Santa Elena Canyon..........14th Feb

This is the main road, FM170 from our campsite back towards the National Park, you come up a steep hill and crest the top and the road drops away, a teeny bit scary the first time.........should be fun when towing the rig back this way, at least having done it a couple of times now we know what to expect !!

We are back in the Park and taken the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to Castolon,  lots of viewpoints on route. This is The Burro Mesa Pour-off, we hiked the 1/2 mile trail along the dry river bed to the area where when it rains would be a waterfall. Everywhere is so dry and there probably won't be any rain until the summer

Our boy at the parking area for The Burro Mesa Pour-off with the Santa Elena Canyon in the background, about 20 miles away........

Tuff Canyon, again we hiked the 3/4 mile rough trail down and through the canyon....

Tuff Canyon.....

Time for our lunch sandwich by The Rio Grande near The Santa Elena Canyon
The river is not very grand at the moment with places almost non existent. We had planned a float trip down through a canyon but it would be more carrying the raft than floating along........ 

The "mouth" of The Santa Elena Canyon....
I make no apologies for the amount of Canyon photos as it is amazing......

Part of the river bed, cracked and dry but extensive when the rains come....

These might not show up too well but this and next pic show the steps up and over  to the canyon trail.....
It was an hour round trip into the canyon to as far as possible to hike........

Looking back from the steps over to the canyon trail across the plain.....

To try to gauge the size of the Canyon, YorkieMan on the trail.........

And again......

Looking towards the Canyon entrance......

The river seems to be hardly moving....it is so quiet and peaceful in here...fabulous.....

We of course did try the echo but mainly enjoyed the peaceful surroundings.....

We took the 14 mile dirt road across the plain back to the main park road, The Old Maverick Road. Mainly dirt and gravel but some very rough areas, 4 wheel drive needed.........not sure how well the many flowers on the plain will show on the blog......

On The Old Maverick Road.....Lunar's Jacal
The residence of Gilberto Lunar until he died in 1947 at the age of 108.....he and his wife raised a large family coexisting  with the Comanche

Taken from The Old Maverick Road, showing some of the multi-cloured rock
Another great day in the National Park......cold again overnight, did I mention how brilliant the stars are, this sky is soooo big and beautiful, not seen the Milky Way so clear since our trips to Greece.....