2 Backpacks, 2 Bikes, a Van and a plan..: What do you do when it is 5:00 PM and 100°

The actual title could be a bit longer. I might also have added, ‘and you just got done working in the visitor center for 8 hours,’ but it seemed bad form for such a long title.

So, yesterday, we got off working in the visitor center at 5:00, it was hot and sunny – 90 degrees at the Visitor Center and 100 degrees on the desert floor, like most days here, and we were off for a hike. As we have written previously, we are using our free time to explore the park, both for our enjoyment but also to inform us so we can be more knowledgeable as we meet and talk with visitors. The park certainly is large, did we mention it’s just a bit larger than RI, and we are having a great time getting to know our temporary home.

So, yesterday it was off to Cattail Falls. This is a short hike, about 5 miles round trip, out to a water fall that serves as the drainage for much of the water that the Basin (where our visitor center is) receives. (The Basin is a bowl-like area that is 2+ miles in circumference and is roughly three quarters of the way up the Chisos Mountains.) While the entire Big Bend and west Texas area is experiencing a prolonged drought, Cattail Falls reportedly always has some water.

The hike to the falls was pleasant, despite the 100 degree temperature – we are adjusting to the desert temperatures and climate, as you might imagine. The trail follows a dirt road, which we later discovered we could have driven down and turned a 5 mile hike into a 2.5 miles hike (oh well), and was a great opportunity to walk across the desert floor. Think lots of cacti, small brush plants, lizards, some bugs, and not much else. At the trail head and as we walked further down the trail, signs of water became evident as the small desert brush grew in size and some small and eventually larger trees began to dot the landscape.

Within a half mile of the falls, a large eroded wash, almost like a canyon, led away from the high cliffs where the falls normally meet the desert floor. The wash varied from a few feet at its mouth to more than 20+ feet closer to the falls. Also, the size and amount of vegetation grew significantly the closer we got to the cliffs and falls. (This may seem like a no-brainer, but we are learning quite clearly that if there is green in the desert, there is water. And, the bigger the plants, the more water there is!)

Well, we got to the falls, and while the water from the pour-off was much less falls and more like a small trickle, we were not disappointed in the least. There was a small oasis-like forest at the base of the falls. We entered and disturbed a small white-tail deer taking a drink, saw lots of dragon-flies, frogs and tadpoles in the pools at the base of the falls, and disturbed a great big jack rabbit taking a drink on the way out! We saw mountain lion scat, but did not see one while we were there.

While the falls were really only a trickle, there were still quite a few pools of water that are at the base of the falls and also stretch away from the cliffs for a 1000 feet or so. Some pools were as small as small puddles and some as large as 15+ feet across. One of the larger pools was really pretty and had a deep spot of crystal clear blue water that appeared to be more than 3 feet deep – no going in the water here, this water is for the desert and park wildlife!

It was a happy walk back to the car as Laura and I discussed the great opportunity we have here in Big Bend to really get to know a place. We have done a fair share of traveling, but usually of the weekend or week-long variety. Being in one place for a month, it has been that long already, is a real treat. We also felt it was cooler as we were walking back to the car. And, we were right – the car thermometer read 98°!!