I hooked the trailer back unto the truck early to avoid the heat of the day. But by the time I finished this chore my shirt was beginning to get soaked in sweat. We were glad to be getting out of this hot place and down to our next RV campsite next to Rio Grande River were it should be a bunch cooler.
As we entered the national park and purchased another yearly pass for $80, the rangerette observed our kayaks, and informed us we’d need permits to take them on the river, and permits were available for free at the visitor’s center in the middle of the park. We next stopped at the center to pick up our permits, and it was a cool 88° and we were glad we’d left Study Butte. But then we were informed that it had been 111° the day before on the river. Yikes! And thanks, Marianne.
We got down to Rio Grande Village, some village…it’s nothing more than a two pump gas station connected to a little camping store. And there’s a parking lot where RV’s park next to one another much like a Wal*Mart parking lot. When we got there, we were one of six rigs in this lot, but by evening it was almost full. I can’t imagine why people would come here in the 108.8° heat, but they must be doing something because I didn’t see anyone around their RV’s. We decided to do some sightseeing, on the way to the boat ramp, where we had no intention of launching our kayaks in this heat, we went through one of the largest campgrounds I’ve ever seen, but it was eerily empty. When we got to the boat ramp we saw that the mighty Rio Grande River was only 100 feet wide here, warm and muddy. Nothing at all like I’d imaged it. And we were pretty much in the flat lands of the park, not the stunning canyons that I saw on all the postcards. To say I was disappointed would be putting it mildly.
There is only one road in and out of here, but there was a spur to where we could see a canyon wall. With nothing else to do, we took this five mile side trip. We got there and could see a very small Mexican village overlooking the river from their side, besides the impressive canyon wall about a mile away. There was a park sign informing us what we were seeing and leaning up against the sign were two hand painted walking sticks which I thought were odd because a) who would go hiking in 108° heat in the shade with no shade, and b) who would leave such pretty sticks behind. Well it turned out to be someone’s store, enterprising but illegal. It turns out this little help yourself store is run by that small village. They come across the border in a canoe pick-up their money and leave new products (trinkets). Their little wire designs are the same as the park store offers but at a slightly reduced price. They have to worry about being caught by our uniformed officers, as well as if anyone rips off their money which is left in a cut-off plastic soft drink bottle or products. Marianne supported their international trade to the tune of $20.
We spent the rest of the day in the trailer because it was just too damn hot to do anything else. Our air-conditioning was fighting a losing battle with the heat, dropping the inside temperature to just 87°. We watched one of our Netflix videos, Sabah – A Love Story, and now recommend it. We’re watching DVD’s since there’s not cell phone service or TV reception here, unless you have a satellite dish. I wonder what those folks in the Mexican village are doing tonight since it doesn’t appear that they even have indoor plumbing, much less electricity.
At 10:30pm it cooled down to 91°, and in taking the dogs for their final walk of the day, I ran into a couple who were standing in the middle of this RV parking lot looking up at the sky. I asked them if they were stargazing, yes they said, they came here especially to see the stars, and this was their third night here, after they had read in this month’s AARP magazine that this place is the best place in the country to see all the stars in the heavens. After having lived in coastal Southern California for almost 40 years, I was almost too jaded to even look in the sky at night, since there are but a handful of stars to be seen there. But this place truly is amazing, almost too amazing, it makes me think that the Air Force in Marfa may be here for some totally other reason.
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