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The Battalion
Tuesday, August 4,195;
A Texas treasure
Big Bend National Park offers a diverse desert getaway
By Brooke Perkins
Special to The Battalion
If your mind conjures up im
ages of a vast desert wasteland,
when you think of Big Bend Na
tional Park, think again.
Big Bend, located in the west
Texas bend of the Rio Grande Riv
er, is extremely varied in the
number and types of different
ecosystems it contains. From the
Chisos Mountains to stretches of
the Chihuahuan desert to the Rio
Grande River valley. Big Bend in
cludes green meadows, forested
woodlands, moist oases, flood-
plains, grasslands, canyons, and
creeks running.
According to George Wuerthn-
er, author of Texas' Big Bend
Country, this great scenic and bio
logical diversity was a leading fac
tor in the park's selection by the
United Nations as a World Bio
sphere Reserve, a system which
serves to protect characteristic
ecosystems of the world.
This environmental diversity
makes for some exceptional hiking
experiences. One excellent hiking
trail described by Interpretive
Park Ranger Karen Boucher, is the
Lost Mine Trail, a self-guiding na
ture trail through pine, juniper
and oak woodlands in the Chisos
Mountains. The trail leads 2.3
miles upward to 7,650 feet and a
spectacular (albeit windy) view of
the desert below.
The trail was named for a leg
endary gold and silver mine in
which Spanish explorers forced
native prisoners to work, Boucher
said.
"The indians attacked the hat
ed Spaniards, and killed them off
to the last man," she said. "They
then sealed the entrance to the
mine so the Spaniards would not
return.
"Legend has it that if a man
stood in the door of the chapel at
Presidio San Vicente, Mexico on
Easter morning, he could see the
sun's first rays striking the moun
tain on the exact entrance to the
Lost Mine," Boucher said.
Another popular trail is the
Window Trail, a leisurely path
winding along Oak Creek in the
Basin of the Chisos Mountains.
The trail leads downward 2.8
miles to the "Window," an open
ing in the rocks that serves as the
pour-off of Oak Creek and the
only outlet of the drainage system
BROOKE PERKINS/Special to The Battalion
The Window Trail, Chisos Mountain Basin, Big Bend National Park.
for the Basin. A good time to go
on this trail is in the evening in or
der to see the sunset through the
Window.
The park boasts more than 150
miles of hiking trails, including
one through the Rio Grande-
carved Santa Elena Canyon and
another through a volcanic ash-
lined ravine called Tuff Canyon.
Two other very popular trails
include a trail leading along the
Rio Grande to an old abandoned
settlement at a natural hot springs
and a day-hike trail winding up
ward through woodlands and
meadows of the Chisos Mountains
to the South Rim where scenic vis
tas extending more than 100 miles
into Mexico can be seen.
If a four-wheeled drive vehicle
or sturdy truck is at your disposal,
a trip along one of the back coun
try dirt roads will take you to ter
rain seldom seen by most Big
Bend visitors. "Road Guide to
Backcountry Dirt Roads of Big
Bend National Park," is a handy
guide.
A must-see short trail off the
Old Ore Road is Ernst Tinaja, an
eroded canyon carved in ancient
limestone. The colorful layers of
rock have been Contorted and tilt-
pool carved into the limestone
creek bed by centuries of erosion,
which holds water year round.
The tinaja is an important source
of water for wildlife in the dry
desert. Because the limestone
sides of the tinaja are steep, when
the water level drops animals
sometimes fall in and are
drowned, unable to get out.
On hikes, drives and other ex
cursions in the park, you're likely
to see a great profusion and vari
ety of wildlife.
"The diversity of habitats at
Big Bend means an abundance of
wildlife species," Wuerthner said.
Among the wildlife that can be
sighted are 434 species of birds in
cluding the Vermilion flycatcher,
the very rare Colima warbler, and
golden eagles. Ther£ are 78
species of mammals including nu
merous bat species, javelina. Car
men white-tail deer, mule deer,
blacktailed jackrabbits, ringtails,
antelope, coyotes, and mountain
Hons. Among the cold-blooded
creatures in the park are black-
t died rattlesnakes, spadefoot
toads, tarantulas and scorpions.
