Day 5 started early in Big Bend with our crew rising at 6:30 am to pack and depart as quickly
as possible to avoid vapor lock.  The gallon gas container was kept sealed in the cooler to
provide a quick injection of cold gas in case things went badly.  We set out, stopping briefly
to photograph some strange rocks I had seen earlier, and the proceeded out of the park.
  we had no trouble on our long trip, and I did all the driving, as Charlie wasn't feeling
well, and Jen has slept poorly the last night.  We went almost precisely the speed limit
once we got out of the extreme west of Texas, which boasted 75 mph speed limits and not a cop
in hundreds of miles.  By late in the afternoon, we were nearing our destination, Lost Maples,
a park built around a concentration of maples marooned up in the mountains by the last ice age.
  However, bad maps thwarted us again, with the map showing surrounding roads, but not which
one connected to the park physical.  It took us 30 minutes of hilly driving to find the
correct entrance.  Upon arrival, we made the unpleasant discovery that we had reserved
hike-in primative sites rather than the drive-in sites.  The weather was overcast, and drizzling
and the hike crossed the river 3 times, although unlike other parks, there were makeshift
bridges rather than wades.  Coming to the muddy and heavily populated camp site, Jen and I
left the decision to Charlie, who was in no mood for a muggy night.  The being decided,
we called Jen's mom to make arrangements to stay at her house in Austin, and went hiking
on the trails.
  Even that activity was curtailed when my already beleagured Lugz lost a lace, and we had
to turn back at a little under mile.  We called it a day, and made the trip to Austin, arriving
at her house in the north of Austin around 8 pm.  Her parents had pizza waiting, ending the
debate about where we would go eat. 
  We took showers and patched our various wounds, preparing to leave early the next morning
for the final leg of our trip, Ink's Lake, which we were quite sure we had non-primative
reservations at.