Dad forgot his duffle bag with EVERYTHING of his in it. We had to stop in Alpine and buy everything there. The only store that was open was Family Dollar, and the only clothes they had that would fit dad were these "bling-bling" clothes. Here's dad posing like a "bling-bling" dude.
Here's Dad cooking us some breakfast on the first morning.
Meet Preston Shrum. This is a pretty bad first impression, though... well... maybe not.
This is us driving out of Terlingua Ranch so we could actually get to the National Park. I think it was 12 miles off the highway. It took WAY TOO LONG to get out there.
We stopped to get out and look here. This was our first time "high up". Dad was being goofy.
"ECHO!-CHO!-CHO..."
A Texas bluebonnet. This is a beautiful photo, probably one of the best I've ever taken.
"Hey guys... I think those are mountains out there."
A profile of Preston (you'll find a lot of these...)
Isaac doesn't want to get left.
Preston smiles. We drove with the wing doors open so I could get some good scenery shots without window-reflections. Here's an example of us with the door open. Most of my scenery shots I cut out, but you should be able to find them on MY PHOTO PAGE pretty soon.
"Don't worry, I'm in no immediate danger! Look at it's BEAUTIFUL coloration!" Dad does "the Crocodile Hunter" imitation. Oh by the way, it's dead.
"This is it?"
"Oh, hey, didn't see you down there."
Santa Elena canyon entrance.
The riverside was REALLY sandy. I had never seen a sandy river bank before...
Doing his best weasel imitation... Isaac also looks like this in the sun...
"You're going in there?" Behind us was thick brush. We climbed up what you saw earlier as the cliff walls. We didn't know it, but we were really in mexico at that point.
Preston plays basket-tire???
Peekaboo.
The trail into Santa Elena canyon
Deep in desert woods.
"I already know you're taking hundreds of photos of me."
"Look at these fossils."
An overlook. Preston and I actually went out on that rock sticking out there, it was a long way down.
Preston takes a wee look.
That's a pretty corny safety rail for being this high up.
The cliff wall.
Going up... again.
No, it wasn't an asphalt path for the sissies. It was strictly dirt and logs and rocks. I was surprised at how many senior citizens I saw there, though. And they were all doing ok, too. There were a BUNCH of Europeans, too.
Still going up.
Now going down.
...and down.
Windy path.
I can't figure out what angle I originally took this from. This photo is confusing.
A viewpoint... we were almost to the water.
Preston sees the beach and runs.
"Ah, nice soft grass..."
"I think I see a cave."
"Quick Isaac! To the Bat Cave!"
"What's that up there?" (I don't remember what it was...)
This huge rock was just sitting right there. I'd have hated to be the guy it fell on "50 million years ago"!
Super Dad uses his superior superiority to move the giant boulder.
"Um, yeah, that's a big rock."
More walking.
Walking through cane. The terrain and surroundings always changed.
"FINALLY! The water's edge!"
Inside the canyon. (I was stupid enough to bring my camera)
Locals said the river was low. Those kids there were having a mud fight.
As much as this water looks warm and nasty, it was INCREDIBLY COLD... but I'm sure it was probably nasty. One lady told us to wash our hands WELL before we ate lunch because of the high concentration of bacteria in the river.
Another look at the canyon walls.
Dad relaxes a little.
Inside the room.
That's Preston and Isaac.
Here's a good view of the river and the canyon wall.
Looking out the window of our room.
Those tiny specks in the river and Dad and Preston. I like putting people in my photographs for scale.
Using my zoon.
The sunset of the first day.
Isaac is so stupid....
BIG SPACE OF TIME SKIPPED! This is the next day in the mountains of Big Bend. This area was called "The Basin". It reached 7,800 feet and it was about a four hour hike up to the top and back down again.
Very tiresome... and humid!
A look around. It was pretty foggy that day.
Isaac makes another hilarious face (without knowing he's doing it).
Isaac climbs up a little.
Have a look at the scenery. Isaac was SO afraid to go to the edge.
The mountains in the distance.
Well, up we go...
Yeah, this trail wasn't all paved and stuff either.
Here's the 1500 foot drop, course you can't see all the way down in this shot.
You guessed it, Preston DID try to get to the top of the rock, but we decided to beg him not to die of anything on this trip, cause friends were scare in Del Rio and he is a crucial part of out collection...
Does your heart look like this?
This is at the top, and BOY were we tired.
If you can see the road, we were parked way down past the end of what you can see here.
Preston sets his camera to stun.
Standing up at the top.
Yeah, he leaned over the edge... REALLY FAR. There was a draft coming up from the foot of the canyons below, and you can see it blowing his shirt here. It felt good though.
...well now we have to go down.
Halfway down.
Some pinelings.
Preston perches on a rock.
Isaac was scared stiff.
But he sat on the edge.
Here's a look at the trail.
Preston climbs another rock...