Big Bend is also home to nu
merous endangered and threat
ened species. If you are lucky
enough, you might run into Texas'
rarest mammal, the Mexican black
bear. When hiking the Santa Ele
na Canyon trail look up on the
cliff ledges to catch sight of the en
dangered peregrine falcon, or look
for the rare Big Bend mosquito
fish among the reeds of the natu
ral spring on the Rio Grande Vil
lage Nature Trail.
As evidenced by the many en
dangered species found in Big
Bend, even this vast land has felt
the abuses of man. According to
Dennis A. Vasquez, Big Bend
Chief of Interpretation, intense
grazing by domestic sheep and
cattle prior to the parks establish
ment in 1944 caused the depletion
of much of the natural grassland
in Big Bend.
"These desert grasslands,
which contained waist-high grass
es, are now barren and will take
years to replenish themselves," he
said.
Many animals that previously
existed in the park are now gone,
Vasquez said. Among them are
Desert bighorn sheep, the Mexican
wolf, and the Montezuma qi
Although an attempt to
ulate the park with desert b
sheep in the '70s failed whent
herd contracted blue tonguedii
ease from domestic sheep, aplj
to re-introduce the MexicanWd
to the park is under consideratin
he said. Also, a small herd.
pronghorn antelope survives
the northern reaches of the park
Despite the adversity,
Bend remains a boundless, beat:
ful land guaranteeing to deliji
and surprise you, so if youhai
pen to venture into Big Be:
country take care to assist thefc
tional Park Service in abiding?
their founding policy—"to prot#
the land and to leave all will
their boundaries unimpaired!
the enjoyment of future gene
tions."
Big Bend is open yearrom
and has five campgrounds rarj
ing from three to five dollars^
night. The park entrance fee
$5.00 per vehicle. For more info
mation call the Park Headquai
at (915) 477-2251.
Tin
off<
Jon
DeShaz
ed into beautiful formations.
The "tinaja" is a 12-foot-deep
The Battalion
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Cud grooves on new album
By Shu Hoong Yong
TheBattamn
Cud
"Asquarius"
A&M
The Oxford Dictionary de
fines "cud" :; as "ruminant's
half-digested food." Granted, it
may not sound too appealing as a
band name, but don't let that
keep you away from Cud's bril
liant music.
This as-yet-little-known band
from Leeds was formed in 1987,
and after three LPs and two EPs
(including a "Peel Session" EP
recorded under the support of
John Peel), Cud has finally come
up with a new album that should
make the world sit up and pay at
tention.
Guitarist Mike Dunphy sets
the identity of the band with his
nifty finger works, almost steal
ing the limelight from lead singer
Carl Puttnam's powerful set of
lungs. In fact, the first thing that
hits you smack in the face when
you first put this album on, is
Dunphy's jangling guitar sounds
which permeate throughout the
entire album.
The first track is an off-beat
ditty "Rich and Strange" which
cranks up Cud's rock n roll en
gine for a forty-minute joyride
through "Asquarius." Puttnam's
British-accented vocals give this
song the required melodrama
that greatly enhances its cheerful
mood.
Second track "Easy" echoes
with a heaven-may-care aloofness
instead, with Puttnam breaking
his voice into a wail while heavy
drumming grinds in the back
ground. The same rawness and
vigor spill over to the other tracks
like "Sometimes Rightly, Some
times Wrongly," "Magic Alex,"
and in particular, "Through the
Roof," which should bring any
house down with its insistent
rhythms.
Unlike Manchester rave bands
like Happy Monday and the
Stone Roses, Cud seeks to prove
0)
=3
that guitar-driven tunes can!
groovy without the use of htditl
coverage of
me to scour
political life
Actually
done any sc
more pressii
consciousne:
favorite new
nal (surely
Batt), would
registerable
once (and fu
Instead <
ble to chew
Bush's elusi
sized media
some of us
about Novel
dance beat. In that aspect, the
have created a stylistic rod
sound that is simple yet fash®
able. Like what is suggested in;
song title. Cud may well bethf
"Soul Food" for the nineties.
Goodwin, Dunphy, Potter and Puttnam of Cud.
Top 10 movies of all time...(more or less'
By Jayme Blaschke
The Battalion
Once again another summer movie season winds to a close, and
once again legions of moviegoers are leaving theaters across the country
complaining about the movies just seen.
"Why can't they make good movies anymore like they used to?
Whatever happened to classics like Terminator 2?" many film connois
seurs wonder.
To satisfy the celluloid yearnings of these disillusioned, here is the
official Battalion Lifestyles Top 10 Movies of All Time, in no particular
order. All of the movie listed are currently available on video.
