Big Bend, Finally

Big day.  We are on our way to a destination we have been working our way to for the last two weeks.  We have just another 126 miles of desert to cross before our adventure of visitor center hosts begins.

Our approach to Big Bend National Park is from Fort Stockton and through the northern most entrance station known as Persimmon Gap. 

Even after getting past this station there is 26 miles left to get to the housing area where we will set up housekeeping for the winter. 

Lots of desert in this 800,000 acre park.

This housing area is also home to the headquarters for Big Bend, a visitor center, post office, gas station and the Big Bend Natural History Association.  The name of this community is Panther Junction.  PJ to the locals.

 



The drive from Persimmon Gap to PJ was a meander through the desert, nothing but creosote bush and cacti in the near-view and mountains in the distance no matter which way you looked.  We pulled into the PJ Visitor Center parking lot and took advantage of ample space to park our 60 foot rig so we could go in and find our supervising ranger. 

Our volunteer coordinator would have been the one we would normally contact first but she was on the overnight river trip that all trainees that attended the first week of training were on.  It is a shame that we missed that first week but, thanks to the government shutdown, we are getting here two weeks earlier than planned and will be able to sit in on the second week of training.  We should still be on the North Rim and not getting out of there until the day after Halloween.  Now, instead of being in an empty campground and packing to leave for a 1200 mile journey the day after Halloween we will instead be where there is an elementary/middle school and the potential for trick-or-treaters.  Oh boy, an excuse to buy candy, candy, candy.  I see a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in my future.  I mean the trick-or-treater's future.

Our supervisor, Ranger Rob, wasted no time in getting us settled in.  He had a map to our parking spot ready for us and offered the use of his chest freezer to store all the frozen food we bought in Midland.  Nice.

We found our way to the RV section of the neighborhood and took possession of the last open site.  It was a chore getting in; trees, yucca, cactus and a wicked slope.  The leveling jacks didn't begin to have enough stroke in them to accommodate the tilt of this lot.  A little scrambling around and eventually there were enough bricks, boards and rocks to allow the leveling jacks to reach.  Except now the wheels on one side of the camper are about 18" off the ground!  Now, when somebody sneezes it is like living in a tree-house swaying in the wind.  Oh well.

After setting up we went back over to headquarters where Ranger Rob gave us a tour and showed us where our internal mail box is and all the places we will be getting our supplies from.  It was late enough in the day, and a Friday so most of the people he took us to meet had already left for the weekend.  We'll have to wait till Monday to start putting names and faces together.  Right now we are going home and putting our feet up.