Tuesday, January 19 - Today we moved from Fort Stockton, TX to the Rio Grande Village Campground in Big Bend National Park.
It's a nice place with shade. We had a really big site. I still have to be on leash, but Dad got out my long tether, so I could explore. We had nice neighbors from Colorado. I also met my first Javelina. I didn't get a picture, but Mom took this picture of another Javelina.
They are kind of funny looking pigs. We've also seen several Roadrunners in the campground.
Wednesday, January 20 - This morning Dad and I went for a run around the campground. Actually, Dad went for a bike ride and I ran along side him. I used to do this a lot when we went on our last big trip. I didn't remember at first, but now I'm a pro again. After my run, I was pretty tired, so I decided that it was a good day to stay behind for a good long nap, while Mom and Dad went out to explore. They went on the River Road, which is a 4-wheel drive, high-clearance vehicle road. They drove out about 20 miles to an abandoned Mercury Mine and hiked around. Here are some of their photos of the area around the mine.
After the mine, they came back to the main road through the park and drove to Boquillas Canyon for another hike. Boquillas Canyon was cut by the Rio Grande River and is really narrow and deep.
After that, they came back home to me and we all had dinner. After dinner, we sat outside and looked at the stars. Big Bend National Park has darker night skies than most any place else in the United States, so it's a really good place to look at stars. Unfortunately, we managed to be here at Full Moon, so the star gazing wasn't as good as it could be. However, it's hard to complain when it's comfortable to sit outside, after dark, on the 20th of January and stare at the moon.
Thursday, January 21 - Today Mom and Dad decided that it was a good day to do some hiking. They drove to the Chisos Mountains area of the Park. They learned that the Chisos Mountains is the only mountain range in the USA that is entirely within a National Park. That's kind of cool. They went on three different hikes and hiked over five miles. I stayed home and had another day of R&R. Here are some pictures of their day.
After their hike, we went to the Park Lodge, so Mom could get wi-fi to work. This is Mom's new office.
Sunday, January 24 - Today we moved on to Fort Davis, Texas. We are staying at Fort Davis State Park. It's a pretty park set in some canyons in the Davis mountains. After we got set up, we drove to Marfa and Mom and Dad looked at some interesting art. Then, we went up on the mountain to watch the sunset.
Monday, January 25 - Today Mom and Dad took a tour of the McDonald Observatory. It's just a few miles from here. I got to look at the pretty view from the top of the mountain while Mom and Dad went to look at all the big telescopes. Mom even got to run the telescope.
In the afternoon, we went to the Fort Davis National Historic Site. It's one of the places where they built a Fort to protect people going west to explore for gold. There were several cool old buildings and displays of what life was life back then.
Tuesday, January 26 - Today we went into Alpine to do laundry. There aren't a lot of laundromats in uninhabited desert, so Mom and Dad's clothes were beginning to pile up. I wear basic black that goes with everything, so I only have one coat. I think it's fine if my coat only gets cleaned every 6 weeks or so, so I'm good. After laundry, Mom and Dad had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then went to the Museum of the Big Bend.
Did I mention that it snowed today? Yup, lots of really big huge flakes. Everything turned white, except the roads. That was a good thing because Alpine is 30 miles from the campground. The desert was really pretty on the drive home.
Mom and Dad were a little disappointed. They planned to go to the Star Party at the McDonald Observatory. There is a program about the night sky, then everyone gets to go outside and look through real telescopes at the stars. Since it was snowing, it was cloudy and the Party was canceled.
Wednesday, January 27 - Today we left Texas and spent the night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Thursday, January 28 - Today we drove to Benson, Arizona and met up with our friends Bob, Dee Dee, and Charlie. Charlie is Bob and Dee Dee's fur kid. Mom, Dad, and Charlie's parents went out to dinner. Charlie and I had to stay at our respective houses. It looks like our parents had a good time.
Friday, January 29 - Mom and Dad went to Bisbee and Tombstone, Arizona today.
After they got home, we went for a walk around the RV park. It was really fun. I found a desert rodent. Mom and Dad couldn't figure out what kind it was, but all I can say is that it was tasty.
We had a beautiful sunset.
Sunday, January 31 - This morning when I went for my walk, a cactus attacked me. I was just sniffing it and a piece of it broke snapped off and bit into my nose. When I tried to use my paw to brush it off, it bit my paw, too. Dad pulled the big part off my nose. Then, Dad said that I looked like I'd been attacked by a porcupine. The thorns were more than an inch long. Dad was able to get the thorns out of my paw, but it took Mom, Dad, and tweezers to get them out of end of my nose. It was awful.
It was another hot day in Tuscon. After my trauma, I decided to stay home and let Mom and Dad drive to Tubac on their own. On the way home, they stopped at a local Brewery for dinner.