1) Star Wars —George Lucas' space opera masterpiece set the stan
dard for mega-hits and revived heroic adventure. In a galaxy far, far
away the ambitious Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia rose
up against the vile Darth Vader and the Empire in a classic battle of
good versus evil. Great special effects, action and acting.
2) The Empire Strikes Back —The second installment of the Star Wars
trilogy was, if anything, bigger and better than the first. Knocked by
many because the good guys lost, it was ambitious and broke new
ground, avoiding the sequel trap of rehashing the first film. Billy Dee
Williams as the friend/traitor/scoundrel was an impressive addition,
as was the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Director Irvin Kirshner's direction
was superb, and there are no ewoks to be seen.
3) Doctor Zhivago —Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rus
sian Revolution, this romance is an epic of sweeping proportions. Omar
Sharif as the title character is flawless in his performance, and Sir Alec
Guiness is suitably stoic as the doctor's communist brother. Note: the
film's depiction of the Russian winter is incredible —it should only be
viewed with several thick blankets handy.
4) The Silence of the Lambs —Quite possibly the most intelligent hor
ror movie ever made. The psychological terror of the the movie keeps
audiences far more frightened than any chainsaw massacre, but this
movie doesn't shirk on gore. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins de
serve all the praise they've received for this film.
5) Howard the Duck (just kidding).
5) Casablanca —Humphrey Bogart never says "Play it again, Sam,"
but that doesn't detract from this classic one bit. Romance, betray
murder, intrigue. World War 2 and plot twists galore make this onesi
prisingly sophisticated film for its time.
6) Monty Python and the Holy Grail—Just about the most mart
movie ever made, but also one of the funniest. John Cleese, Erici
Graham Chapman and crew spend 90 minutes running away fromtht
Knights-Who-Say-"Nee", guessing their favorite color and trying to dis
cover the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow. It's as silly asil
sounds.
7) Summer Lovers — A movie that will probably appear on no othe
list of top 10 movies, this Daryl Hannah sleeper, filmed entirely
Greece, is full of bad haircuts, but has some thoughtful insight into whil
relationships are about. A low-key film that should be viewed in a
key mood.
8) Dr. Strangelove —Peter Sellers in about a dozen different roles
Slim Pickens riding a nuclear bomb like a bucking bronco and a political
crisis so severe the entire world is in jeopardy. Director Stanley
Kubrick's anti-nuke masterpiece confronts the fears of 1960s America
head on, and dishes out heavy doses of very black comedy. The worldis
surely doomed when the Pentagon won't accept collect calls.
9) Mary Poppins —It's Disney all-time biggest hit, it's rated Gaud
it's good. Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke give show-stopping pet-
formances, and the songs are neat. If anyone is too jaded to enjoy thia
film, they need to stop taking themselves so seriously.
10) Kelley's Heroes —One of the best, and funniest, war movies eve:
this spectacular drags for the first 15 minutes or so, then takes off. QW
Eastwood, Carol O'Conner, Telly Savalas, Don Rickies, Donald Suthei
land... the film credits read like a who's who of Hollywood. The plotf
simple enough —some soldiers in World War 2 decide to rob a Freud
bank. The only problem is that the bank lies 40 miles behind Gentf
lines. The clever script stretches the bounds of its genre to make Kell)!
Heroes much more than a war movie. If nothing else, the film's signs
ture theme song, "Burning Bridges," makes the whole thing worth
while. Watch for the picture's takeoffs on other films, especially East
wood's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
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Continued From Page 3
country/rock songs, they are more
like waltzes.
"Family Reserve," and She's
Leaving Me Because She Really
Wants to," are as country as the al
bum get. Both tunes have a little
blues in them as well, and the har
monies are beautifully done.
Lovett doesn't stick to just jazz
and mainstream blues, he also
tries his hand with a little
gospel/blues. In "Church" a
gospel choir is heard along with a
lot of clapping and background
voices that really has a lot of
rhythm. One can't help but clap
along with Lovett and his group.
Blues and Jazz really seem to
be Lovett's strong point in the mu
sic field and if this new LP is any
inclination on what is to come
from Lovett in the future, there
will be no second guessing him on
what musical category he falls
into*,
"Joshua Judges Ruth," is fan
tastic. You just gotta "Lovett."
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Lyle Lovett