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Praetorium Honoris

Monday, September 17, 2018

Life isn't a sprint, it's a Marathon, but occasionally there are Bends

Last weekend, Mrs Juvat, myself and Little Juvat and his bride, took the weekend off and drove to Marathon, Texas, to see what there is to see and maybe drink a bit of Texas Whiskey.  



Between a delicious meal and trouncing the competition in the Pop Quiz, there was a bit of conversation about what to do Sunday before heading home.  There was talk of visiting Balmorhea and going swimming.  However, since nobody had brought a swimsuit, and swimming without one was discouraged, that idea was a non-starter.  Another idea was visiting the McDonald Observatory in Ft Davis, but since it had been overcast all day Saturday with rain and more forecast for Sunday, that idea didn't float either.

I casually mentioned that I wouldn't mind visiting Big Bend again and Mrs J said that was ok with her.  Up piped Little Juvat and DIL saying they'd never been to the park before.  That sealed the deal.

Cue Yul Brynner...again!




Woke up the next morning and enjoyed breakfast.


Mrs J had something called Avocado Toast.  Looks a little "healthy" for me.



 Not being gastronomically adventuresome, Little Juvat and I passed and ordered green chile and bacon scramble.


DIL, being even less adventuresome, ordered Oatmeal and a Mexican Chocolate Latte.  All met with the Juvat Clan seal of gastronomic approval. 

Now properly fortified, we set out southward towards the park.  


Along the way, we saw indications that President Trump is, indeed, building a wall (with a considerable assist from an ancient asteroid impact in the region).

Notice, in the above picture, the predominate color.  This is a desert.  This is probably the 10th maybe 15th time I've visited the region.  I have NEVER seen it green before.  The heavy rains that had occurred over the preceding days had performed a miraculous transformation. 

One of the reasons I've visited this area so often is I find it very relaxing and peaceful.  Sarge kidded me last week about "see 'em comin' " distance, but the getting away from the rest of humanity for a short period does wondrous thing for my blood pressure.  It's about 80 miles from Marathon to the Park Entrance  at Panther Gap.  Took less than an hour and during that time, we saw a grand total of 2 vehicles, both going the opposite direction. 

As the above picture shows, it was blue sky as we departed, but there are clouds over the mountains.  Since we have to RTB by that evening, we're not going to be able to see everything.  OK, Big Bend is huge, I've been there many times, I STILL haven't seen everything. 

Still, we've got to pick what we want to see.  Hands down, the voting from the people who'd been there before was to visit Chisos Basin. But as we approach the area, there's a low ceiling covering the tops of the Chisos Mountains. 

Hoping for the best, we start up the mountain, stopping at a few traffic pullouts for to take pictures.  (Little Juvat being an amateur photographer of considerable talent with a camera to match. However, he doesn't seem to share pictures with me, so these are from my phone. Update: He did send them to me after this was posted.  My favorite in the batch is included below.)



Shortly thereafter we enter the clouds and continue our climb over the top of the pass.  Finally cresting and beginning our descent and behold....



This might turn out alright anyhow.


Because there are two things I wanted to point out to my Son and His Bride.  The "Window"


And "Appetite Hill"

A while back, Sarge had posted about Memories and what sparked them.  We had pulled in to the Chisos Basin park compound to park, visit the facilities and hike around a bit.  As I'm headed to the head, the building in the lower right, I glance over to the left and am struck by one of those memories.

My very first visit to the park, was with a church group from Webb AFB when I was about 13.  For whatever reason, the chaplain and I decided we were going to climb that hill.  I'm pretty sure, knowing me, that it was I that decided and the chaplain thought he'd better go along if he wanted to keep his job. 

Now, that peak doesn't look very high from this perspective, but that rock formation on the left center about half to 2/3rds up was as far as we got.  And couldn't get back down.  Had to get the Ranger's up to extract us.

Even though it doesn't look that high from the photo's perspective, it looked waaaayyy higher from the perspective of a 13 year old looking down.

