Government Shutdown

Woke up this morning in Big Bend National Park in southern Texas only to learn that the park services were suspended due to lack of government funding – we were leaving anyway today, but come on!

We spent four nights at this national park, which rivals Yosemite in my book. That says a lot about the beauty, the expanse, the rock formations, just the sheer magnificence. We canoed down a small section of the Rio Grande, including a visit to St. Elena canyon – a spectacular sight. The Mexican-U.S. border runs down the center of the river and on either side loom imposing rock walls. I couldn’t help thinking about the proposed wall along the Mexican border. Nothing could rival the sheer beauty of the walls of St. Elena canyon –  Mexico and the US jointly manage the millions of acres of natural resources that make this area so special. Can't we all just get along?

While at Big Bend, we kept seeing a van that advertised a business called Forever Resorts. A cemetery, perhaps?

Texas is BIG. The landscape is unforgiving – hundreds of miles of desert, tiny towns with populations of 200 to 2000: Van Horn, Sierra Blanco. And – very little wifi or cell reception.  It is truly another world from that to most of us are accustomed. But everywhere, I am struck by the friendliness, kindness, and generosity of those we meet.  

Tonight in El Paso. Tomorrow onto a state park in New Mexico, as yet undetermined, but our trip down the Rio Grande has whetted our appetite for more canoeing. Guess we’ll have to pass on national parks for now. Too bad.

Thanks for reading.