Hiking Santa Elena Canyon with a Toddler
How a Cute Baby Hikes a Canyon-Big Bend National Park
So plan for the day while we're in Big Bend National Park is to go to the Canyon so we can see Mexico. And then there's a scenic drive with many scenic spots that we want to try and stop at. The one thing that I would like to do, but I don't think we're going to be able to make it is there is a hot Springs on the other side of the park, and I want to dip my feet in there. I think that would be super cool. Do you think we can make that, Krista?
"It's an hour to the trail, then we're going to hike it, then it's an hour back on the scenic drive with a stop, and then once we get back to the residence. Yeah, that's a lot of things. I don't think we should go further."
We'll see. This is Big Bend National Park. We want to come around here to the Santa Elena Canyon Trail, which is near the Rio Grande River, to the border between Mexico and the United States, which will be super cool to see. But make sure to keep watching to the end because we will be going to another accommodation a little north of here that I want to show you guys.
Krista: "These trails are not like the trails we hike on in Louisiana. You cannot run ahead of mom and dad, mostly because Becky will follow you. We don't know where there will be a cliff or a drop-off. There could be snakes. It's not a big deal. But you can see bears in the park. And if Beckett runs off by himself, that's very dangerous because he's little, and a bear might think he's food. So we all must stay together."
Safety talks are important. If you're with kids, you're going to go hike on that mountain. So in the desert, whenever you sweat, your sweat will evaporate quickly. So you're not going to feel sweaty, but you're still going to get hot. So you need to drink a lot of water even though you don't feel sweaty. Everybody's got their rucksack on.
Yeah.
We got our back sack on. Got your Beck sack on. You're the cutest little hiker out here. All ready to see the Canyon.
Yeah, I'm already hot. I'm hot, too. That's why we brought water. 1.6 miles round trip starts here. Here we go on an adventure. We have to cross the river. I'm trying to see if it looks like everybody's coming from this way. I want to see this guy come through to understand how deep the water is. It's up to his knees. I might carry you across, Jacque. I can put the camera in the bag.
All right. That's how we're going to cross. You all can go ahead of us if you want. Okay, everybody's thinking about it. I think we should be part of the adventure. I don't think the water is going to reach up to you. All right, Jacque, you're going to hop on my back. Piggyback ride, piggyback ride. Hold everything up. I am going up.
All right, Krista and Amelia made it across. Now it's our turn. Are you ready? No, we're doing it. Here we go. Your feet might get wet.
So we're coming up on the other side of the river. Yeah, we're going up now. Your feet are going to touch the water. You got it. Grab onto the root, grab one pull and walk up this way. Good idea. All right. You did it, bud.
Got everything ready? Let's go. Continue the adventure. Going up. It's time to get up to the canyon. Now we're taking all these steps up to the outlook. Time to climb, to stay near the rock. Look how high we are, Beckey. That's cool. We're almost at the top. You get to see the beautiful Canyon. It's going to be beautiful when you take some pictures. So we're on the United States side. That right there is Mexico. According to the literature, it said that on one side is the United States, and on the other side is the Mexican and the Rio Grande, which I believe is right here. Split it. That's what made the Canyon.
Remember when we were in Austin, Texas, and we took that hike, and it was hot? You can do it. Take this slow. Okay. Dang, this is gorgeous. Awesome shade. We got 2 seconds of shade from the tree. Get your water out. Everybody takes a water break. There you go, my Darling. You're doing great, man. I'm proud of you. Once we get to the end, you're going to be so proud of yourself. To do hikes like this, you got to be strong. You got to be brave, right?
Let's play in the water. I haven't made it through these big giant rocks; let's find the water. Amelia can wade across and go on over to Mexico. Get in the water. Yeah, this is incredible; definitely worth the hike. Look, I want to go to Mexico. Yeah, right there. That's Mexico.
Where are you going, Amelia? Okay, have fun in Mexico. Could you send me a postcard? You can do it, mom, you can do it. I believe in you. Everybody needs some belief today. Let me take a picture of your feet. I want to step in the mud. It's all going to wash away. We can clean them once we get everything. You're going back.
It looks like people also hike down the river. I don't know how far down you can go. We also saw some people kayaking down here, all the way back to where we had to do that river crossing. Hopefully, we can come back here and do some kayak or something like that whenever the kids get older. That would be super cool.
All right, let's go. Let's see what else we can find to do here in Big Bend. There's a scenic drive. We'll probably drive a little bit, get out of the car, look, take a photo and then get back in the car. How does that sound? These are moments that I love about family travel, getting out, experiencing something new, and something that the world just you can't find anywhere else. I love this part about getting out and exploring with our kids. We got to cross the river again. We got to cross this river again like the Oregon Trail. Don't get diphtheria. Are you going to get diphtheria? I don't know. Some disease? We're just crossing the river as if you were on the trail.
All right, what we're going to do? You stay right here, Jacques. I'm going to go down there, and you can easily hop onto me. Sound like a plan. See if I can do this. Don't fall. Hold on. Yeah, you can scoot down like you're doing. They made it. That's good. Okay. Come to me. All right, we got this. Yeah, I got you. You're heavy, but I got you. Good thing I've been working out.
We made it across the river, and my battery died. Both my batteries are dead. Hopefully, I can get them charged up for the rest of this road trip today. We just finished our hike. Amelia has been working on her Junior Ranger badge, and so we're going to go to the visitor center so she can get that. And we're going to fill up all of our water bottles and go on the scenic drive. What in the world? There are horses on the road. Looks like a wild horse. Would that be considered a wild horse? They're all over it's. Amazing. Is that super cool? Yes.
All right, so we're at the Castolon visitors center/ ranger station. We're going to see if there's a Ranger in there and see if we can get a Junior Ranger badge here. Got your book, Amelia? It's finished.
What do we get? Ice cream! Did you get ice cream?
Oh, my goodness. Is that Beckett's ice cream? It looks so big. It was $10.55 for all the ice cream sandwiches. All right. It's worth it.
Ready to get a Junior Ranger badge? Been waiting very patiently for that. Mum said we could stay in here and play for a little bit so she could nap.
The van is the napping headquarters right now.
Have you finished the whole book? All right. Could you repeat after me?
I Amelia promised to teach others what I learned about today.
I promise to visit other parks.
I promise to help protect and preserve our nation's parks so future generations can enjoy them.
Thank you so much. Let's do it. And that way, you can get a patch. So this is Panther's path, and there are a bunch of different plants that they have along this path here, and it's a part of the Junior Ranger program, but it's an extra patch that you can get if you go through and identify some of the plants that they have. That's what we're doing. While everyone's napping in the van, that's your last one. Now draw your favorite plant. Let's do that on the bench where it's nice and cool.
Do you want to get a patch? There you are. All right! Thank you all so much. Bye-bye.
All right, guys, we made it to Marathon. We left Big Bend. We got to get some gas, so we have enough gas to get to where we're staying tonight. So we're going to make our way there to Fort Davis. That's where we're headed. This is Fort Davis. Let's keep going through the back. Let's keep getting nicer. It looks better.
All right, guys, we left Big Bend, and now we will be staying in this camper right here. This should be exciting. If you guys want to see what this camper looks like and how our night goes in here, click that video link here. Thank you for watching. Keep traveling somewhere.
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