Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Big Bend!

I just got back from my trip to Big Bend last night. It was the perfect getaway - the perfect balance of hiking and exertion with relaxation. Pictures will be posted in the next week, because of all things I forgot, it was my digital camera. So I ended up buying a disposable one in Johnson City.

The drive was long - about 10 hours in all to get all the way down to Christy's place - but it wasn't unpleasant. It was kind of nice, going through Hill Country. Nothing too eventful occurred on the way over. Outside of Bastrop, a truck had on its bumper, "Keep Bastrop beautiful, shoot a yuppie." I thought it was funny, because instead of it being an actual bumper sticker, he had fashioned it out himself with individual letters. I was just thinking, wow, this man hates yuppies so much that he would go to this much trouble to let everyone know. Also, for some reason, I drank tons of water on the way over and had to stop on the side of I-10 to use the bathroom. But I'm pretty sure no one saw me; I had good coverage.

We did not do too much once I got there. Christy's other friends, Kristi and Robin were also visiting - but for a whole week (sigh, I'm jealous). Her place is quite cute. It is a duplex with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. The best part of course is the porch with gorgeous views. That night we mostly got everything together for our backpacking trip. We made guacamole and granola bars! Christy also mixed some spices with cous cous for our dinner when we backpacked.

The next day we backpacked in the Chisos Basin! I was nervous, because I had never gone before and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to carry everthing. But it was not bad at all! Christy helped me pack and adjust my backpack, and it was perfect. Although, I will admit, at one point in the beginning, I had to take my pack off and sit for a few minutes, but then I felt fine - it was weird. On the way to our site, we checked the other backcountry sites for trash and leftover food in the bear boxes. We reached our site and set-up camp. Then, without our packs (hurrah), we hiked to the South Rim, which I have never been to before. It was nice. :)

When we got back, we made supper. After supper, it was about 6 pm. It was quite windy and a bit chilly, so we retreated to the tent. Neither of us had brought any books or cards - I hadn't because I didn't want to carry anything more and Christy had forgot to. So we just layed in the tent and talked for over 3 hours about anything and everything.

The next day we headed back down. We encountered tons of people backpacking up. I felt such a sense of accomplishment when we got back to the car and took our packs off for good. Now that I know I can do it, Adrian and I will need to make arrangements to backpack in the Narrows at Zion. :)

It was very relaxing the rest of the day. We ate lunch on the porch and then drove around the Castolon area, looking at the old ruins. Kristi and Robin came back from their own adventures, and we made spaghetti for supper. It is so fun: Christy has a huge plastic bin just filled with books of all kinds of subject matters. I picked up a collection of essays by John Muir and read a little of it on the porch. Right when supper was ready, Justin and his dad came in, after not being able to get a campsite due to the spring break rush. We all sat on the porch, ate, and talked for a bit. Then, the men went to sleep in Christy's room and we (the 4 girls), set up in the living room and watched a movie (Kristi was very prepared and brought her laptop with tons of DVDs to watch).

In the morning, we ate more of the homemade granola bars on the porch, and then I set off to come back to College Station. On the drive back, I stopped at this HUGE wildflower store outside of Fredericksburg. I must have looked around for almost an hour. I ended up buying two rose bushes (I guess they would be called bushes; I am not sure) to plant in the front yard. :)

All in all, it was a great time. :)

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