werner@ut-ngp.UUCP (07/03/83)
How about some more life on this net - like interesting places to fly to:
so here comes one:
Big Bend National Park in SW-Texas:
------------------------------------
Right at the west corner of the park is Lajitas, a tiny town of some national
fame due to an article in Time magazine about a year+ ago for its
beer-drinking super-goat (I have seen it,the fellow is a TRUE alcoholic, with
liver-damage and the works, impotent, too, but he goes thru the motions).
The strip is long enough for Lear-jets (reported landing there), but take
note of the temperature effecting your take-off - gets quite hot there.
There are no (NONE) facilities, nobody answering the radios, no tie-down
hooks, no fuel, nothing. Nearest VOR and fuel is in Marfa, about 70 miles
away, I believe, with MOUNTAINS in between, and you can't receive the VOR
at Lajitas, unless x (lots) above the field.
The nice part is, that you can walk 300 feet and there is a modern motel
with nice restaurant, often dancing, etc. Walk another 300 feet and you are
in the trading post, where you can see the goat and real "locals", mainly
from across the river, drinking beer and playing dominoes. You get all your
equipment and basic wilderness camping needs filled there.
What do you do there? Well, this is THE desert hiking place, biggest park
in the continental 48, I believe. And, please, take the desert seriously,
it kills. You need to carry water, lots, for long distances. So no amateur
foolishness, please. After the warning, here is the fun part.
The park starts right at the end of the strip. You need a permit and need
to register at the trading-post (costs a few bucks, I believe). Right at the
end of the strip is a covered hay-stack, where you slept. I forgot to mention
that close to the trading post is a trailer-park with coin-operated showers.
Get the drift? You can take hikes into the park, for a few hours to a few
weeks, and weekends there is TEX-Mex Fun at Lajitas and other places.
There are so few people there, that you don't necessarily get treated as a
tourist by the locals, depends on your human skills, of course.
There is an "official" park headquarter about 50 miles SE, with ruins,
hot springs, camp-grounds of different levels of "luxury". Higher elevations
also provide cooler nites, water (some springs have water year-round),
TREES and shade!!!!, etc. One can hike there (for the hardy or daring)
or hitch a ride on the road next to the air-strip - definitely worth it.
You can also arrange for a trip to the park-headquarter down the Rio Grande,
very exiting, and not for beginners. Best done by getting in touch with
Bill at the trading post, or the professionals river-rafters.
I forget the company's name, but they have a large shop behind the motel.
Another thrill is the Mexican side. As far as I could tell, people crossed
back and forth without any visible border-control. Someone said, there was
an understanding that 10 miles on either side were considered ok to cross
into, without any problems. Well, I doubt that, however, as I also heard,
that when the Border Patrol is reported to be visiting, everyone runs to the
island in the middle of the River (knee-deep, most of the time) and makes
fun of the poor fellows. That island, by the way, is historic, as the first
professional world boxing fights were held there, as neither US nor Mexican
laws were enforced there.
About ten miles into Mexico is a little town, and there are many small and
large ranches in the area - so the pickup-traffic is respectable, and one
can hitch a ride there, too, more with social skills than with money.
Some Spanish is a definite plus. We have some friends with a horse-ranch
over there, who are willing to take small parties on guided tours, meeting
the customers in Lajitas. We considered that a special treat, and if anyone
is interested, I could try to find out, if they are still doing this.
Werner (UUCP: { decvax!eagle , ucbvax!nbires } !ut-ngp!werner
or: { allegra, ctvax, gatech, ihnp4, rice, vortex } !ut-ngp!werner )
(ARPA: cs.werner@utexas-20 or werner@utexas-11 )