Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Really, Bobbi, instead of Lucy, and I’m on a trail, rather than in the sky, and, well, the diamonds are actually quartz crystals, not diamonds. However, the experience of floating above a sea of crystals on a trail in the middle of nowhere is magical and we all need a little bit of magic in our lives right now.

We started Trip Fourteen with a previous favorite spot in Big Bend Ranch State Park, and I ran down memory lane taking Crystal Trail to it’s famous point where crystals line the trails and sparkle like you couldn’t believe. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but believe me, it’s a site worth seeing. I did have a slight fear that it wouldn’t be there… that somehow the masses would have come and taken away the magic. Alas there it is…still sparkling in the sky.

Big Bend was like we remember – out in now where – Matt, me, the few other campers distantly around, the Rio Grande River, lots of trails, starry nights, no cell coverage, and the beauty of nature.

Unfortunately, there is only so many days we can do without cell service. Time to move onward, westwardly, hoping to stay in warm-ish weather. Next on the agenda was still Texas bound, but in a spot we’d never been – the Franklin Mountains State Park just North of El Paso. El Paso looks like an endless array of strip malls surrounding by concrete, asphalt, and lots of gravel-y dirt. Not a place I thought of stopping. And then, out of no where, is a huge natural area dominated by towering mountains. Our campsite looks really good… but in reality it’s a bit of dirt off a parking lot (don’t you love how we can make things look better than they are?). However, there are amazing tent campsites scattered around the park, so don’t discount the place. There are two really amazing RV spots – I just didn’t get them… Blame Matt, he doesn’t like to plan far enough ahead. Regardless the trail experience was lovely.

Tomorrow we head further west…