Big Bend National Park, Texas: Telephone Canyon

Day One (Thurs, Feb 21st): I arrived at Big Bend National Park on Thursday. It’s a bit of a haul from the entrance to the Panther Junction Headquarters. I picked out my back country sites, filled up a 5 gal jug of water and headed out on the Old Ore Road. It was nice being back on a this road that I traveled on last summer, only this time I was was going to camp alongside it.

I arrived at the camp a few hours before sundown. This was also the first time I set up my camp fully and hopefully straighten out some kinks. I did find one major issue. When I originally set up my awning, I didn’t have the rooftop tent open, so I mounted the L-brackets up instead of down for some bizarre reason. Turned out that it interfered with the tent stays and I had to remount it. I had time, so I’d get to it later. I rearranged some gear and called it a night. The wind kicked up and was a bit rough but the tent can handle it pretty well.

Day Two (Fri, Feb 22nd): I awoke after some really crazy dreams, one of them was I lost Furiosa in New York City and was a mess. The second was I was at some extreme sports stars mansion and there was Skateboard ramps, BMX jumps, Snowboarding launches. I was searching for some unknown thing and had to wander out on a ledge to look for it. There might be symbolism to all of it but I’m not really too concerned. I think most dreams are just random thoughts, interconnected to each other to make sense to your lizard brain. I ate some oatmeal, a Lara bar and made some shitty freeze-dried coffee. I noticed that it was pretty quiet that morning after the wind too.

I reorganized a bit and decided to reinstall the awning. It took about 3 plus hours to remount because the hardware is located in a tight spot and you can’t get too much purchase with a wrench or socket, so it was a slow slog.

Furi and I walked north till I saw the other Telephone Canyon camp but I didn’t bother the occupants. We just turned around and headed back to ours. I could faintly hear them sometimes when the wind was right.

My solar panel is a bit suspect but it might be that I have my Dometic set for freezer instead of a fridge, maybe more power draw.

Furi was in her element, no leash, lots of dust and she can run amok. It tires her out which is nice for me. She truly is a Desert Dog.

I made some tortillas with seasoned steak meat (Hatch Chilis) and vegetables. Tortillas are the way to go for camping. It’s really a plate you can eat, so less things to clean.

Night was clear but was windy again and the awning came loose twice. I slept badly, twice the recommended dose of CBD oil had no effect. Did eat a late night Lara bar. I battened down the tent to handle the wind better.

Day Three (Sat, Feb 23rd): I woke up that morning pretty groggy and it was cold outside. I slept bad because of the wind but I figured I’d sleep during the day to catch up, it’s not like I’m busy. I started the FJ up to charge the secondary battery a bit during breakfast, I made hashbowns and eggs.

I looked at my thumb and I had two small blood blisters, I have no idea how it happened.

I might hike out a bit tomorrow to change the scenery, the camp north of me left, so I can walk through the area without intruding.

I met a guy camping on his mountain bike. Initially, Furi chased him down and he was gracious enough to not freak out. She flipped over on her back after she figured he was friendly and they became fast friends. I think he initially thought I was in his site  and I told him there was another campsite about 1/4 mile down the road and that it was much nicer than this one and close to some trails and not the road. We made some small talk and I asked if he went to Boquillas and he just said, “It was delicious”. He then went on his way. Pretty cool way to see the park and pretty ballsy. Later on, Furi and I walked near the other Campsite but the guy wasn’t there. Must have went hiking

During the day, a few bees came around but they seemed not really aggressive but later on there was a noticeable bunch of them. I noticed because of the swarm noise. For some reason, they liked the tailpipe of the FJ. They’d fly in and do who knows what? Maybe they wanted to establish a hive? I had to start the rig anyway and I did my best to shoo them but some of them still persisted. They seemed miffed when I started the car and I think the Carbon Monoxide knocked out a few of them (they recovered, I checked).  I eventually covered the tailpipe with some tinfoil and while they were still interested, they eventually gave up.

Text and phone reception was at an all time hight. Two bars. Talk and texted a few people.

Before I went to bed, I noticed that it was dead quiet. No bugs, no bird noises…Nothing. It was like being on the Moon. Heard nothing but my tinnitus. Slept OK, CBD has some effect?

Day Four (Sun, Feb 24th): Eggs and Hashbrowns again. Broke out the new dog food for Furi, same brand but different style. Met the Mountain bike camper again. Furi greeted him very warmly. We talked camping gear, camping styles, Denver, Portland, politics and various other stuff. It was nice to converse with someone. It’ll be good to see Jon, Furi and I only have so much in common.

