Vida Feliz!

Yes, I know; I haven't added to the blog in awhile! Sorry!
Matt and I have been enjoying the work we do at Davis Mountains State Park, and we have LOVED being with the people at the park and in the local community.
Matt and I are now working 3 1/2 days on and 3 1/2 days off.  That translates to HOURS of play time!

We've enjoyed park staff picnics--

Verna, Tommy, Jason, and Tara at Becky and Gary's RV.
(Becky and Gary were leaving for home after volunteering for 6 months...They are still sorely missed!)

Jacob, Sienna, Eliza, Carol Anne, Verna, Carmen, Jason, Tommy, Becky, Gary, Tara
Ella, Noah, Matt, and Sadie (dog)

Jacob is the law enforcement officer at the park.  (His family includes--Eliza, Sienna, and Noah.)

Carol Anne is a volunteer for the dog walks on Thursday morning.

Verna is the office manager at the headquarters.

Carmen is one of the park rangers.

Jason is one of the park rangers.

Tommy is the superintendent at the park. (Only one of his daughters was at the picnic, Ella.)

Becky and Gary were volunteers/camp hosts at the park.  (Sadie is their dog.)

Tara is the interpretive ranger and volunteer coordinator at the park.

Notice that I have not written anything about their personalities or abilities.  Well, each and every one of these extraordinary people are exceptional, fun, talented, generous, kind, and wonderful.  Versus labeling each person with these attributes, I thought I would just tout their AWESOMENESS as a group!  SMILES!  Matthew and I are very fortunate to know them.

We've enjoyed guided hikes--

Jacob pointing-out geological features across the valley.
Note the gorgeous lime colored lichen on the rock behind him.

More recently, we went on a full-moon hike guided by Tara.  That too was a GREAT one!

We've enjoyed the Fort Davis Trunk-Or-Treat--

People gather on a designated street, decorate the trunks/beds of their vehicles, and pass out candy.
Great idea for rural communities!

Matt in mask....He still loves Halloween!

Eliza, Jacob, Sienna, Matt, Rebekkah, Bea, and Andy
Park families at the event!

Bea, our favorite penguin

Sienna, our favorite mermaid

Noah, our favorite ninja

We've enjoyed hiking and nature--

Rainbow in the primitive area of the park

Hiking on the Green Trail in the Boy Scout Camp near Fort Davis.
Matt, Eliza, Jacob with Sienna
Noah, amazing "monkey boy", is ahead of us on the trail.   

At the Boy Scout Camp

We are enjoying our neighbors and the views--

Javelinas behind our RV 

 Creek in the primitive area

Davis Mountains State Park is a wonderful place in which to volunteer!  We have already signed-up to to repeat the experience next year--smiles!  For those of you thinking about visiting, we will be here again October and November 2015.  I would highly recommend the area, the people, and the opportunities!

Hope you are all well and happy!

Smiles and love,

Susan and Matt

Bugs, burros, buzzards, and spiders

You know, I do have friends who don't enjoy spiders and bugs...If, you are one of them, get out of this entry NOW!
For those of you who do enjoy the bugs and spiders--GREAT!

All of these were seen in Big Bend National Park.  While Matt and I cruised the park roads, we agreed that this would be the perfect way to share Halloween with some of those we love!

This is the white line on the side of the park road--gives you an idea of size.
Matt and I saw the total of 9 tarantulas crossing the roads!!!
(Yes, we avoided running over ALL of them!)

While camping at the Rio Grande Village, we found this cool dead tree alive with buzzards!

While hiking, we "found" some of the wild burros.

Now, this dude, was a bit freaky.  It was thick and long and it moved fast!

Millipede

Okay, that is it for cool critters.  Still hoping to see more snakes!

Feeding the birds

One of our first jobs in the morning is to feed the birds!  (See what I mean?  Is it a "job" or a "joy"?)
A favorite of many of the birds is the suet we make and put into the holed-split-wood.
I thought I would share the recipe--

DAVIS MOUNTAINS STATE PARK

SUET RECIPE

Ingredients:

*1 cup smooth peanut butter

*1 cup lard

*1 cup flour

*4 cups cornmeal

1.  Mix peanut butter and lard together.

2.  Add flour and mix well.

3.  Add cornmeal 2 cups at a time and mix well.   When weather is cold, add less cornmeal.  When    

     weather is warm, add more.

4.  Store in air-tight, critter-proof container.

We were heading over to do some painting after feeding the birds--
hence, no volunteer-nice-clothes
The feeder is just a halved log. This picture was taken after we had filled all the drilled holes.
The birds generally have this emptied within a couple of hours.

