A Drink at the Movies

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
“Old Fashioned” Austin, 2020

I met my friend at the Moviehouse and Eatery theater to watch The Wonderland tonight, but we arrived a bit early so that we could enjoy a drink at the bar before the show. The Old Fashioned was excellent! The movie was fun, and I went home very happy.

I hope you had a nice evening!

またね〜

Soreness

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO2000
“Bicycle” Austin, 2020

Back to work today and my body is sore which is understandable since we hiked so far this weekend. Of course we have so many pills that we can take to relieve the pain, but the soreness that I have is something I actually welcome. I’m not injured, which is good, so soreness is just a reminder that I was pushing my limits on the trail. No need to dull this pain with drugs. We all put so many things in our body and bloodstream that if I can avoid adding more to it, I will.

This evening, I dropped Koa off at his orchestra rehearsal and had a couple hours of free time, so I decided to take a stroll around the west side of downtown Austin. Yes, I was sore, but not too sore!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2.5, 1/40 sec, ISO6400
“Back Alley” Austin, 2020

I hope you had a nice day. 😊

またね~

South Rim Views and Hiker Hunger

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/1000 sec, ISO200
“Sunrise” Big Bend National Park, 2020

This morning we woke up at 6:45 to catch the sunrise. It was cold and breezy at the North Rim so I prepared myself by basically putting on all of my clothes, including the rain jacket and pants which acted as wind protection. I certainly wasn’t going to win any fashion awards but I kept warm!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/1000 sec, ISO200
“Glowing Clouds” Big Bend National Park, 2020

After the photo session, we returned to camp for hot coffee before packing away the tents and hitting the trail. Our planned route took us to the South Rim where we were treated to more amazing vistas. I particularly enjoyed using my binoculars to view the trail down below in the distant desert. I’m pretty sure that our old campground from our previous trip to Big Bend was visible, but I couldn’t quite figure out where it was. However, Santa Elena Canyon was clearly visible in the distance. The canyon walls looked incredibly tall!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/680 sec, ISO200
“Looking South” Big Bend National Park, 2020
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/8, 1/420 sec, ISO200
“Santa Elena Canyon” Big Bend National Park, 2020

Another awesome sight we witnessed was a Peregrine Falcon high above, just riding the wind. It was almost stationary, like a kite on a string, and I was wishing I had a super-telephoto lens… but I had to settle with a photo from my X100T.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/8, 1/850 sec, ISO200
“Peregrine Falcon” Big Bend National Park, 2020

The rest of the hike was mostly downhill so we made good time cruising on the trail past Laguna Meadows and back to the parking lot. It was an awesome finish to an epic hike!

After a short rest, we visited the store at Chisos Basin and then Panther Junction for some merch, then headed out of the park to find dinner in Fort Stockton.

We decided in Pepito’s Café which serves Mexican food as well as burgers. It turns out we both thought the Pepito’s Burger sounded the best so we ordered one each. I’m not sure how it happened, but when they brought out the food, one of the burgers was a double! There must have been a whole pound of beef in the burger! It was amazing. When I held up the burger for a photo, the man at the next table applauded and said, “hiker hunger!” So true! But we had a long drive ahead of us so I ate half and packed the rest to go.

"Pepito's Double-Burger" Fort Stockton, 2020
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/13 sec, ISO3200
“Pepito’s Double-Burger” Fort Stockton, 2020

The drive went smoothly and I arrived home at about 11 pm, unpacked a bit, washed some supplies, took a shower, and crashed hard. A nice end to an amazing weekend backpacking adventure in Big Bend National Park.

Here are a few more photos from the day:

"Hiker Hunger" Fort Stockton, 2020
Photo info: Apple iPhone XS, 6mm, f/2.4, 1/30 sec, ISO500
“Hiker Hunger” Fort Stockton, 2020
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/150 sec, ISO200
“Icy” Big Bend National Park, 2020
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/500 sec, ISO200
“Looking North” Big Bend National Park, 2020