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Registration deadline: March 10 To register, contact: Steffanie Mann, smann@heardmuseum.org Wednesday, March 28 Summary: The first leg of your journey begins with an early morning flight from Dallas Love Field airport. A private van will meet the group at the Midland airport. The group will leave for Big Bend National Park, stopping for lunch usually in Fort Stockton (Last meal you will be responsible for). Upon entering the park we will stop in Panther Junction. The visitor center has a wonderful bookstore and a desert garden to familiarize you with the unusual flora of the Big Bend region and the Chihuahuan Desert. Our accommodations will be at the Chisos Mountains Lodge (elevation 5,300 ft.) in the heart of the Chisos Mountains, within the 800,000-acre park. You will have time to get settled in your room before a dinner/orientation meeting. Heard naturalist Roger Sanderson will explain some of the sights and terrain in store for the group and discuss some of the flora and fauna to be seen as well as the desert biology and geology. Prepare yourself for some of the most beautiful mountain sunsets, the best star-gazing opportunities, and the most awesome desert environment you've ever seen – or been immersed in! Thursday, March 29 Summary: After an early morning breakfast at the Chisos Mountains Lodge, we will get our first taste of the Big Bend Country with a hike up the Lost Mine Trail. This trail and the surrounding desert are our best chances to get a glimpse of a black bear or mountain lion during our tour of the park. We will ascend gradually 2.4 miles through juniper, pinyon pine and oak forest along the base of Casa Grande Peak. While this hike does involve a significant gain in elevation, it is a fairly easy trail to walk. It was built in the early 1940s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is well-crafted and maintained. The views at the end of the trail are well worth the climb. The Lost Mine Trail offers some of the most scenic vistas in the park with excellent looks at Juniper Canyon, Pine Canyon, Casa Grande Peak, and the Sierra del Carmen mountains in Mexico. If you want to make some spectacular landscape photos, this is the hike! After lunch and our return hike (downhill, this time), we will board the bus to drive to Rio Grande Village for an ice cream break at the store and some good birding under the cottonwood trees and along the river before returning to the lodge for dinner. The historic Hot Springs, site of J.O. Langford's family homestead and health spa (1909-42), will make an interesting stop on our way back to the lodge for dinner. Friday, March 30 Summary: After an early morning breakfast at the Chisos Mountains Lodge, we will head for Cattail Falls. A delicate habitat purposely not mentioned on the maps, we are lucky to be able to visit this unique environment! Opportunities abound to view many species of wildlife typical of the Big Bend area and the surrounding desert landscape. Javelinas, jackrabbits, roadrunners, elf owls and horned lizards are just a few of the animals we might encounter as we explore this very special area in the park. We will be hiking at a leisurely pace, 2.5 miles to lunch at the falls, a shady oasis of Big Tooth Maples that border the cool waters from the falls and pools below. It will be an excellent place to watch and listen for approaching wildlife while enjoying our lunch and exploring the area around the pool for photos to make. Blue-throated Hummingbirds, Black Phoebes and other western birds are commonly seen at the Falls, as well as many beautiful wildflowers such as Salvias, Columbines and Orchids. The hike has one moderate climb up a series of steps and a small amount of boulder-climbing to reach the falls, but is otherwise relatively flat. After lunch and our return hike, we will drive back to the lodge to freshen up and change clothes. In the early afternoon we will travel to Terlingua and visit the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center then a brief visit to Lajitas. Dinner will be at the famous Starlight Theater with time afterwards for photos in the graveyard. Before returning to the lodge, a short stop at the unique La Kiva (The Cave) bar and restaurant will top off the day! Saturday, March 31 Summary: A hearty early morning breakfast will prepare everyone for the hiking adventure ahead. After an hour drive through the desert, the sheer walls of Santa Elena Canyon can be seen 10 miles away. Voted the Number 1 most scenic location of the 22 sights of Big Bend, the spectacular view of the narrow canyon with 1500 foot straight walls cutting through the mountain is dramatically beautiful! After a quick walk across the sand, concrete steps with metal railings makes climbing up the canyon wall easy and the short trail is not difficult. With breathtaking views photographed, a short drive takes us to Cottonwood Campgrounds where often many of the birds and animals unique to this border with Mexico are often seen. Depending on how long we spend here, we may try to include a visit to the lower Burro Mesa Pouroff before heading back to the lodge for dinner. Tuesday, October 30 Summary: You won't be ready to leave, but following an early breakfast, the group will board the motor coach for the final day of sightseeing and photography. Depending on the time of our departure flight, we should be able to squeeze in a short walk before leaving the park. Our destination will be Persimmon Gap at the very far northern boundary of the park. A short hike will take us up Persimmon Gap Draw to a saddle between Persimmon Peak and an unnamed peak. The gravel wash is easy to follow, with only a 290' gain in elevation, but the trail is blocked by a dry 70-foot waterfall (dry). Hikers must negotiate an unmaintained path that leads around the right side of this obstacle. At a second, smaller pouroff, we will encounter the oldest exposed rocks in the park, which are seen only in this location. The sedimentary rocks of the Tesnus, Maravillas and Caballos Formations seen here are over 250 million years old. When we reach the end of our trail, our view will include the rangeland northeast of the park and the distant Christmas Mountains 25 miles to the southwest. This is a very lightly-used trail, offering sights few visitors ever see. We will be in Marathon, 80 miles north of the park, around lunch time. Here we will stop for a simple lunch (included in the trip) with a little time to shop in Marathon, enjoying several unique galleries, rock shops, a book store, etc. With our bellies full and our souvenir purchases in hand, we will make the final leg of the journey to Midland and our return flight to Dallas Love Field on Southwest Airlines. Note: The Big Bend Photo Frenzy, a reunion of all attendees, is held about a month after the trip. This is a fun fellowship giving everyone a chance to show off their best photos, reminisce and renew friendships!
