Fine dining in rugged Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park, Texas – On the banks of the Rio Grande where the river has cut steep canyons through the mountains of the Chihuahuan desert tens of miles from any civilization, Chef Francois Maeder is whipping up white chocolate mousse. "A lot of people think when you go camping you should have hot dogs and beans," says Maeder. Not here. Luscious food and white-linen dining room takes a backseat only to the desert terrain and spectacular night sky full of stars in one of the most remote and least visited national parks in the continental U.S.. For 24 years, of Swiss origin Maeder took its gourmet restaurant San Antonio on the road – and river. Maeder, 64, prepares and serves delicious meals on raft trips along the Rio Grande through Big Bend National Park, a wilderness 801,163 acres, about 700 miles west of Houston. The park takes its name from the strong arc of 118 miles along the north-eastern outlet from the river that forms a border of 889 miles that separates Texas from Mexico. At more than 1,200 square miles, Big Bend, a national park since 1944, is the 15th largest system of national parks. Its river, desert and mountain environment to come home to more types of birds, bats and cacti than any other U.S. national park. Its location, more than two hours south of the nearby interstate highway, it keeps the crowds down and Big Bend is a destination rather than a random stop on the way to somewhere else. About a half dozen times a year, during the spring and autumn colder, Maeder and guides from far Outdoor Center, a provider of nearby Terlingua, pack a portable kitchen and coolers full of clips for breakfast, salads, dinners and Gourmet cakes for river trips aboard 16-foot inflatable rafts through the canyon. Valynda Henington, co-owner of the furthest, who has guided trips through the area isolated for decades, described them as "scenic float trips." The supplier offers the most rugged adventures, and more intense along the Rio Grande, which includes portions designated as a federal Wild and Scenic River, which means it is almost inaccessible, primitive and lacking in development. The gourmet trip, however, "bring us a clientele that would not normally come," said Henington. "A life experience for me," Tim TRITC, 56, who works for a paint manufacturing company in Dallas, said of his recent trip. "It ‘s like being on a cruise of three days with a very small group of people … who want to pursue what they enjoy," TRITC wife, Amy, 43, said. "Float and inflate!" Patrick Harris, 45, driving the team leader, shouting as you travel through March and Heath Temple Canyons kicks off in front of the ghost town of La Linda, and apparently abandoned, Mexico. Up to four passengers ride in rafts piloted by a guide to travel farther, which usually cover about a dozen miles. Most of the time the river reaches before the intense afternoon heat, where temperatures in spring can reach 100 degrees. The leader selects a bank travel camping tents for two people. The second half of the day to cool off in the river clear, take a siesta or explore the desert. "We’re trying to make it an experience where you have to do anything if you do not want to," guide Jenny Schooler, 29, a native of North Carolina who’s been with for 16 months away, he said. As the sun begins to drop behind the mountains and the heat subsides, the dinner experience is several hours long. Under an open-sided tent with white portable soft lighting with a series of small lights, battery appetizers like pate, truffles and cognac and smoked salmon with cream cheese to start the evening feast, followed by fresh spinach pasta, salad and rack New Zealand lamb. Dessert was white chocolate mousse with Irish cream, just assembled in the desert. A typical dinner includes the second day of the Texas Gulf shrimp, ricotta cheese tortellini with cream sauce and garlic, rainbow trout and charbroiled breast of Muscovy duck in wine and mushroom sauce. For dessert, raspberry mousse. Breakfasts are made to order omelets and eggs benedict. Lunch is buffet style deli. "We look for people that things like that," says Maeder. "A lot of cooks make it too complicated. I’ve seen recipes with ingredients of 25 or 30. It is not necessary. I believe in keeping it simple." He brings the food to San Antonio, where he owns a restaurant called pancakes, and works out a shopping list. "Sometimes you forget something," he admits. "You improvvisare. Maeder arrived in Texas in 1977, from Montreal, after having worked in Asia and Europe. He took his first trip to Rio Grande in 1987 with her teenage stepson, fell in love with the place and convinced the people running far to prove that offers a trip that featured good food. That was 160 for travel makes Maeder, who rows his raft. Despite the tame nature in general travel suggestions, which generally attract eight to more than two dozens of people, the desert can be daunting. It is not unprecedented for a scorpion hiding in a tent. Wild burros scream in the night. Maeder has travel stories marked by tennis ball-size hail, flash floods, dramatic and unexpected changes in temperature Visitors to the tent sites. "Look up at a horse," he said, recounting an episode at night. Despite the violence of the drug in the border city of Mexico and the controversy over undocumented immigrants crossing the border, Maeder said that none of its Travel has encountered problems. "We are five hours away by car," he said, pointing toward the canyon wall on the Mexican side of the river. "Once in a while you’ll see a farmer on a horse in search of cattle or goats." Canyon specifically for a trip depends on the depth of the Rio Grande water-depleted by drought in many places. No rain fell in the Big Bend from September 2010 to March this year, making it unsuitable for trips through Santa Elena Canyon rafts and its limestone cliffs 1,500 feet high. More than a century ago, long before the upstream dams harnessed the Rio Grande and slowed the flow of water, the river was running a death-defying experience. When government inspectors in the border 1852 launched a boat load of wood in Santa Elena Canyon, was released as splinters and broken boards. The first successful trip has not been documented until 1882. The Canyons Rio Grande through Heath and Temple, the north-east edge of the park , is fed partly by springs, which represents a greater flow of water. And while the absence of the canyon tunnel-like feeling of Santa Elena, are no less impressive. "It ‘s an experience I will never forget," said Rosie Wilson, 58, of San Antonio, who has made a recent trip with her husband, Grant. "The night sky. My God! ‘So beautiful and it is here every night and you get to see him. "___ If You Go away Outdoor Center: http://ffoc.net/index.php. Gourmet trips are $ 775 per person plus sales tax of Texas 7.75 per cent. A 10 percent gratuity for the guide of the raft is recommended. Big Bend National Park: http://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm. HOW TO GET THERE: Fly to Midland, then drive 242 miles, from El Paso, 329 miles from San Antonio, 406 km. LODGING: For lodging first start of the tour: No motel chain to operate in at least two hours of the park. Lontane has several 400-square-foot casitas can accommodate up to four people, $ 125 per night, although rates vary by season. A few other motels are in nearby Terlingua. The Chisos Mountain Lodge, operated by Forever Resorts, Inc., is in Big Bend National Park Chisos basin at 5,400 feet high and almost an hour’s drive from Terlingua .. The lodge offers a variety of rooms and apartments, plus a gift shop and dining room.