Monthly Archives: November 2013

Big Bend Gallery

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Heading south from Fort Stockton under grey skies
Up into the Chisos as fog blankets the basin
Lion Warning. Didn’t see a lot of these in Brooklyn.
This is an honest to God tarantula, and it is huge
Top of Lost Mine trail
Having bagged the summit, Leonie provides a gunshow
A great view of my beard. And also nature.
Sylvie ran out of gas, so took the Dad Shoulders Express home
Backcountry exploring on Glen Springs road
Sylvie contemplates an unmarked grave
Fog, driving rain, and high winds. Another perfect day of camping.
Seriously, there are tarantulas everywhere
Better Tents and Gardens, Pine Canyon edition.
Just a little desert flower.
Sylvie took this of Val and I “parenting”.
View from our window.
The kitchen gets a lot of sun.
They may have just seen a tarantula.
Mexican Jay overhead, checking out the intruders
Leonie leading us through Pine Canyon
Waterfall in the desert. Who knew?
Girls on their way back to the truck.
Locusts the size of… passed hors d’oeuvres.
Mind the gap, lady.
Old cattle pen at Glen Springs.
Dad, contemplating it all.
Working our way back up an arroyo.
The SilverFish in motion.
Desert muscle showdown.
Fine end to a fine day.
Leonie can’t stop herself from catching anything in sight.
Humbled lizard.
Sun on its way down, working our way home.
Filming “Monster High in Big Bend” begins.
Sylvie sets up a shot with Leonie, Laguna Blue.
Peregrine Falcon. We must have seen a dozen.
Ernst Tinaja rock pools.
One of us was brave enough to crawl into this cave.
Leonie, about as spry as a Gecko.
So, too, is the Siverfish.
Keeping an eye on the kids. Maybe.
Ain’t no mountain high enough for these girls.
The canyon gets technical.
Leonie waits for Dad to catch up.
The meaning of it all, and the Rio Grande.
Junior Rangers are sworn in.
Guy should have bought a Toyota.
Balancing rock.
All my ladies.
Falcon taking a sunset cruise over our campsite.

11/24… Poolside at the Grand Motor Inn

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Well, this is turning into another snow day. We’ve been getting crushed by this ridiculous Arctic Storm that has been depositing snow and ice across, as near as we can tell, the entire Southwestern United States, concentrated primarily on our truck. We got lucky yesterday.  I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic in these …

11/23… White Sands Gallery

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We travelled three thousand miles south to avoid winter, and we got… this.
Yup. These are cacti. In ice.
Making lemons out of lemonade, we head off to White Sands to get some sledding in.
The bugs check out their weapon of choice, in blue.
Pre-race, Mom waxes the disc up.
Laboring up one of the thousands of dunes.
And, getting ready for the inaugural ride.
A success! The girls have instantly forgotten that they are cold, wet, and irritable.
Leaping for the crest of the dune…
And missing.
Mom decides the weasels can’t have all the fun.
And, success. Mom has instantly forgotten how cold, wet and irritable she is.
New technique – Mom launches you downhill.
Backwards.
And, if it all goes to hell, Dad will rub his beard on you.
It’s 32 degrees and about to rain, and I live in a truck. Awesome.

10/30… Damn You, Coleman.

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Yesterday saw the girls up early as the tree outside our tent is host to a bird that seems to delight in calling out to us at about 6:30 until we’re awake, then, its task complete, it disappears into dawn to go irritate some other creature. It was pretty windy and, with a low cloud …

10/29… Mort, Skinks, and Misery Battery

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The night and day aspect of leaving the Shenandoah Valley with our numb fingers and toes in its wake, only to wake up the next morning at Gulf Island National Seashore, is really something else. We’re waking up in the cool mornings as the sun rises and enjoying lazy breakfasts in shorts and tee shirts.  …

10/27… Farewell, Winter

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I woke with the sun rising, heading over the Pensacola Bay Bridge, the sight of the blue ocean and the palms marking an almost absurdly stark change from the Appalachian Mountains of the day prior. I was starving, and prevailed upon Val to stop at one of the south’s true gems, a Waffle House.  That …

10/26… All Night, All Right

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The all night drive is a roadtrip classic, and I’m not even sure one can claim to be on a roadtrip if there isn’t at least one dusk till dawn segment.  For some reason, I am properly equipped to do this kind of thing with minimum fuss. I simply require a small cup of coffee …

10/24… Shenandoah, And Beyond!

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We made our way south and west from Washington DC after enjoying the warmth, hospitality and washing machines at Mark and Montse’s house.  We planned to work our way down the Appalachian Mountains, beginning at Shenandoah National Park, driving south on the Skyline Parkway, and continuing on through the Blue Ridge Parkway, and ending up …

Time Warp: Baja Peninsula, September, 1993…

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From Assateague, we found our way to Washington and enjoyed a terrific, prolonged stay with our close, close friends Mark and Montse and their daughter, Elena. Mark also happens to have been my co-conspirator in one of the most poorly planned and prepared for road trips I have ever been on, back in the Cretaceous …

10/17… More Gifts From The Sea

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The girls are generally up and at it early, leaping into their bathing suits, and Val and I continue to take turns overseeing them while the other of us gets in a good long run. The runs along the seashore and into the National Park really are extraordinary.  Along the beach, the empty shells of …