57.6/24 Rio Grande Village, Big Bend National Park

Sierra del Carmen Across the Rio Grande in Mexico

From Rio Grande Village Overlook, we could see the Mexican Sierra del Carmen range overlooking the Boquillas Canyon of the Rio Grande.

Rio Grande Village and Campground are in a Swamp

After a hot sweaty night and a quick breakfast, we took off for the Nature Walk from Rio Grande Village campground at the southeast end of Big Bend National Park.

Nature Trail Boardwalk

The Walk crossed an overflow from the Rio Grande on a boardwalk.

Bill Wipes the Sweat from His Brow

At 9 o’clock in the morning it was over 90°, hot and humid; although we walked slowly, we were dripping with sweat.

The short walk took us up on a limestone hill where there was a view of the Rio Grande River across into Mexico. We could see the lush green vegetation along the river. At our feet was an interesting desert flora.

Limestone Hill: Leatherstem and
Trailing Alliona or Windmill Pink

Dominant here is Leatherstem, Jatropha dioica, a 2 ft. shrub with finger-thick flexible dark-brown stems. The ever-present ocotillo, prickly-pear cactus and creosote bush are close nearby, in lesser numbers.

Leatherstem

Along the Rio Grande it has been very leafy and in bloom. When we had seen it at Organ Pipe National Monument in early May in AZ after a very dry spring season, the stems had no leaves at all. A milky juice exudes where any piece is pinched off, a characteristic of its family, the Euphorbiaceae.

Trailing Alliona or Windmill Pink and Gyp Daisy

The Gyp(sum) Daisy was just waking up while Trailing Alliona was about to go to sleep. I did not have the textbook necessary to identify the pretty white-pink daisy, but Alliona incarnata was an old friend found throughout the southwest deserts. Like the old fashioned garden Four O’clock, the flowers open in the late afternoon, then close in early morning.

Trailing Alliona

Although the leafy stems may be 10 ft. long and are very sticky, they are inconspicuous without open flowers.