It kinda snowed again!
Andrew spent the week at NAPE (North American Petroleum Exposition) in Houston, so Mary and I joined him for the weekend. I haven't been back to Houston in a couple of years so I was excited to visit friends and reminisce.
Reminiscing over the Fred Hartman Bridge
Reminiscing at Mary's old Dance Studio, Miss. Cheryl's
We enjoyed spending time with Simon, Erika, Alejandra and baby Sebastian. We then headed to the Woodlands to spend some time with The Fab Five (Matt, Nadine, and the triplets).
It's easy to forget how many parks and how much green space there is in Houston. We visited the Edith L Moore Nature Sanctuary, 17.5 acres along Rummel Creek, somewhat hidden behind a church off Memorial Drive.
We also visited my old school friend Rachel! Rachel and I attended the same school growing up and shared a love for The Body Shop and Frizz Ease hair products. We were also both erroneously placed in the "middle" math class. We were both disgusted by this error in judgement and worked hard to complete the entire workbook and prove that we were clearly top class material. It worked and we were both moved up to the LEAG class. To this day I still don't actually know what LEAG stands for; I just knew that it was good to be in that class. Rachel made us a lovely cup of tea, served with a yummy slice of chocolate cake (the British are very good hosts), and we got to spend some time with Lachlan, her super cute little boy.
Andrew's parents (The Rents) came to visit us on their annual I-can't-take-this-snow-anymore-winter-escape-from-Michigan. Apparently, they still had four feet of snow back home, so a week in West Texas was just the ticket! We took them on a trip to some new places around Big Bend. The only accommodation available in Terlingua (our favorite place to stay in Big Bend) was at the Retro Rents.
Retro Rents is a husband-and-wife locally owned business. The husband is also the local vet and they have a very cute chihuahua with significant orthopedic issues. Which makes it look even cuter. Until you learn that it chewed off it's own leg. And then it's a little freakish.
The only available rentals were a 1975 Airstream and an adjoining camping spot. The Airstream was pretty cool, but the bathroom flooded twice and many appliances did not work. Our camping spot worked fine (we took the popup), but the hookups weren't adequate for the number of sites. Other than this, Retro Rents is a very interesting little place, just short walk from the main town.
The outside "kitchen"
I played a little with the effects on my camera.
As soon as we had set up, we headed to "the land" Andrew bought a few years back. The sun was setting and I experienced a deja vu. I'm pretty sure I swore I would never do this again - climb this slippery slope covered in talus and cacti with knife-like spines, in the dark. We made it just in time for sunset and the views were pretty.
The chair! We left this chair up here 3 years ago and it hasn't even blown over.
It looks just like we left it on the moon.
The next morning, we took a walk around town and saw that there was to be a Farmer's Market. I can't imagine what local farmers are able to grow here, it's so dry and the land doesn't look very fertile. Maybe prickly pear cactus jelly and prickly pear cactus purses and prickly pear cactus oven mitts?
On the way to breakfast, we saw a couple riding attached bikes elaborately decorated as a butterfly. Terlingua Ghost Town is one of those places where you don't really question things like this. Then I later read something about riding butterfly bikes to celebrate the migration of the Monarch Butterfly along the Rio Grande. If I am here this time next year, I am absolutely bringing our bikes and set of fancy wings!
Our favorite breakfast place in Terlingua Ghost Town (actually, the only breakfast place) is La Posada Milagro. The food is good, the coffee is good, and the view over the Chisos is quite impressive. Plus, there is always a friendly stray dog basking in the sun.
We took the Rents to Cattail Falls; a pretty little oasis where we were guaranteed some shade.
Mary armed herself with a knife "just in case"
We tried to hike the Lost Mine trail in the Chisos Basin, but the very limited parking was already full and so we headed to the basin store, ate ice cream and read the local warnings, before heading to Santa Elena Canyon, another favorite haunt.
La Harmonica store, on the way to Santa Elena Canyon
That night, we ate at Long Draw pizza, where they are pretty strict about "No Cell Phone Use".
The next day, we took a desert hike on Indian Head trail; just off a dirt road leading out of Terlingua. The trail was hot but pretty and took us past many huge fallen rocks, a mini tinaja and a scary bee hive.
Later, we took a spontaneous rafting trip down the Rio Grande.
Our guide shows Mary how to row
Time for more funky images!
You can't beat a Big Bend sunset.
Especially when it's green!! Okay, no more.
We also re-visited the Hot Springs and took a dip.
Apparently, I managed to photograph a Mexican on his way across the border.
In other February news....
Mary won an award for being really good at something. What? It was months ago, I forget...
We bought a jet ski! And it is a LOT of fun. We took it out to Lake Nasworthy for the maiden voyage and have since discovered Moss Creek Lake, a much closer lake which makes after-work jet skiing possible.
After years of trying to convince Mary that her bike was not a death trap, she finally took the plunge and learned how to ride! She has since learned how to ride "no hands", how to "skid", and how to ride standing up.