No,  we didn't try to climb it again, not back then, not this trip.  The ensuing 50 years having done wonders for my judgement as well as my knees and back.

So we proceeded along one of the nature trails to see what we could see.  While there are Mountain Lions and Bears in the area, we were fortunate and didn't encounter any. 

An additional advantage to visiting after a large rainfall, is that there are waterfalls.  I'd estimate we were about a mile away from this waterfall, but when I got the gang to be quiet for a minute, the waterfall was easily heard.

Continuing down a little more, we came across this lovely example of the Lord's architectural skills.
I decided to sit down in the pew and ponder it all for a bit.
This was my favorite from my son.  I wonder why?

Shortly thereafter it was time to being the trek home, and with every mountain trail that begins by going down, returning means going up.  Which we did.

Upon returning to Rancho Juvat, we discovered that it had been raining while we were gone.  Quite a bit actually.


This served to saturate the ground, which was needed.  However the rain continued most of this week for a total of about 10" over the last two weeks.  Which resulted in.....


Wet, muddy, dopey horses that haven't figured out how to come in from the rain.


And water in the stockpond.  Something that hasn't occurred in several years.  Again, note the color.  The grass in our front yard desperately needs mowing, but the ground is too soggy to get the mower out there.  Maybe this week.


29 comments:

  1. This rain in south Texas has been both a blessing and a curse. I have reports that theŕe have been nearly 20 inches of precipitation here in the Bandera, Texas area since Labor Day. The thing I dread is that I will now have to mow the yard more regularly.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I don't think we've gotten 20", but I know it's more than 10. Mrs J is itchin' for the ground to dry out a bit so she can get on the riding mower again. We have an interesting relationship, she loves to mow and I hate it, I love to cook and she hates that. So....

      Another small downside to rain. Mosquitos. Little bastiges!

      Delete
    2. Last winter and lack of really cold weather and all the rain this year has the wrong type of mosquitos flying around, too much. Hoping for a good freeze or two to knock the bastiges back.

      I'd love to see the right type of Mosquitos in my front yard, but the neighbors and the police, not to mention the landlady, might have something negative to say about that.

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    3. We talking a twin engine, primarily plywood constructed type of Mosquito, Beans? If so, order one for me please, put it on my tab. I'll pay you back when I get Sarge's next check.

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    4. I would, but my storage unit is full of half a house's stuff, including Christmas tree and lights and my Shopsmith which is sorely neglected and I need to pay it some TLC.

      As to those Mosquitos, yes, as soon as the latest OAFS check clears I'll have one of my minions fly or portage it to you. Bomber, Recce or Night Fighter? And if you deposit $20,000 in one of my accounts I'll give you a check for 1,000,000 Bolivars or Naira, whichever you prefer.

      Delete
    5. What are you Beans? Some kind of Nigerian Prince or something?

      Delete
  2. Some mighty pretty country down there.

    Nice post Juvat.

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    1. Thanks.

      Yes, it is. Especially after rain.

      Delete
    2. The American Southwest was an altogether more habitable place until the 14th Century global cooling set in, bringing much drier conditions. We're not yet all that close in temps to what used to be called the Medieval Climactic Optimum or now Medieval Warm Period (that Michael Mann, Al Gore et al tried to erase).

      My parents' pictures from Big Bend were altogether browner. They did get one glorious early spring in Death Valley after it rained, though, during their years as snowbirds.

      Delete
    3. It is amazing the effect that Sunspots (or lack thereof) have on global temperature isn't it? Now if we could just get those eeeevill conservatives to ban them, the world would be safe for people of all 976 genders and counting.

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  3. We went to Big Bend in late May one year. Only time I could get scheduled. We forgot the coleman stove, so no hot food. All the camping spaces that were remotely nice were taken, so we found one on the pan. I don't remember the name of the spot, but there was a windmill near it.

