A no-driving day, much needed!

I didn't exactly take it easy today, as I did a fair amount of walking/hiking, but I didn't drive anywhere. It felt really good to leave the tent up and just use my feet to explore. Last night got cold, and it was still pleasant when I got moving this morning. I walked down the nature trail for a bit, then made coffee and finally ate the chocolate croissant.

I loaded up my backpack and walked to the little store, maybe a half mile away, birding all the way. Once at the store, I hooked up to wifi and uploaded pictures to go with what I wrote last night, then posted the last two entries. I caught up with email and messaged Jake to let him know that all is well. The store is pretty well equipped with food and camping supplies. It also has gas and ice, and, just as important, a couple of coin-operated showers! I checked them out—it's $2 for 5 minutes. I'm going to get quarters tomorrow and I might even spring for 10 minutes of showering!

I birded on the way back too, and added one of my grail birds, a vermillion flycatcher. I got good pictures too! There are also many painted buntings here, but I seem to hear them and not see them, so no good photos yet. I did add a handful of other new birds today, so that was fun! I'm inching ever close to 800 birds on my life list. I think I have less than 10 birds to go. Of course, then I'll just start trying for 900 species. Since I got to Texas, I've seen 165 species! I've heard more than that, but I don't count them unless I actually see them.

Vermillion flycatcher

Somehow, but the time I got back to my campsite, it was 2 PM and I decided a lazy day deserved a nap. I slept for a couple of hours, then cooked dinner. I'd bought a pound of frozen hamburger at the little store, and it had thawed pretty quickly in the heat, so I fried hamburgers for dinner. I cooked the whole pound, and put 3 cooked hamburgers in my fridge. They will be good crumbled up in some of my dinner foods. I brought a handful of freeze dried meals, plus some noodles and rice. After dinner and cleanup, I hiked the nature trail to the Rio Grande. When I got down close to the river, I realized that I'm a dummy. I have a Garmin InReach radio with me for emergencies, but where was it? In my car! Not really useful when you're alone on the riverbank with no cell service! But all was well. I actually feel very safe here and there are lots of friendly people around.

The InReach is now in my daypack and will be with me from now on.

Speaking of friendly people, I met another solo woman and we started talking. She had met another solo woman traveler, and they are planning to cross the border on Wednesday. Rhonda asked if I'd like to go too, and I said sure! I ran into Anna, the other woman, on my hike, and introduced myself.

There is a legal border crossing about 1 mile from the campsite. You have to get rowed across the river to Mexico, then you can walk or ride (burro, horse, or vehicle) the half mile to the town of Boquillas del Carmen, where there are a couple of restaurants and vendors selling handicrafts. The plan is to go when the crossing opens at 10 AM on Wednesday, eating lunch in the village, then come back in the afternoon. I'm glad I brought my passport!

It was warm today, but not stifling. Tonight it's very pleasant, and the wind is picking up again. I'm definitely in a different routine here, climbing into my tent as it gets dark. It's only 9:15 now, and not quite completely dark, but the stars are already lovely.

I'm going to drive tomorrow. Right now, my plan is to get up and do an early birding hike, then stow the tent and head to the other (west) side of Big Bend, stopping at various points of interest. I will probably do a couple of short hikes, and may finish at the nearby hot springs. Or at the hot showers at the store. One way or another, I need to immerse myself in clean water tomorrow.

It's now the next day, and I'm at the store using the wifi to upload this. It's very slow and the images are not loading well. So it goes.