Day 393 – More on Chisos Basin

I could have stayed in Chisos Basin for a lot longer than 5 days, but tomorrow I will be leaving for Terlingua so I wanted to get in a bit more about what I saw.

The campground is $14 a night and there are no hook-ups for RVs as well no showers, but the bathrooms are clean. There is a water shortage in the park so in general they don’t like people using more than 5 gallons per day, but no one actually counted. Any place I got drinking water it was always fresh and tasty.

The lodge is a different story, but I didn’t stay there. However, I did eat in the restaurant and it was unexpectedly delicious. I went almost every night to take advantage of the WIFI and to load up on soup and salad for $10. I’ve been eating a lot of freeze-dried food so that means no veggies, so it was a good way to get my fill and keep the plumbing working.

The manger of the place, Lucius, was quick to like. The park had just entered the slow season so he was wearing a variety of hats including bar tender. As he was rushing around all over the place he kept my beer mug full, the food coming quickly and a consistent smile on his face with customers and staff. I’ve had some experience with customer service so I know how challenging it can be. So I always enjoy seeing someone that makes it look easy. Thanks for taking care of me Lucius.

Every night just after the sun set there were gusty winds that died down around 11. I’m guessing the basin was equalizing with the surrounding air. It only rained the first night I was there, so the stars were out until the full moon came up to wash them away.

None of the other campers seemed overly friendly, but Ted the camp host was fun to talk to and reminded me a bit of Santa.

If you get a chance I highly recommend spending a few days here.