Our last full day in Big Bend National Park was Friday, February 7, 2020. During the week, we had tried to arrange a kayak shuttle with some other kayak campers, but the weather and timing just never seemed to work. On our last day, we decided to take matters into our own hands. After talking with the Park Rangers and obtaining our free day use permit, we decided to paddle upriver against the current as far as we could and then just float back to the campground. After launching his kayak, Dave asked Kathy to "strike a pose" before launching her kayak.
We couldn't have asked for better weather. The skies were clear and the wind calm.
It soon became clear that this would be a tale of two paddles: the wide open calm sections of the river and the narrow shallow riffles. As we approached the narrow parts, we paddled as far as we could and then portaged our kayaks through the worst parts. We were advised by the Park Rangers that getting out of our boats on the Mexican side of the river is considered an illegal border crossing and subject to a $5,000 fine. Each time we portaged our kayaks, we made sure to keep our feet wet.
Most of the sedimentary rocks in Big Bend are limestone deposited in the Cretaceous interior seaway that stretched all of the way from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic. This limestone makes up the massive cliffs. As we paddled past, sandstone hoodoos in layers above the limestone, created by the forces of wind and water, look down upon us.
The Rio Grande is the park's most prominent water source. The river supports 40 species of fish, several species of turtles, beaver, and numerous species of waterfowl. We caught these two sharing a sandy bench.
As the walls of the canyon began to rise before us, it reminded us of being in the Grand Canyon.
When not frantically battling the current through the narrows, you feel a sense of timelessness as you float passed the towering cliffs.
In the Rio Grande, the most common species of turtle is the Big Bend slider. This is a subspecies of the well-known Red-eared slider. Notice the little red spots on the side of their head.
We didn't mention it earlier, but we knew as we started our paddle that the Big Bend Hot Springs were only three river miles upstream from our campground. Each time we portaged around a rapid, we knew we were getting closer. As a floatilla of canoes passed us on their way downstream, we asked if we were getting close to the Hot Springs. The guide told us it was only 200 yards around the next bend. We made it!
We lost track of how many times we had to portage the boats and our arms felt like they were about to fall off, but all that was forgotten once we settled into the warm spring waters.
Just across the river from the Hot Springs were some campers in Parque Nacional Cañon de Santa Elena. This Mexican park was established in 1994 to protect the plants and wildlife in the Mexican State of Chihuahua.
After a good long soak and a yummy picnic lunch, it was time to float back to camp.
As the day wore on, the light in the canyon changed.
What started as 2 hours and 15 minutes of upstream exercise, ended in a 45 minute relaxing drift downstream.
Time to kick back and relax those tired muscles.
What a day!
What a view!
Goodbye little buddy.
And so ends an amazing day on the Rio Grande River!
Tomorrow, we leave Big Bend and head over to Uvalde, Texas. The 2024 Solar Eclipse will pass right through that area of Texas. We hope to do some advance scouting to find the best place to view this amazing solar event. Stay tuned.
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