After hiking on both Saturday and Sunday, we decided that Monday would be a good day to switch things up and get on the river. As Andre and I had just had such a great experience doing the Santa Elena Canyon boomerang trip, we decided to do the same trip with the boys (minus the hired guide). Although the river levels were about a half a foot lower than the previous week and we did have to do a bit more getting out and pulling the canoes on the way up the canyon, it was a fantastic day and we all enjoyed it.
Andre & Dylan taking a break
All in for a swim after lunch
After a great day on the Rio Grande, we cleaned up and headed out of the park to Terlingua for two-for-one burger night at the Starlight Theatre. We enjoyed some local live music while we ate, then headed out to the porch where we had another drink and watched the evening wind down. Before heading back to the park, we walked across the parking lot to a small park/barbecue area that had a horse-shoe pit for the boys to play a few rounds.
Winding down on the porch outside the Starlight Theatre
On Tuesday we eased into the day, enjoying a leisurely home-cooked breakfast before heading out to explore the unpaved back roads in some of the more remote area of the park. We borrowed a high-clearance vehicle and spent a few hours exploring River Road and the Mariscal Mine, an old quicksilver (Mercury) mine that produced mercury from 1900 to 1943.
The mine, now abandoned but open to park visitors to explore, stretches high up the side of a mountain and includes remnants of some of the miner's homes, the brick kiln, the Company Store, Condensers and furnaces from both the early and later periods of the mine, as well as the actual closed up mine shafts all around the site where the mercury-bearing ore cinnabar was mined.
We were on our way back out of the remote area by about 12:30 and had a picnic lunch under some shady trees at one of the park campgrounds. By that point, we had all had more than enough sun for the day and spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting in the A/C in the apartment watching movies and hanging out.
On the agenda for Wednesday was a trip across the river to Boquillas, Mexico. After a leisurely morning at the apartment, we gathered our passports and headed to the Boquillas Crossing.
Lunch at Jose Falcones Restaurant
Boys enjoying an after-lunch shot of Sotol at the town bar
Our final adventure on Thursday morning was a hike down to the "Window", the one hike at the Basin that we hadn't yet done together. The 3.6 mile round trip hike leads you right into the mouth of a pour-off offering amazing views onto the desert floor below. As you can see, the boys enjoyed relaxing when we reached the end of the trail!
After the window we headed back to the apartment so the boys could eat lunch and pack up for the next leg of their trip (Colorado). It was a thoroughly enjoyable week!
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