do at Enchanted rock, and my friend Bob and I got to do some cleanup before the park could open.   Bob if your reading this, we miss you guys!!

Sandy Creek bridge after mid-October flooding

And that is volunteering as a park host.  You do what's needed and you look for opportunities to contribute.  I've really enjoyed this season at Enchanted Rock and Fredericksburg. I again got a chance to do some gardening in beds around the buildings and I was 'Santa' again for Christmas.  The Texas Hill Country is an amazingly beautiful place with views in every direction with wonderful people to spend time with.

We've been so lucky to find this place and participate here.  I hope we will be able to do it again.  Right now, as workampers, we are planning our stops for 2019.  Early in the year, we'll be traveling to Quartzite and Lake Havasu Arizona to spend time with the Xscapers group for my birthday in January, like last year!

January 13, 2017, Quartzite AZ, in my PJs :) 

After that, we'll travel with some of them to San Felipe, Baha California, Mexico for the Mexico Convergence. Yes, we're taking the Airstream out of the country for the first time, and we're so excited.  From our Maiden Voyage to Mexico.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Bert and Lupe on the Road.

Closed Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State park and the incredible drive down FM 170 to get there

A young, in-shape guy, came through the Rio Grande Village (RGV) store while we were working at Big Bend National Park and mentioned his hike through Closed Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State Park.  He said the slot canyon was amazing, the hike was great and we should definitely do it, and then he mentioned that he'd gone too far into the canyon, going over a rock formation that was too slick to climb out of, and he was not able to get back out. He said that to get back to civilization he had to continue down the canyon to the Rio Grande and hike another 7 miles until he found another canyon that he could climb out of.  Well, we got excited just hearing 'slot canyon' and not much else really made any sense, until we faced a similar choice in a place similar to what he talked about.

When we got there we found an unexpectedly beautiful place to explore.

We decided to make the drive through Terlingua and on to the State Park's eastern visitors center, Barton Warnock Visitors Center, near Lajitas.  This was really the only way to get to the state park from Big Bend, and we'd been wanting to visit Barton Warnock since we'd heard how great it was.

This was still a long drive for a hike. From the southeastern part of Big Bend, it would be an hour and a half drive just to get to the visitors center.  Then we'd have 20 miles to go down FM 170 to get to the canyon.

Google map from RGV to Barton Warnock Visitors Center

Another reason to make the trip was FM 170 or River Road, one of the most scenic and unknown drives in America.  We often talk to Big Bend visitors about 170 out of Terlingua as a way to see an almost entirely unknown, and therefore, unexplored part of West Texas; an incredible drive above and through the canyons created by the Rio Grande over millions of years, River Road is undoubtedly one of the most if not the most scenic drives in North America (Texas Monthly and National Geographic agree).

Barton Warnock Visitors Center

So, we began at Barton Warnock asking questions about Closed Canyon.  By the time we got there, mid-afternoon, it was about 105 degrees (it was August!). The folks there were very helpful, providing all the details we needed.  As it turned out, they said Closed Canyon was a relatively easy hike and we'd get some shade because of the high walls and narrow slot canyon.  The Ranger mentioned not hiking too far in and paying attention to what you climbed over, under or through.  Many formations and boulders were not easy to climb when coming back; so he said we would not be getting to the Rio Grande River on the hike.

And I got to buy a state park T-shirt and support Texas State Parks!!

Closed Canyon trailhead marker

The parks trailhead marker sign provided much-needed safety information everyone should take in before hiking the trail and mentions being aware of drop-offs that become 'too great to safely negotiate'.  Point taken!

Heading into Closed Canyon

The hike began in the dry creek bed leading in.  We began to realize it was much cooler and windier in the canyon.  The air began to travel faster and cooled as it was compressed, forced through the slot.

The path curved to the left as you enter the high-walled slot canyon. Small creek rock and black dirt covered a hard but smooth canyon floor. 

The canyon was rather wide as we started with variations in the color and texture of the rock, smoother on the lower parts of the walls and rougher up higher where the water had not affected it as much.  

Looking into the canyon as we walked you could see how the water traveled through it, smothing it over millions of years, carrying sand and rock with it.  

With cliffs and caves above us, the slot canyon began to narrow, becoming even more smooth-walled along the way; large boulders were exposed as the canyon narrowed. 

Each left and right we took through the canyon gave us a new view around the corner with something unexpected and different ahead.  

We began to do more boulder climbing to continue on through the narrowing slot. 

Eventually, the flat ground disappeared, and all we had was boulders to climb to continue the hike.

At about .87 mile, we came to a drop-off of about 12 feet that we could tell we'd not be able to climb out of on the way back.  

We both tried and could have gotten past the standing water tinaja but getting back up the rock seemed like 'too great to safely negotiate'.  

With the smoothed rock walls and about 8 feet apart, we would not have been able to push against both walls, like a bridge, hands on one side, feet on the other, to get across both ways.  This is a technique we've seen (on youtube) to get past the point where we had to stop at Ernst Tinaja!! 

It was tempting to consider just dropping into the water and continuing the hike, but climbing up and out would have been very difficult or impossible for both of us.  We do need to practice 'bridging' for next time!! 

So we hiked out, happy as clams that we got as far as we did! 

Here's my short video of the hike out

 

On the way back, we spent some time exploring and taking photos of FM 170.  

Here's a panorama photo taken from Fandango Dome Rock, a high point on the road, looking toward Presidio.  

And another looking toward Big Bend National Park with the Rio Grande's green path in the lower right.  

Here are our related posts!

Kayaking in Big Bend Ranch State Park, passing below Fandango Dome Rock.

Hiking into Ernst Tinaja, were we got stuck at the big hanging rock.

And here are our all our videos and photos from this hike in our Google Photo Album.