Straight after breakfast
we go to the hot springs. On the walk to the springs we see
pictographs (images painted on the rocks) and petroglyphs (images
carved into the rocks) from about 3000 years ago.We also see another
roadrunner and a red desert cardinal.
A natural springs feeds
about 750,000 liters of water at 40 degress Celsius every day.
Martijn and Janine even brave a quick dip in the cold river.
After that we take a
guided walk with a Park Ranger and learn about the geology of the
park. It is one of few places in the world where 2 mountain ranges
cross eachother. The Rocky Mountains start here and run North to
South, East to West is a range that connects to the Appalachians on
the East coast.
We see a whole group of
those grinding holes, one is as deep as Niels' arm!
After packing up the
trailer we drive to the other end of the park. On the way we do
another short desert walk and see many different type of cacti and
other desert plants.
We park up on the
campground and have time for another walk before dinner. We go to the
Santa Elena Canyon. It's a bit of a scramble to get over the
Terlingua Creek but the view is rewarding. We see tons of marine
fossils in what is now the canyon wall.
Today: 140km - 3h30m
Total: 20,333km - 402h49m
