Because we didn’t have time to hike Santa Elena Canyon the night before, we decided to head down there in the morning. It was about an hours drive from the camp ground. The trail leads you across a small tributary of the Rio Grande, up and over the rocks, and down into tall rush like plants back to the river. It was very peaceful by the water and we had the place to ourselves for a while.
After working our way back out of the canyon we bought some sandwiches at the Castalon Visitor Center and had a nice picnic lunch. We stopped at Tuff Canyon and walked around a little before heading to the other end of the park. It takes about 2 hours to cross the park.
At the Rio Grande village, where we had stayed 24 years ago they have put in a wetland area with floating docks along the River. The trail then goes up a hill and into the desert. There we saw some dragonflies, a Great Blue Heron and a duck. Up the hill there were a few little “shops” set up with trinkets to buy. They warn you not to purchase from these because they worry about park resources being damaged etc., but it was neat to see. Apparently the honor system works for them.
Then the best part of the day. We got showers! The only showers in the park are located at the Rio Grande Village. After 2 days of hiking around in near 90 degree temperatures they felt really good.
We headed back towards camp. By 7:30 we were eating dinner at the Lodge and figuring out our plan for the next day.
