Overland – My three day stay

Fri, Mar 1st: we break camp early and we drive to the The Boquillas Port of Entry and the parking lot is full. People have parked their cars, RVs and motorcycles like idiots. The last one irritated me the most, there were three motorcycles taking up two and a half spaces, when they could have just staggered and used one. Adding insult to it, they parked with their front wheel in, real amateur stuff there. Alway back in your bike to a spot, it’s easier to get out too.

Jon went inside to ask the Customs Border Patrol guy if we can park alongside the road because the lot was full. Jon said the guy was surprised that the lot WAS full and we could park there.

Initially, I wasn’t sure about Furi crossing into Mexico but she has all her vaccines up to date including a bunch extra ones. The guy at the crossing didn’t seem to care about her when we departed.

We walk down the trail and meet an older couple coming back from Mexico. They ask about bringing a dog into Mexico and I use the forgiveness/permission excuse. They talked about how they are foster parents to dogs but end up taking them on full-time. We also talk about Heelers and their many quirks!

Now, you could wade waist deep across the Rio Grande but why would you? Support the local economy I say, it’s $5 USD round trip…plus Jon paid for me and Furiosa, “La dejaron entrar gratis”.

There are three ways to town, you can walk, you can have someone drive you in the back of a pick up or you could ride a burro. Since we had Furi, we walked. One of the truck guys tried some salesmanship by saying the sand was hot and it wouldn’t be good for her paws. I said, “Ella es Fuerte!” Nice try but he has no idea how tough she is. As much as I would have liked to ride a Burro, Furi might have reacted bad to it. She was also very wary of them, I think Australian Cattle Dogs have instincts that certain livestock is not to be fucked with. Burros are one of them.

Continue reading “Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico”

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.

489 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.

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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.

Continue reading “Big Bend National Park, Texas: Telephone Canyon”