Cost & Reservations The member cost for this fully escorted tour is $1400 per person based on double occupancy and includes ground transportation, lodging for four nights, park entrance fees and meals except for noon Wednesday. The museum will cover the cost of all tips and gratuities. The member cost for a single traveler with a private room is $1,600. For non-members, the tour cost is $1,500 (double occupancy) or $1,700 (single occupancy). Travelers are responsible for arrangements and the cost of airfare to Midland (currently around $130 round trip). Add $100 to all reservations made after February 20. Registration deadline is March 10. To make your reservation, contact Steffanie Mann at 972-562-5566 ext. 237. A $725 early deposit per person will hold your place. Late Deposits (after Feb..20) will be $825. Final payment is due on or before March 10, 2012. Refunds will not be available after March 10. Mail your deposit to the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary, One Nature Place, McKinney, TX 75069, Attn: Big Bend Trip. The trip will fill up quickly so get your reservation in soon! Get to Know the Leaders Roger “Snake Man” Sanderson Experience: Roger has been the Wildlife Biologist at the Heard Natural Science Museum for 11 years and was promoted to Director of Botanical Gardens a couple years ago. Usually known as “the Snake Man” by local youths, he has been doing snake programs for Boy Scouts for almost 20 years and teaches the Reptile Study Merit Badge at the Boy Scout National Jamboree in Virginia. His huge live, native Texas snake collection is one of the best in the state and was used to create the Heard’s widely acclaimed Rat Snakes to Rattlers and Venomous Snakes of Texas exhibits. Both Roger and his wife are active birders, traveling widely to view new or unusual species. In 2007 and 2008 they were selected to be part of the Cornell University search team for the Ivory Bill Woodpecker in Arkansas, which is now an ongoing obsession. For several years he has been in charge of the McKinney Christmas Bird Count. Roger is on the board of our local Prairie & Timbers Audubon Society and the Texas Herpetological Society. He and his wife are also active members of the Dallas Paleontology Society. Insects, too, are a favorite subject! He has been collecting butterflies and moths since the third grade and did research on gall insects while at A&M. He created an impressive butterfly/pollinator garden at the Heard and has given talks on Insects and Butterfly Gardening to many groups including the 2010 Symposium of the Texas Native Plant Society. Despite his vast background in animals, Roger’s greatest expertise is in plants. He was Assistant Director of the Dallas Civic Garden Center (now Texas Discovery Gardens) for 5 ½ years until forming his own landscape company which he still operates part time. Roger had a weekly column for several years in the Dallas Morning News on plants and continues to write articles about nature in several publications. Education: Roger did his undergraduate work at U.T. Austin majoring in Zoology with a minor in Botany and did his graduate work at Texas A&M in horticulture. These diverse institutions gave him a unique perspective on nature—as well as a heck-of-a sense of humor! General Information March/April Weather Hiking in the Big Bend Items to Pack Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen Special Request
Terms The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary is responsible for arrangements, including payments to suppliers, described in the itinerary of this trip. The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary has no responsibility for delays; delayed departures and arrivals; loss, damage or injury to persons or property; mechanical defects, failure or negligence in connection with any accommodations, transportation or other services; for substitutions of hotel or other common carrier beyond their control and for any additional expense incurred thereby. Acceptance of these terms by the traveler is indicated by his or her registration. The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary reserves the right to cancel the trip if they don’t meet their minimum participant requirement. |
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