A trip to Big Bend
Nancy Masterson
The Big Bend region of Texas has an allure, a pull to the
heart, that makes every native plant lover want to revel in
its huge desert expanses, green-ribboned river valley and
high, cool basin of the Chisos Mountains.
Eighteen members of the Guadalupe County Chapter
took a five-day, 480-mile journey to Big Bend National
Park in April, staying at the Chisos Mountain Lodge at
an elevation of 4500 feet. Organized by special event
committee chair Bob Teweles, the trip was the chapter’s
first overnight field trip, a planning feat ten months in the
making. With ranger-led hikes, caravans to trailheads and
fellowship in the park’s restaurant, chapter members had
an outstanding experience and learned much about the
various plant communities of the area.
National Park Service Ranger Jennette Jurado, a botanist
by training and author of a four-color brochure, “Plants of
the Chihuahuan Desert,” led the first hike, 2 miles through
the pines and oaks of the Chisos Basin Loop Trail.
Members saw Texas Madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) and
Feather Dalea (Dalea formosa) in bloom and learned the
difference between Weeping Juniper (Juniperus flaccida)
and Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana).
An afternoon hike at the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail
revealed brilliantly pink blooming Strawberry Pitaya
(Echinocereus stramineus) and views of Boquillas, Mexico
across the river. Some members visited the Hot Springs
and others practiced their plant identification skills at the
Dugout Wells oasis.
The four-mile hike the following day to Cattail Falls was
a highlight of the trip; an unpublicized trail to a shaded,
moist box canyon with seeping springs, deep pools, lush
ferns and blooming Longspur Columbines (Aquilegia
longissima) and Helliborine orchids (Epipactis gigantea).
According to trip leader Bob Teweles, his most poignant
moment occurred when members found a beautiful
purple flower that had the expert Jurado reaching for
her copy of Barton Warnock’s “Wildflowers of Big Bend
Country.” A Thickleaf Penstemon, she diagnosed, her
first Penstemon dasyphyllus she’d found in the national
park. “One of the most difficult of the beardtongues to
locate,” she read from the Warnock text, thrilled by the
find beneath the splendor of high mountain cliffs near the
foot of The Window.
Members also found blooming Octotilla (Fouquieria
splendens), Rainbow Cactus (Echinocereus dasyacanthus) and
Brown-Flowered Cactus (Echinocereus russanthus). After
picnic lunches, many ventured on to Castolon, Santa
Elena Canyon and the Cottonwood Campground to
explore other areas of the park.
The fourth day’s schedule allowed for a free morning and
an afternoon trip to the native landscapes of the Lajitas
Resort, a talk on ethnobotany at Big Bend Ranch State
Park by Ranger Dave Long and dinner at the Starlight
Theater in Terlingua. At week’s end, members took the
all-day drive back to Guadalupe County, many stopping
at the native plant garden at the Judge Roy Bean Visitor
Center in Langtry.
Taking on a major field trip was a big undertaking for the
five-year old chapter. Formed in 2008, Guadalupe County
Chapter has grown to nearly 50 members. They publicize
their monthly meetings and speaker topics, hold two
plant sales a year, share an active NICE! program with an
adjacent chapter, host full-day seminars, enjoy a summer
social and annually donate native plant books to local
libraries.
And now, cementing friendships during a long field trip
will make the chapter even stronger.
Helliborine orchid
Photos by Daryl Styblo
Nancy Masterson is a member of the Guadalupe County Chapter.
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