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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on May 16, 2008 23:16:18 GMT -5
Hello all, I went to Big Bend National Park this Spring and thought I would share some remarkable stuff with you. The first photo is of Boquillas Canyon itself. That's the Rio Grande, shallow enough to wade through. In fact, some enterprising Mexicans do cross to peddle small crafts and rocks. Buying anything from across the border is illegal, as is carrying any rocks through the park. I've been told the Rangers won't stop you without probable cause, but the penalties are steep. Here's a slightly different view; the rocks on the left will become important later. On the left bank is a huge sand pile from eroded rock. Some kids give you a sense of scale. We'll return to the rocks behind them in a moment. Here's a closer shot of the cliff wall behind the sand pile. Guess what those shiny spots are on the wall. Yes, it's agate/jasper. Some of it is in hollow vug/geode form. The bands are very large compared to smaller agates. Returning to the rocks on the left side of photo #2, here's a closeup. These things are as big as footballs or small soccer balls and they're locked up in what looks like chrysoprase (?) that has a desert polish and distinctive flow marks. Some smaller ones. Vugs. You can guess that I was drooling, wishing I could take some home. More vugs. Close up of a big vug. Finally, perhaps the most remarkable stone. Agatized fossils (at least that's what I'm calling it; definitely fossils locked in a chalcedony matrix). If you go to Woodward Ranch, definitely go to Boquillas Canyon to check out this amazing site. Then head to Stillwell Ranch for petrified wood and jasper. I hope to post some photos from my finds there before too long. Hope you enjoyed the virtual trip. Chuck
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UtahRockHound
spending too much on rocks
Sometimes your the Windshield, sometimes your the Rock.
Member since May 2008
Posts: 301
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Post by UtahRockHound on May 18, 2008 0:09:21 GMT -5
Only being to Texas once when I was a kid, I had to look the location up. Interesting place.
Would have enjoyed seeing them in person. Maybe when I retire.
Was this a rafting trip, or a drive in.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on May 18, 2008 18:52:41 GMT -5
We spent 4 days in the park and covered as much territory driving as we could. The parking lot is posted with signs warning that there are frequent break-ins. Yeah, the pictures don't really do it justice.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,463
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Post by Sabre52 on May 18, 2008 22:19:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the great pics! I love pictures of agates in their natural habitat. This is always one of my favorite sections of this site!.....Mel
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Post by Condor on Jun 27, 2008 22:36:13 GMT -5
Excellent. Glad you got to go to WWR and Stillwell Ranch. Got any pictures of those? I'm getting the urge to go there real bad, but with the heat and perhaps the snakes, I just might wait until the fall.
Condor
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barrymtn
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 4
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Post by barrymtn on Jul 23, 2011 23:21:26 GMT -5
Big Bend NP is my favorite place in the world. I have been going there since I was about 8-9 yrs old. I keep going back. back in the 60's, I worked on some research projects digging up dinosaur fossils, and for many years I took groups of kids there and taught them about geology, flora and fauna of the Big Bend. I have wonderful stories of those trips. I have hiked about every trail there at one time or other. My wife and I are planning a trip there in Sept, and it will be my wifes first trip there. Anyone going there at this time, lets meet up.
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Post by roy on Jul 23, 2011 23:35:13 GMT -5
thanks for the tour
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carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Jul 24, 2011 7:14:08 GMT -5
Thanks for an interesting travel posting. I really need to get out there with my wife and grandkids.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Jul 24, 2011 10:56:19 GMT -5
Wonderful photos!!! Another hike in the park that is very atmospheric is the Grapevine Hills, lots of great hoodoes and large tumbled stones. I should dig out a few of my pix and add them to the thread.
However, one comment: They WILL stop you without probable cause. They MAY search you or your vehicle without probable cause. Unless you think a T-shirt that says "Veracruz, Mexico" on it is probable cause. They stopped me. Although it wasn't Rangers, it was Customs or Immigration officials, I never know which is which. I would say I was detained about 45 minutes until they figured out that I was harmless and that sometimes a tourist T-shirt from a decade previous is just an old T-shirt.
I have seen Mexicans cross by horseback near the hot springs. I can't really blame them. It's a 300 mile round trip to the legal border crossing at Del Rio, so they were placed in a very difficult situation when the informal border crossings were closed at Big Bend after 911.
Despite the minor hassles, Big Bend is well worth visiting. I would like to visit sometime in the spring of the year, which I think is February (?) when the flowers are in bloom, but have not yet had the opportunity.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Jul 24, 2011 11:00:46 GMT -5
AAh, here's a quick one: Balance Rock at the peak of the Grapevine Hills trail I saw no one else hiking that day, and I was hiking solo. Always carry food and water when hiking in the park. And go slow, rocks can be slippery. But what a view I had!
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barrymtn
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 4
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Post by barrymtn on Jul 24, 2011 21:33:55 GMT -5
Hey Peachfront, the Grapevine Hills are one of my favorite places. I always go out there in late afternoon and stay for a long time. If I am alone, I just explore and enjoy the silence, usually nobody around. If I am with kids, silence is none existent, but enjoy it as they will learn from the experience and come to love it like I do. I have spent many hours and even days in Big Bend where I never saw another person or heard any sign of civilization..no car or airplane sounds. I have never seen as beautiful of a nightime sky as I have at BB, but that was before Mexico built the big coal fired plant to the east. Still, you can get lost there, if you want.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jul 24, 2011 22:49:08 GMT -5
Thanks for "taking us along", Chuck! Looks like you folks had a great time. Interesting scenery and geological formations.
Thanks Paul
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Post by connecticutwayne on Jul 25, 2011 6:11:59 GMT -5
WOW. Thanks for sharing those photos.
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Post by tanyafrench on Jul 27, 2011 17:11:11 GMT -5
That is a wonderful place to travel, I have never been to Texas at all but with the problems at the border is it truly a safe place to go? At my age I have become somewhat of a coward where my safety is concerned. I sure have enjoyed the photos and oh how I would love to go there someday.
Tanya
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jul 28, 2011 11:29:49 GMT -5
Yes, it is safe. I would not cross the border from El Paso to Juarez, but Big Bend is safe. The desert around it is pretty forbidding, as are the canyon walls on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande. We did see a few Mexicans selling trinkets or songs (one guy wanted to sing for money in the canyon; the canyon provided a nice echo).
Chuck
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