Our second morning in Big Bend we got up early and went for a hike before it got too hot. The trail ran right below our campsite and meandered through the desert into a canyon that culminated in a view of the valley through a high crack in the canyon wall. We had lunch back at camp and then went for a drive to the other side of the park, through the Chihuahuan desert to the Rio Grande. It was significantly hotter and drier in that area of the park, and I was relieved that we hadn't decided to camp there instead. When we pulled up to the river we could see across to a Mexican village on the other side. There were crafts set up for purchase with a jar to leave money, which we had been warned not to buy in the park brochure. As we were standing around taking pictures, I saw a young man scrambling up the hill (it looked like), and was worried that he was sneaking across the border. Turned out he was actually on a horse, and had come across the river to ask us if we wanted to purchase any of the crafts that were on display. Another tourist ended up scornfully telling him to get lost, and as we were leaving we saw him wading back across the river on his horse, far far below.
We explored the park a bit more, stopped at our camp store for ice cream, and went back to our site to relax and stay out of the sun. The next morning we got up early and drove out of the park in the foggy desert, which was really lovely. It was a loooong day of driving through West Texas, but we were both surprised at how unexpectedly beautiful that area was.
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