Big Bend is FAR away from anything. We were staying in Alpine so that morning (after breakfast from McDonald's and Cedar Coffee and Supply - Jonathan LOVED that place) we headed 30 minutes to Marathon and went to French's Grocer and loaded up on lunch items to picnic in the park. From Marathon it is another hour and a half to the park entrance. Then, it was another 45 minutes to the hike we wanted to do. We did The Window at Chisos's Basin. It says that it is 5 miles round trip but Jonathan's FitBit says it was over 8 miles.
When we first got the the park we drove to where our hike started, drove around for probably 45 minutes trying to find a parking spot (Spring Break is their peak week and they were BOOMING!) Once we parked we ate our lunch on the bench and then got Milam on Jonathan's back and started our hike. I borrowed my friend's Tula and it worked well for our hike. (The highs for while we were there ranged from 55-65 degrees.)
I mostly do portrait photography so I always have my 50mm lens on my camera. When I bought my professional camera body I didn't get a regular lens but boy should I have. My camera can in no way do justice to what is Big Bend. You feel like an ant. It is a massive landscape and we loved it...after I was done being disgruntled about the parking situation.
Just cartwheeling our way through an 8 mile hike.
This girl rocked the hike. She didn't complain once and was just all around a good girl. You'll notice most of the pictures are of Georgia. Mainly because Milam was on Jonathan's back but also because Jonathan walked way ahead of us once Milam fell asleep in the carrier to keep him asleep so it was just Georgia and I for about a third of the hike. Which, may sound like he left us but the trail was so crowded that we were never "alone". There were people all around and it was impossible to lose the trail. It is probably the most popular one in Big Bend.
We finally found him again. He had made it to the Window and turned around to find us. So we all walked together back to the Window.
He told me he was shocked to see Georgia and I at the end of the trail. He thought we would have turned around. Ugh. As if! ;)
You can't tell but she's cartwheeling on top of a giant boulder. No biggie.
This was bitty boy for almost an hour hence the reason while he'll be sunburn in the pictures tomorrow. I felt horrible when I realized he got sunburn because I wasn't with him when he was sleeping. Poor little buddy.
We all made it to The Window. So amazing. Behind us is an opening in the rock, hundred of feet up, wind whipping through, and it just drops off on the other side. I wouldn't even left my family get as close as it allowed. The rocks were so slick that I just couldn't even bare the thought. G and J got closer than me but I made them come back. There is no way I could capture how aww inspiring it is with my camera. You just have to experience it on your own.
The way back was tough. Most of the way getting to the window is downhill so you have to hike UP a LONG way to get back to the parking lot. At one point Jonathan had Milam on his back and Georgia on his shoulders. Dad goals...seriously.
We should have eaten in the park restaurant but we didn't know it was there beforehand and we had a hard time finding a place for dinner that night because you need reservations for almost everywhere since there aren't many places to choose from. We ended up going to Reata (which has really good reviews) but we had a bad experience all around. Our waitress rarely checked on us, we got the bread after our meal had been served, some of Jonathan's mixed veggies were cold on the inside, and the french fries were under cooked. It was like 50 degrees and were seated outside. We asked about a heater and they said they had them and they never mentioned it again. Also, Jonathan had to go find a high chair, had to hunt down our receipt, and then go find a to go box. And, they had no changing table. Just one or two of those wouldn't have been big issues but all of that combined and I would never send anyone to that restaurant. Ever. (Also, the table next to us was a table full of really sweet people and several of them had issues with their food and it was different wait staff).
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