Buddy Trip to Big Bend National Park – Day 1

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/4.5, 1/680 sec, ISO200
“Iconic Sign” Big Bend, 2019

Two friends and I began the weekend a day early to head on out to Big Bend National Park for a short camping trip. The drive started at 5 am because it takes several hours of driving to reach the park. We got there at about 2 pm and stopped by the Panther Junction Visitor Center to get a back-country permit for our next evening’s campsite, and then headed to our first trail: Grapevine Hills Trail.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec, ISO200
“Grapevine Hills Trail” Big Bend, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/450 sec, ISO200
“Grapevine Hills Trail” Big Bend, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO200
“Grapevine Hills Trail” Big Bend, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO200
“Balanced Rock” Big Bend, 2019

The highlight of Grapevine Hills Trail is the balanced rock at the end. It’s very cool! This trail starts easy, but includes a little bit of scrambling up rocks and could be difficult for some people. I really enjoy these sections though, so I was loving it.

Next, we drove out to the eastern part of the park to the Boquillas Canyon Trail. This is another very short trail, but the canyon is gorgeous! The Rio Grande is amazing the way it cuts through the rock to form the canyon. Nature is awesome.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/8, 1/60 sec, ISO200
“Boquillas Canyon” Big Bend, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/7.1, 1/90 sec, ISO200
“Cairn” Big Bend, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5, 1/160 sec, ISO200
“Towards Boquillas Canyon” Big Bend, 2019

On the trail we came across this critter. I’ve never seen a millipede this big before! It was a little scary, I’m not ashamed to admit.

After the trail, we took a look at the Boquillas Overlook, where you can get a nice view of Mexico across the river.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/850 sec, ISO200
“Boquillas Canyon Overlook” Big Bend, 2019

After that we headed to camp to set up the tents and have dinner.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5, 1.2 sec, ISO800
“Camp Setup” Big Bend, 2019

The rib-eyes and cold beer really hit the spot! After a little bit of astrophotography, we crawled into the tents to get some rest. It was a great day!

Yoshi’s Celebration

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
“Message Poster” Austin, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

A couple days ago I posted some photos of our friends’ dad who completed a bicycle journey from Los Angeles to Austin. This evening we attended a surprise party for him, which included lots of special food that had a special meaning in that it related to the different things he ate on his trip. For instance, there was anpan, biscuits and gravy, Chinese take-out, karaage, donuts, etc. It was a cool potluck idea, and he loved it!

Before we ate, there were speeches and a slideshow/video with messages from friends. It made for an amazingly meaningful evening.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/75 sec, ISO3200
“Greetings” Austin, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/75 sec, ISO3200
“Dinner” Austin, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 1/80 sec, ISO3200
“Yoshi’s Cake” Austin, 2019

Cold Weather Food – Nabé (Hotpot)

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
“Nabé Dinner” Cedar Park, 2019

Austin got hit by an Arctic wind today, which started out at 70 ° F, but dropped to the 40s by the evening. But that means the nabé (hotpot) dinner is even yummier! Tonight’s nabé was a simple kombu broth with noodles, hakusai, tofu, and ground pork. The dipping sauce was a crisp ponzu with chili flakes and green onion. It was super! After we ate most of the nabé, the tradition is to put some leftover rice into the broth, cook a bit and then add beaten egg to make a yummy hot porridge. Topped with some nori, it’s the perfect way to finish the meal.

I have to mention that we also opened a bottle of this special saké, which complemented the hotpot nicely. 🍶

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/3.6, 1/55 sec, ISO3200
“Yummy Saké” Cedar Park, 2019

I usually dislike cold weather, but having hotpot on a chilly evening makes it worth it! 😌

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~