    We set out the next morning to look around, and it started to get hot. We eased back to camp, threw up a fly, and baked all day. We were panting like dogs until about 6pm. If I remember right, it was 118 that day. We drove through empty camp grounds and pilfered all the usable charcoal from the pits so we could cook. No wood that grew there was 'legal' to use. I don't remember what charcoal cost there, but it was ridiculously overpriced. So much so, that it would eat into the gas allowance.

    So we adjusted to the tempo there, early morning scurry around for a bit, then find shade and wait till the heat broke. Then run around looking at things until it was too dark to see. We made 3 days of that, then decided it was time to leave.

    That "vacation" weaned us from vacations.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Yep, MBD took a trip out there one summer when she was in college. I specifically briefed her minimum of 1 gallon of water/person/day. "Yeah Dad!" with rolling eyes. So they're hiking down in the flats.... Fortunately a group of guys from either West Point or the Corps happened by be an hour or so behind them, so all ended well.

      It is a desert and very unfriendly to the unprepared and unwary.

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  4. It has been mostly green since we reached Northern Arizona.
    The only actual rain was in urban Texas (read: Dallas).
    After seeing the photos, maybe MB and I will have to do an I-10 to collect a USGS magnet.
    I look forward to Monday posts, NTTIAWW the rest of the week.

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  5. Your horses sparked a memory. We acquired some horses from Arizona. All was fine util we crossed a stream. Evidently they had never seen running water.

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    1. Now, THAT was good for a chuckle. Thanks. I can see that however.

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  6. We visited Yosemite a few years ago and hiked up the Mist Trail, then we continued up to Vernal Falls and hiked back down.
    It was all uphill until we were at Vernal Falls, and we could have turned back downhill at any point.

    Yosemite had a lot snow that year and the Park Service's description of "hiking while being bathed in the mists of Merced River" was much more like, "being pounded by monsoon like spray while hiking."
    Our Gore Tex parkas, and the foresight of bringing zip lock bags saved the day. (it might be a generational thing, but I tend to call zip lock bags, "dope bags")

    We were in our early sixties, and it was a bit embarrassing to be passed on the trail by small children.

    There is a lot of this great country that is wonderful to see, but sadly a lot of people don't make the effort, or they never leave their cars.

    Great post and it sparked some fond memories.

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    1. I guess the Yosemite version of "Get off my Lawn", is "Stop passing on the right"?

      Thanks. Fond memories for me also.

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  7. Great photos! Blogger makes them too small so I recommend your readers go full monty with them- click one and click through at full size and high resolution for best results! I do like that pew upon which one can sit and be amazed at God's creation.

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    1. Thanks,
      Yeah, who needs a man-made church when you've got a Cathedral like that one!

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    2. Well, that church in Fredricksburg is nothing to throw shade on.

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  8. I feel the same way about my wife's mountains as you do about Big Bend. We used to make a pilgrimage to the Smokey Mountains, especially the Cade's Cove area at least once every three years.

    Something spiritual about those special places. And you called it correctly about that bench/pew. It is truly God's Church.

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    1. Hadn't gotten to your comment when I replied to Tuna, above. Shack Beans, direct hit!

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    2. Something about waking up in a blinding fog and watching the sun burn through it, turning darkness into light. Like being in a church and having the sun hit the rose window, except a bazillion times better. Watching the world come to life, still wrapped in the swaddling clothes of mist.

      Okay, that's settled. If I win the lottery...

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    3. I know of which you speak, Beans! In my prior life, that was a just before sunrise takeoff into a low overcast and bursting out into the clear at about 3000' and clear and a million above. My formation and I, and maybe some adversaries, being the only humans alive in the entire world at that instant. Life is good!

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  9. That's the greenest I've EVER seen Big Bend! Great pics too! I need to get back down to Lajitas... sigh

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    1. As you mentioned today in your post, research is the hardest part of writing. A couple of days at Lajitas "researching" your next book must be Hawrible! Soldier on Dude! Your readers are waiting.

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