Monday, December 31, 2012

THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Hike at Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park

Copyright 2012, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

December 1, 2012

On the day that Jolly took us down the unpaved Old Maverick Road, we had planned to stop at the Santa Elena Canyon, which came highly recommended.  We had our lunch at the picnic area at the beginning of the trail, and then, we were off, with hiking sticks, bottled water and of course, cameras ready to snap!

Maybe the best is first this time, the view of the canyon as you approach.  That is the Rio Grande River, Mexico to the left, US to the right. There are of course, signs that you should not cross the river.  We did not, but, I'll bet there are some that cannot resist the temptation, eh??


Turn just a little and you see the "hiking trail", yep, up there!


Yellow, again, smiling at us I believe.  (Thanks to friend Linda, the ID:  Wild Tobacco.  Draws hummingbirds, oh,yes, I am sure it does draw hummers!)


Starting up the trail:


Flora grows anywhere it can get a foot, err, root hold.  Prickly pear and cacti, not sure, maybe those hedge hog cacti.


Those walls are stunning, overwhelming, and, mmm, TALL!


Yes, I will share growing room with you:


Turn and look out of the canyon, back towards Big Bend and Texas and the US:


Can you guess what kind of plant this might be??


It is kin to the pineapple.  It is called Hechtia, and it only grows in the Big Bend country.  How cool is that??

Man and the trail where it got a bit more "natural".  The first part of the trail was full of switchbacks and stairs.


A little panoramic, looking out of the canyon, big country, big photo!


Upon leaving the canyon friend D spotted butterflies, lots of them.  The photo is over exposed shooting into the sun, but, you can see the butterflies!  LOL



Our day had more stops and more to do, next time - -


6 comments:

Barbara Poole said...

Very nice Carol, but your last one was super cool!

Lori E said...

What a stunning spot to be. Looks like quite a hike though. What is that yellow flower? Very unusual, to me anyways.

Debbie Achtenberg said...

Love your pics and how did you do the butterfly one? Very cool.

Carol said...

Thanks Barbara, Lori E and Debbie. I have no idea on the yellow flower ID and I did not even go hunting for one. Need to do that, hoping friend Linda may know and let us know.

As far as the butterfly photo, that was pure luck, I just pointed the camera at the butterflies, zoomed a bit, prayed it was in focus, and shot a number of photos. Several were very dark, I did not even try to edit them. This one was bit light, so I darkened it a bit, and ta da, that's what I came up with.

Éire Historian said...

Stunning shots! Such an extraordinary place. I especially love the first one.

Michelle Goodrum said...

Love the butterfly pic. Couldn't get that effect if I tried.