Desert Sports Featured Trips
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 28, 2010; Category: Tours; Tags: Canoeing, Mountain Bike, Rafting, Tours; No Comments
With the launching of Desert Sports’ newly revamped website we have decided to post a few of our favorite trips as our “Featured Trips”.
Most of these trips are going to be our backcountry tours that require a minimum number of folks to book. If you have wanted to go on one of our mountain bike, hiking, or combination tours and cannot put together a group to meet booking requirements, this is your chance.
We also posted dates for our Lower Canyons 8-Day River Tour. This is one of our favorite river trips anywhere, and we have featured it with a couple of dates over the next few months.
You can check the dates for these trips in the sidebar here on the BLOG page or in the sidebar for each type of tour. Aside from being able to join with a group of folks that enjoy the same interests as you, we are also able to offer the Group pricing for everyone joining the tour. Final tour prices will be based on the total number of people on the trip. Check our Reservations page for details on booking.
Have a trip you want to do and don’t see it on the list? Let us know and perhaps we can get some dates posted. Check back frequently for updated postings of our Featured Trips – we’ll be adding itineraries and dates throughout the year.
Passport Requirements Change
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 28, 2010; Category: Big Bend Info, Current Events, Rio Grande Info; Tags: Big Bend Info, Canoeing, passport, Rafting, Rules & Regulations; 2 Comments
Ok, here is the latest update on Passport Requirements for going on river trips on the Rio Grande in the Big Bend area of Texas. We are in receipt of a letter from the National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, that relates policy changes for River Usage on the Rio Grande along the Texas/Mexico border. These statements reflect changes in the enforcement of existing regulations by US Customs and Border Patrol.
The following are direct quotes from the letter we received from Big Bend National Park:
“First, a U.S. Passport is not required to use the river in Big Bend National Park or the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River. Additionally, a U.S. Customs declaration form is no longer required for river trips.
Second, visitors and river outfitters may not use the Mexican bank of the river, as international border crossing is only legal at a Port of Entry. Visitors may not hike into Mexico or the side canyons of Mexico. Visitors additionally may not plan a trip to camp in Mexico or on the Mexican shore. The exception is in cases of emergency: visitors may land on the Mexican side of the river to scout rapids, to bail out a boat, to repack gear, and for other safety reasons.”
These policy changes were presented to us in a letter dated August 20, 2010.
If you have questions on how this new interpretation of the regulations will affect Desert Sports river trips, give us a shout (either email or give us a call). While these changes will have an effect on some of our camps and hikes, we are still able to visit the fantastic canyons of the Rio Grande. Stay tuned for more updates.
If you have questions on the new enforcement of these regulations and how they affect the current NPS policy changes we suggest contacting the following folks:
Bill Wellman, BBNP Superintendent; bill_wellman@nps.gov
David Elkowitz, BBNP Chief of Interpretation, david_elkowitz@nps.gov
Bill Brooks, Customs and Border Patrol, Marfa Sector, william.brooks@dhs.gov
Mexico Still Releasing Water
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 26, 2010; Category: Big Bend Info, Rio Grande Info; Tags: Big Bend Info, Canoeing, Rafting, Rio Grande; No Comments
The dam release on the Rio Conchos is still flowing. As of this morning, August 26, 2010, it has increased up to a bit over 2000 cfs (61 cms). This release has not reached the Rio Grande, but we would expect to see an increase in the gauge at the Presidio Bridge in the next 24 to 48 hours. The flow of the Rio Grande should come up a bit above the nice flow rates we have been having for the last few weeks.
Again, we do not have information on the duration of the Mexican Release and have no idea how long we can expect to have good flows in the Rio Grande. If you are planning a river trip for the fall, come on down while the river us UP!
Rio Grande is UP!! Mexico Releasing Water
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 7, 2010; Category: Big Bend Info, Current Events, Rio Grande Info; Tags: Canoeing, Rafting, Rio Grande; 2 Comments
LET’S GO RAFTING!!
Mexico is releasing water from a reservoir on the Rio Conchos. Just yesterday, 8/6/2010, in the late afternoon the release hit the gauge at the Presidio Bridge. The Rio Grande is flowing at 1145 cfs (cubic feet per second) this morning, up from 215 cfs yesterday, past the Bridge and should be reaching the Lajitas area in the next couple of days. The release is coming from the last of the reservoirs on the Rio Conchos and as of yesterday is flowing at almost 2000 cfs. We have no information on the duration of the release, but based on information from the International Boundary and Water Commission, it looks like there is quite a bit of water behind the dam.
This is a great flow rate for the Rio Grande and allows us to do all our river trips through the Big Bend area of Texas. If you are planning to visit the Big Bend in the next week or so, give Desert Sports a shout.
We’ll keep you posted as we get updates.
Chihuahuan Desert Seeing Green
Author: Desert Toad; Published: Jul 27, 2010; Category: Flora and Fauna; Tags: Flora; No Comments
The summer rains have certainly greened up the Chihuahuan Desert here in the Big Bend of Texas. Lush vegetation blankets the desert floor and is spotted with the brilliant flowers such as Baileya multiradiata (Desert Marigold) and Commelina (Dayflower or Widow’s Tears). The prickly pear is boasting their fat fruit, called tunas, as a second wave of cacti blooms went through the yard at Desert Sports just last week. The humidity and soil moisture has triggered the Cenizo, also known as Barometer Bush or Texas Sage, to bloom. Often the flowers are a shade of purple, but there is a white version behind the shop. Candellia, a Euphorbiaceae family member, seems to be the plant of the year, as the slender clump of waxed stalks are covered in tiny blooms. While the birds are getting the fledgings out of the nest and some are starting on a second brood, more green is pushing through the ground surface. Young leaves that are opposite and pinnately compound announce the orange of caltrops to be seen in August. Looks like the rains will continue and bring water to the Rio Grande where the Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) wave their welcome with leaf-drenched branches.