#15: Big Bend National Park

I got up early one morning to make the two-hour drive from Marfa to Big Bend NP. The drive was incredible. It was a gorgeous sunny day and as a creature of the weather, I was feeling it. The landscape is just so vast and open, with plateaus just popping up along the flatness of the high desert.

Some quick fun facts on this area: The Big Bend area of Texas is located in the Chihuahuan Desert - the most biologically diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere, and the largest desert in North America. The name, “Big Bend,” stems from the 90-degree angle of the Rio Grande. Big Bend is an entire region of Texas, not just the name of the park.

Upon entering the park, I reached the Panther Junction Visitor Center. I stopped in to speak to the ranger, get a map, watch the park movie and of course, show my annual NP pass for admission (I’m always so proud to show my annual pass). Having a full day to explore the park, I left the visitor center with a plan of action. I needed to stick to drivable roads given I had Addie with me. As I’ve mentioned previously with national parks, hiking trails that allow dogs are few and far between, but I was prepared for that. Even though I was limited, I didn’t feel it much given all the beauty I saw and all the ground I covered.

We ventured out with Santa Elena Canyon as our destination, knowing that we would stop along the way anywhere we wanted. We ended up on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to take us down to the canyon. The drive was stunning. We took our time and made it to Santa Elena Canyon a few hours later. There weren’t many stops or pull-offs that I didn’t want to explore. Finally getting down to the canyon, I saw kayaks getting loaded in an out of the Rio Grande. I made a mental note to come back and kayak the canyon when the weather is warmer. It’s crazy to think that just across that river is Mexico!

I could have spent a week in this park - exploring, relaxing, learning and simply just taking it all in. An important lesson I’m learning on this journey is that I can’t do EVERYTHING. I may have mentioned that before. I am also learning that I need to go with the flow and adapt to what happens around me (goes back to my tried and true saying, “10% is what happens to me and 90% is how I react to it”). I had the day to explore the park and if I wanted to go back the next day, I could absolutely do that.

On the way back one of the areas that stood out was Sotol Vista. You take a windy road to get up there but you feel like you’re on top of the park once you get all the way up. I sat up there for a while. Just sat.

The next time I go to Big Bend NP (because there WILL be a next time), I will plan to camp there or at least stay there for an extended amount of time. By the time I made the drive back to Marfa, I was exhausted and felt like I covered as much ground as I could with having Addie with me.

Until the next time, Big Bend…

#14: Preface: Big Bend National Park

A little background…

Initially Big Bend National Park was somewhat of a controversial one. I had gotten some warnings to avoid Big Bend. Or, if I were to go, only to make a day trip and drive through the park (not get out or stay overnight). The concern was that the park is so close to the Mexican border, and also so remote.

After speaking to some people in Austin about West Texas, and having those people ask other people who are more familiar with West Texas, the consensus was not to worry at all. So, I based plans around not worrying (as I write this post, I have spent ample time in West Texas and I feel a little ridiculous even admitting that this was a concern). I decided to head to West Texas and make Marfa my base. In West Texas there are a handful of small towns to visit; but from what I heard, I didn’t need a lot of time in each one. I decided to plant myself in Marfa and make day trips from there (unhitching and hitching back up gets exhausting, and it’s nice to keep the trailer in one place).

The one exception was Big Bend NP, which is about a two-hour drive from Marfa. I reserved a campsite in the park for one night, knowing that I wouldn’t want to be rushed while exploring the park. One thing to note here: the campsite I reserved in Big Bend NP did not have an electric hook-up, so essentially, I’d be dry camping (which is usually fine). The plan was to do a few days of day trips from Marfa, then visit Big Bend, then back to Marfa to actually explore Marfa.

Thermostat “Challenge”

After a 6-7 hour drive from Austin, I arrived in Marfa (note: Marfa is 4,800 feet above sea level). As I was settling in for the evening, and the temperature was getting cooler, I went to turn on the heat in the Airstream. This is what I saw on the thermostat panel:

No, this is not some secret Airstream language. This panel is supposed to have readable, English words and icons. With my thermostat looking like this, I wasn’t sure how to turn the heat on. Luckily, that first night wasn’t too cold, so Addie and were fine under covers and dressed in layers (well, only I was dressed in layers!).

After mildly panicking, I consulted my trusted Airstream Facebook groups. The advice was to take the panel off the wall and take a look at the back of it. After doing this, I saw (and confirmed with my FB consultants) that the electric panel/board had corrosion damage from moisture getting in from behind (The back of the board is RIGHT up against the Airstream’s insulation; nothing is protecting the wiring from humidity or anything else getting in there. See photos below - the white paint-looking marks on the green is the damage). Others on Facebook said this had happened to them. Some had taken it to Airstream for replacement, and others had cleaned the back with an electronics cleaner and toothbrush.

The next morning was spent on the phone with Airstream, calling RV places in the area (which were extremely limited given Marfa's remoteness) and trying to devise a plan to stay warm that night - temperatures were going to be in the teens and snow was predicted. Yikes.

Long story short, Airstream advised not to have any "other" RV place touch it. And, that cleaning it with electronics cleaner would most likely not fix the problem. The recommendation was to get a small space heater to stay warm that night, and Airstream would send me a new panel (with protective backing*) to install myself. It took a few days to get the parts together at Airstream's home office, and by the time it went out via UPS for overnight delivery, it was Thursday. In theory, I would have the package on Friday (it was Tuesday when I initially called Airstream).

In the meantime, I couldn't (warmly) camp at Big Bend NP. My space heater (which I had purchased the first day I noticed the panel malfunction, so I could have heat when the temperatures reached the teens) can only work when plugged into an electric connection (shore power). This is due to the power it requires to start up - same as a hairdryer or microwave, for example. My campsite at Big Bend didn't have an electric connection. Arguably, I could have been fine, but given my previous cold weather encounters, I'm now hesitant to take risks when it comes to heat.

Since I wasn't sure what the future held, I decided to take a day trip to Big Bend NP and go from there. So that's precisely what Addie and I did.

In the end…

I finally received the new panel (with protective backing) via UPS (I had it sent to the RV park at which I was staying) and was able to install it myself, with the help of a few YouTube videos. 💪

I now have a working thermostat so I can use the furnace to heat the air and water. I’m sure there was a way to get the furnace running without the thermostat, but I wasn’t about to go down that path. I stuck it out and dealt with it until the new part arrived.

Telling this story of the thermostat explains why my trip to Big Bend NP was done as a single day trip.

*I’m not sure why Airstream didn’t originally manufacture the thermostat with the protective backing. They may have started after my unit was manufactured, as mine is a 2017 model.