Hiked out to the Sierra de Caballo Muerto and I strangely had full bars on the phone. I caught up on some media stuff and sent some texts.

Night was quiet again. It’s so quiet that it’s even deadens the sound. Very eerie but also nice.

Day Five (Mon, Feb 25th): Cleaned and packed all non-essential gear so all I have to do is secure the tent. Going to eat light in the morning. Walked a bit but mostly read some books.

Day Six (Tues, Feb 26th): Woke up at 0545, and broke camp in 25 minutes and started driving in the dark south. The sunrise was really beautiful. I don’t remember the Old Ore Road being this mellow, until I punctured my front left tire. I pulled an amateur move and crawled up over a rock that was suspect. I had the tire off, found the puncture, mounted the spare and got back moving in about 25-30 minutes. I drove pretty conservative after that. I’m no stranger to risk but I hate losing contingencies. I switched into two-wheel drive and drove down to Rio Grande Village Campground.While I was heading into the shower at the Campground, there was a really loud talking person on his phone talking some business crap, this was the first person I heard in a few days (other than Jason, the mountain bike camper). It was a bit annoying hearing this guy spew all his bullshit.  I head into the shower for a two dollar/ 5 min shower. It was nice to get five days of dust off, Furi is going to have to wait. While I was showering, some guy was laying waste to the toilet, I jokingly thought that he needed more fiber in his life. After I was done showering, I brushed my teeth and took care of my beard and hair. Funny enough, I ended up talking with the guy who blew up the toilet. Mostly about the drive in and the drive out, he was nice enough for someone who raised some serious decibel levels with his farts.

The closest tire repair was Fort Stockton. It was a bit unnerving knowing if I had a flat, I’d be fucked. I really should pick up a plug kit. I have one when I’m on my Motorcycle, so why not the FJ. After some internet searches, I find Luera’s Tire Center & Services and make my way there. He pops the tire off and informs me it’s not repairable and he sadly doesn’t have that size at his shop. He asks where I’m headed and suggests Discount tire. I pay him ten bucks and I’m off to Midland/Odessa. I call Jon and tell him I might be delayed but I doubt it. I’m making good time with an hour and a half to spare.

I get to Discount Tire in Odessa and I have two issues. First, I figure I need two new tires to avoid a mismatch. I originally got four new tires in Reedsport, Oregon at Les Schwab and kept the best of my old ones. Looking back, I should have just got 5 and I would have just had to buy a cheap spare till I got back to a Schwabby. The other issue is that I had snow tires, there’s not much use for them in most of Texas. I got a set of All terrains similar to my back country’s. I tell the guy, take the right front, throw it on the back as a spare, get rid of the front left and install the two new one up front. I walk Furi for a bit and they are done in good time (I should have suspected something right there). I’m stoked, I have time for some laundry and relegating Furi into the back seat before picking up Jon at the Airport.

I get to the coin laundry place and throw my bedding and clothes in and start to work on reorganizing the FJ. While I open the rear door, I notice that my spare is sitting strange and I take the cover off, it’s the punctured tire. I jump back in the rig and head back to discount tire, I should have called but I was a pissed off and I also thought that the tire techs are kids, if they were older, they’d be working in the Oil industry making some serious bucks. I get back to place and it’s packed of course. I explain it to the guy I bought it from and did my best not to get pissed off. It seemed like it took longer for one tire. Jon texted that he touched down and I called him and said I’d be a few minutes late but I was about 20min away. The tire’s finished and I head out to the airport, still miffed but trying to not let it get to me.

I pick up Jon and we head back to the laundromat to throw my stuff in the dryer, we decide to hit up a Whataburger and catch up. The kid at the counter messes up Jons order but he asked for two cheeseburgers and the poor kid thought he wanted two meals. We kept one of the burgers and fries in the freezer.

While leaving the Whataburger, I made a right on to the highway into a right only lane. Like a dumbass, I went straight and got pulled over by one of Odessas finest. She was cordial, so I was too. She me off with a warning but asked why my address on my Oregon licence didn’t match? I said I was retired from the military and was essentially homeless. Jon added that I should have NFA or no fixed address put on it.

After few hours of driving, we pull into the El Dorado at 1030PM. It’s dark and I’m shot. I can’t even muster the strength to check out the shady bar by the hotel. I slept pretty well.