I am certain you are all very impressed that I am able to follow a recipe...Even more impressive...wait for it...I have it memorized!  After making about 6 batches, I am now able to do it without looking at the recipe!  Now, aren't you amazed?

Big Bend National Park

We were relieved of duty for 3 days, so Matt and I boogied south to Big Bend National Park.  (This is another one of my many favorite national parks--smiles!)

The trip down was wonderful--

Storm coming in... 

The colors are stunning!

 Small towns, old cemeteries, and ruins...

Famous for The chili cook-off...or is it infamous? 

Rio Grande Village (the south eastern part of the park)--

This is from the overlook on the Rio Grande Nature Trail.

Rio Grande River

Views on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive--

The view of The Window from the Chisos Basin area.  This is the campground at which Matt and I will stay during our next visit.

Local people call this "watching the sunset backwards".  Meaning--watching the sunset paint color on the mountains opposite the setting sun.  Me?  I thought both were spectacular!

Becky and Gary ("park hosts 2") worked for Matthew and me while we explored our neighboring national park.  It was a wonderful gift; thank you for the opportunity!  Now, we are home and "working".  Although, can you really call it "working" if we enjoy doing every aspect of it?  This has been a great experience for Matt and me!  (We have signed-up to do it again next year!) 

All that being said, Matt and I will still take any offer to have some additional time in Big Bend!

Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, Texas

Way cool place!  The cacti were awesome and the hiking trials...well, WOW!
This will be more of a photo entry--

Cool lookin' cacti

This one was Matt's favorite--looks like a grumpy face!

Hiking on the Clayton Overlook Trail

Scene from the overlook

Some of our new peeps in Texas!

Yes, only some!  Again, we have been so fortunate.  Everyone here has been wonderful--staff and volunteers!  I think some of this friendliness is the typical Texan hospitality.  However, these beautiful people take it to a new level--smiles!
I promise to ultimately have photos of the all the "players" at Davis Mts. State Park.  You will want to have faces for the names...(Trust me, not only are they great people, but they do some funny stuff; I will have to report!)

These two, Rebecca and Max, are the rootin'-tootin'-weekend-headqurter-rangers!  They shoulder the responsibilities of registering campers, answering questions, monitoring reservations, etc. etc.  Max is a recent hire...Matt and I think the park made a wise and wonderful decision!  Matthew has found another "brother"--smiles!  (I think he is pretty dang cool too!)  Now, about Rebecca.  Honestly, I think her aspiration of making a pirate ship for her daughter explains her well.  No, not just a play house that looks like a pirate ship; she and her husband want a derelict ship to remodel into a pirate ship.  Dang cool mom, that woman!

This is Mary.  She was Camp Host 2, and our "host teacher" before she left for her next assignment.  She taught us the how to feed the birds, how to drive the gator, how to check on permits and site use, etc.  THANK YOU. Mary!  Your support was invaluable!  (Oh, Mary gave Matt a cool Swiss army knife.  He is still sleeping with it!)

Thank heavens we still have these two--Gary and Becky.  They are Camp Hosts 3.  Gary and Becky have been at the park for a number of months.  Unfortunately, they will be leaving in a couple of weeks; it will be impossible to replace them.  They too have been beyond supportive of Matthew and me.  (Heck, I think Matt would happily replace me with the two of them!  Okay, it does help that Becky is a FANTASTIC cook!)  These two have a beautiful cute-meet story... It is definitely one you need to hear from them--smiles!

Okay, this is part of Jacob's (the law enforcement officer at the park) family.  I cannot believe that I didn't get a good picture of Eliza, Jacob's beautiful wife.  (It will come.)
Jacob, Matt, Sienna (what a cutie!), and Noah
I have already written some about Jacob...I am certain there will be more!  Matt and Noah hit it off as fast-friends; I can well imagine some interesting adventures with the two of them!

These are a few of the people with whom we share this park.  They all bring joy, experience, and knowledge. Thank you for sharing!

Black-tailed rattlesnake

YES!!!  We saw our first venomous snake!  One of the rangers, Zane, caught it and passed it on to Jacob for relocation in the primitive area of Davis Mts. State Park.  Happily, Jacob showed us before he let it go.  SMILES!
Of course, the other happy note is that we saw this beautiful reptile IN A BUCKET!

Just a little black-tailed rattlesnake...
I think, however, I am just fine with that size!

If you want to see it in "action" and hear it, play the video.  I know these animals aren't for everyone; I will not be offended if you skip this entry!  Oh, wait, you have already switched to email...