at least it is spring...

INSIDE!My planter of spring bulbs is finally blooming and what a welcome sight it is. We returned on Saturday night from another spring trip (this time on business) and I was so happy to see the dutch iris blooming because outside today it looks like this...
and this.
With all our snow this winter we took a short drive to see if there was any flooding in the area and Hershey was more than happy to go along.
Just down the road the creek is overflowing - it was across the road last Wednesday when we left but today it has receded a bit.
Hershey thinks that is a lot of water considering there is so much snow left to melt...
when driving down our road still looks like this!
I have one more Texas blog post prepared and was going to do a few more on the great sites we visited but my computer died. I hadn't had time to back up any of my trip photos so I am hoping the techs will be able to recover my files...wish them luck!

EL Camino del Rio...

When our campground host saw that Jeff & I were in Texas to cycle he told us we had to ride the "El Camino del Rio, the river road" which is actually Hwy 170 from Presidio to Lajitas. It is listed as a scenic drive with many sharp curves and steep grades including one at 15%, the kind of ride a we really enjoy so of course we had to take it in. On our way south we passed through the Presidio County seat, Marfa, and stopped to look at the 1886 courthouse.I thought the dome was especially beautiful.
Heading further south we passed the ghost town of Shafter which was virtually abandoned when the local silver mine closed down. I didn't stop to take photos of the ruins or the heavy equipment in town to reopen the mine but thought Abe Lincoln's profile on the hillside was blog worthy :)
Finally we made it down to the river road and enjoyed views like this...
and this as the road curved alongside the Rio Grande.
In some areas the rock formations were more tan than gray...

and this area of the desert had an abundance of pink cactus.
We enjoyed the curves through canyons...
almost always keeping the river in view.
Do you recognize this old west town?
It is an old movie set built in 1985 for the movie, Uphill all the Way, starring Roy Clark, Mel Tilis, and Burl Ives. Since then 8 more movies have been made here: 1993 - Rio Diablo, 1994 - Gambler V: Playing for Keeps, 1995 - Streets of Laredo, 1995 - My Maria (1996 music video of the year), 1996 - Dead Man's Walk and in 2000 - The Journeyman. This set is now part of the Big Bend State Park.


After the river portion of the road ends at Lajitas the hwy continues on to the west end of Big Bend National Park and the small town of Study Butte.
I took J's photo before I learned it was pronounced "Stew-dee Boo-ute" :)

Big Bend National Park

While in Texas, Jeff and I enjoyed cycling Big Bend National Park and spent two days exploring. Each day we pack a cooler with lots of water and a picnic lunch but Big Bend was the first time we ever had a "Beware of Javelina" sign screwed onto our table.
One of our favorite parts of the park was the Chisos Basin area. It was such a hot day and the ride up to a higher elevation was a relief from the heat as well as a beautiful view.

With 90 degree temps down by the river it was at least 15 degrees cooler in the basin and the Chisos Lodge serves rootbeer floats to enjoy the view with :)
Below is Boquillas Canyon where the Rio Grande has carved a 1,500 ft deep gorge through the Sierra del Carmen cliffs. The canyon is so narrow it just appears as a crack in the center of the photo.
At the overlook to view Boquillas Canyon there are many trinkets, painted rocks, walking sticks etc displayed for sale with donation cans to help the citizens of Boquillas, Mexico. The information given you as you enter the park is that it is illegal to buy any of this stuff but it was there for sale when we visited. From the overlook you also view the river below and see Mexican citizens with their horses and canoes across the Rio Grande. You can also see a well worn path from the river to the overlook on the lower right side of the photo.
A zoomed in view of the above photo where you can see the village of Boquillas, Mexico in the upper right of the photo.
Border patrol were present in this area of the park walking the US side of the river.
A view of the Badlands section of the park.
The long and winding road through the dessert to Santa Elena Canyon.
A view of the Rio Grande coming through Santa Elena Canyon...
and standing at the river. The water levels were really low this spring.
We took some time to cool off here and skipped rocks into Mexico :)
I can't imagine Big Bend in the summer, on March 7th it was 90+ degrees and it felt so very hot on our cycles - they say to pack a gallon of water per person when visiting and I would agree!

mosaic Monday...finding Spring!

Jeff & I arrived home yesterday after spending time riding the "the roads less traveled" on our cycles for the first several weeks of March. I like to call it our annual "finding spring" adventure because when March arrives here in MN, I am so sick of the long winter that it is time to pack up and go find spring :) This year was wonderful as we cycled west Texas and the Arbuckle Country of Oklahoma and I look forward to sharing photos of our adventures over the next week or so while we wait for the snow to melt in MN. Blooming trees were abundant in the small towns of west Texas as well as Oklahoma.
Blossoms were also abundant - the ones below as well as pansies, tulips and daffodils.
With temps in the 80s in the afternoons it was so hard to return from this beautiful landscape...
to a yard still filled with snow! This is the view of the backyard this morning.
I'm hoping the rain forecast for tomorrow melts this dirty mess but then our small town is in a flood warning so we don't want too much melt too fast either.

steeple Sunday...

This steeple is not that tall, but I just love old stone buildings of any type, and in this case a beautiful and unique looking church.
The First Christian Church of Alpine, Texas.



Yes, I found spring once again this year :)

Happy Birthday Scott!

Today is our wonderful son-in-law, Scott's birthday and I can't let the day go by without wishing him the happiest of days!Scott, since you are a teacher I thought you would enjoy seeing these rules of teachers in 1872 to compare to your job of teaching in 2011.
We love you and hope you have a wonderful day!

steeple Sunday...

March is a busy month for us so blogging has taken a backseat for a few weeks. At least I can show you another steeple to look at for another week :)
This steeple caught my eye from the highway because of the windows in the upper steeple and the clocks on all four sides. A detour off the main road brought us to this beautiful church.
As the sign reads, it is St. Michael's Catholic Church in St. Michael, Minnesota. Built in 1890 in a German settlement from 1856.
The side views are just as beautiful as the front.
I especially like the triangle windows in the roof line.
As my header reads - taking the road less traveled...makes all the difference. A detour to a less traveled road is a wonderful surprise sometimes.