Made it West!

One last stop before leaving Austin! Jester King!

Awesome outdoor place with delicious beers. 

Leaving Marble Falls the next day and heading for the big bend of the Rio Grande river we truly began to feel like we were "out west."

Not much to some of these small towns. Gas was even hard to find at times.

Long train in West Texas

We made it! Misha was allowed to drive through the park in the car but not allowed on any trails. So we stayed in a motel in Teralingua, TX a tiny town built around tourism in the national park.

 Went on a short .5 mile hike into the Santa Elena Canyon at Big Bend National Park:

Rio Grande at the opening of the canyon.

Em in the Rio Grande, almost in Mexico.

 Another day hike on the Lost Mine Trail in the Chisos Mountains area of the park:

Another day hike around the Chisos, 16 miles:

Lunch break on the south rim.

Deer on the trail

Scrambling up the Emory Peak summit.

Big Bend Ranch State Park:

Picnic spot

Hanging out at a picnic spot on the drive through Big Bend Ranch State Park. The road is called the Camino del Rio and we had a great day cruising through this wild landscape right on the Mexico/U.S. border.

Short hike through the Closed Canyon at the state park:

Another short hike at the state park, the only ones dogs are allowed on:

From here we continued west, through El Paso where we listened to the song "El Paso" on repeat and ate our first green chile cheeseburger which was life changing. We spent a week in Gila Wilderness (pictures to come soon) living on mac n cheese, ramen and oatmeal, and hiked almost 50 miles of nations first wilderness area. 

Now we are resting comfortably with the Roach Eastburn family in Santa Fe, hanging out with our pals Lincoln (11 months old), Laura and Scott. Misha is busy playing with the three other dogs and we are generally happy to have upgraded our lifestyle for a while from tent to van, water to craft beer, and mac n cheese, to fresh smoked trout and fresh garden greens. 

More to come soon!