Day 16 - Our Last Full Day At Big Bend!

Ken and I were up by 8 and had a relaxing morning.  We had a light breakfast and I started downloading pictures for my blog and then finished the one about yesterday.  Our internet connection is much better and faster in the morning than in the evening.  Melissa stopped by asking for 7-up.  Chuck was up at 3 AM with the "runs" and vomiting and we suspect it was from the beef quesadillia he had in the Mexican Village.  The 3 of us had the same chicken and cheese wraps and we didn't have a problem.  He needs to just eat the same meals as the rest of us!. 

Because of Chuck needing a little more time to recoup, we decided to wait to leave the CG until after lunch.  Ken wanted to do somethings outside in preparation for tomorrow's departure and I had things to keep me busy too!  

So by 12:30 we were on our way to the Terlingua Ghost Town to tour the area. Once home to 2,000, Terlingua was a thriving mercury mining town.  It was abandoned in the 40's to be repopulated in the 70's.  It is now an active community of artists, musicians and free thinking individuals.  It is a fascinating place.

We went through the Trading Company which was and still is a big store.  Next to it is the Starlight Theatre that was originally a motion picture house built in 1939.  Its roof was lost during a summer storm, hence the name.  The roof was replaced in 1991 when the restaurant opened.  It is a good restaurant with an antique bar and live music and shows.  We went in and Ken had a local beer and Melissa and I enjoyed a margarita.  Chuck placed it safe and just enjoyed the life music with us.  It was 3 local gals who write and sing songs about things that happened in the local area.  They were very entertaining.  Then we took the walking tour around the area, getting a peek at all the old buildings from the mining times.

It really is a neat old building!

The old-fashioned bar!

The local ladies who sang were so good and so relaxed!
They enjoyed conversing with us!

What can I say?????

Clay Henry was the mayor of Terlingua for years..  He would
drink Big Bend Brewing Company bottled beer.  He died and
was "preserved" in the Starlight Theatre!

The locals come to sit on the porch outside of the Store and
Theatre drinking their beer and smoking!  Making great
tales have come from this porch and 2 books have been written
that share those tales!

This mining shaft is one of the hundreds that were hand dug.
There are over 8 miles of tunnels, some are over 800 feet deep.
In the 1980's the Railroad Commission began putting grates
over the shafts for safety.

Can you imagine being lowered down into these mining shafts
in this cage daily?????

The Perry School, largest of 3 schools in the region, started as a
tent house with 1 teacher.  It became a 5 room building with
4 teachers, a principal, and 80 children.

The original old playset!

A view of the church and print shop!

So simple, but so eloquent inside!  This church was serviced
by a priest who came once a month!

Crosses made of chili peppers hung inside!

This is just 1 of the 6 beautiful windows!

This cemetery has over 400 graves, the oldest from 1903.  It
is still used today.  Not a single person died from mercury poison.
Many died in 1918 from influenza!

The 4 of us left there and drove in our CRV on what National Geographic calls one of the 10 best scenic highways in the US.  What a drive - up and down major hills where you couldn't see where the road went next.  We went up a 15% grade (just thankful we weren't in our motorhomes!)

Looks like someone built into these rocks, but it was just
Mother Nature!

These buildings were built along the Rio Grande as a movie
set and have been used for 9 different movies!

Amazing how is can be so dry and desert like and then
you see greenery along the road and river!

To me it looks like someone built into the mountains, but
it is Mother Nature at her finest!

These tepees were built along the road for picnic lunches. I
thought they were "canvas" but they are concrete!  They ook
so real!

Downhill we go!

A really nice place to have a picnic lunch!

This prickly pear cactus is just starting to bloom.  The flowers
are bright yellow when in full bloom!

We were back to the CG by 4:15 and the work began for Ken to get ready for leaving tomorrow.  He loaded the bikes, disconnected everything but the electric, and made sure everything was secure.  I did laundry.

Today was an extremely hot day - 96 degrees!  We also experienced the worst winds since we left home.  We had gusts up to 40+mph.  The trees looked they would blow over and the dust was crazy!

Yes, the wind is blowing that hard outside Waldo's window!
The dust it created was amazing!

We played cards at Chuck and Melissa's and the women won both games, but who's keeping count??????  We called it a night at 9:30 and plan to leave Terlingua around 8 AM to go to Van Horne!