The next day we were picked up again by Voni and Paul, driven over to Ara’s camp, and treated to some of Ara’s amazing “Campfire stew”, before we all headed off to the “Swimming Hole
Ara's dining room in Big Bend
The next day we were picked up again by Voni and Paul, driven over to Ara’s camp, and treated to some of Ara’s amazing “Campfire stew”, before we all headed off to the “Swimming Hole” one of Big Bend’s hidden secrets. We bounced along in Paul’s 4x4 for a good few off road miles, before we found the track that led down to the creek and the swimming hole. We all hiked around the place, snapping pics of each other and the “hole”, collected a few rocks for Ara’s garden, then headed back once more in time to change for the Alpine Nativity.

As we were in the car on the way to Alpine, the conversation turned to ID, seeing as we were just about to pass the Border Patrol checkpoint. We joked that we could get deported if we were pulled over, as neither Jacquie nor I had our passports with us. Sure enough, we were pulled over at the checkpoint, and yes, we were both then asked for ID. Oh. Woops.
We had to write down our names and address as the German border patrolman went to check we weren’t terrorists. A line of cars started to build up behind us, and finally the guard re-emerged, and after issuing us with a stern warning , let us up to Alpine , to see our Nativity.

The Nativity was an experience.The live animals in the cast, donkeys, camels and children, did a good job. It was a freezing cold, clear night, the sky was bight with stars, and the coffee and hot chocolate struggled to keep the audience warmed up.
The Nativity was charming, but at the end of the night we were ready to jump back into the 4x4 and turn the heating on.