donna-sue and martin's amazing adventure (aka: ds & m see America)

Traveling from Marianna, FL to Las Cruces, NM. Part IV. Big Bend NP revisited, 2025 Big Bend NP is such a large park containing so much diversity we were happy to fit in a second visit on our way to Las Cruces. Diversity, you question? It's in the Chihuahuan desert, what could be diverse about that? Well, to start with, it has the most bird species of any national park, 450 (of which about 400 are migratory and 50 are year-round residents). It also has the Rio Grande River, flat vast expanses, rocky outcrops, volcanic dikes, and it has an entire mountain range, the Chisos, within its borders. The elevation varies from 1850’ at the Rio Grande to 7825’ at the top of the highest peak in the Chisos mountains. And it even has dinosaur bones and exhibits. So, yes, there is much to see and experience.  We camped at The Rio Grande Village, which as its name suggests, is right along the Rio Grande River.  The river, at this point, is quite shallow and although it marks the internationa...

Marianna to Las Cruces. Part III:  traveling through Texas We made our way across most of Texas with just overnight stops hoping to get to Big Bend NP for the last few days before we were due in Las Cruces, NM for our next build.  Our first stop was at Lake Livingston, a 90,000 acre reservoir and water source for Houston. It is in an area of Texas locally referred to as “the big thicket” due to its impenetrable yaupon and hawthorn thickets. There were tons of birds on the water, and I marveled at their numbers coming and going. White pelicans, double-breasted cormorants and more. pelicans getting ready to land Our next night was in Waco where we visited our good friends, Bill and Joyce Green. They have been on a health kick since we saw them last year including working with a personal trainer and they both looked simply mahvahlous! We had dinner at a BBQ place and it was amazingly delicious. It was the best BBQ I'd ever eaten. I learned that you have to ask for the “burned bit...