Link to Photos of Big Bend
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| Yours Truly (Photo credit: Rebe) |
If you have been paying attention then you might recall that we were in the Big Bend area of Texas back in May when the pandemic was ramping up, but while we were there the national park was closed so we had to settle for the state park. Well, the national park is open now and we decided to drive the 10 hours again to see it during it's peak season...winter. Sadly it's also peak COVID season. We decided to stay in the same location we did last time in the thriving metropolis of Study Butte-Terlingua Texas.
Day 1 Dec 9th
Finally we get our chance to see what we missed in May, BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK. We decided that the first day would be an easy day, mostly driving and seeing most of the park. The park is 50 miles wide in a straight line so seeing all of it in a day is a tough go, but our focus today was the easternmost section of the park. We started with a quick stop at the main visitors center at Panther Junction, this got us some info on the park roads (which a lot are dirt and rough) and also other general info. After that we headed to the Boquillas Canyon section of the park.
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| Boquillas Canyon Overlook |
We stopped at the Boquillas Canyon overlook, and from the image we were still confused as to where the actual canyon was located. There was a sign with arrows highlighting what was what but from this distance it was really hard to tell what was where. Next stop was the canyon itself and hopefully we could see it better.
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| Rio Grande in the Boquillas Canyon |
As we got closer we could see the river cutting into the 1500' walls of limestone and there was the canyon. The path led down to the river and along the river, the path ended where the face or wall of the canyon met the river. All along the path were trinkets and souvenirs from Mexicans who had crossed the river and setup "stores" with little notes and cans/bottles for payment. And these "stores" were not just on this one trail they were on others that we hiked near the river, we easily saw more than 20 stores.
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| Mexican Store |
After Boquillas Canyon we stopped by the Rio Grande Village visitors center on this end of the park to see what the ranger could recommend, he also agreed with the Panther Junction rangers that the unpaved roads were rough and he would not go down them unless he had a truck. Do not know if I believe him or not, but either way we are in a car (a non-SUV) and will not be venturing down too many unpaved roads. The next stop was the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail, which went down to the Rio Grande and then a good overlook that viewed the river and back toward the Chisos Mountains in the center of the park.
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| Rio Grande in foreground with Chisos Mountains in the background |
From the village we started to head back west towards the center of the park, we decided to make a quick stop at Dugout Wells. This was a small picnic area with short 1 mile nature trail that looped around. Nothing spectacular but good views of the Chisos.
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| View of Chisos from Dugout Wells |
We then kept moving west past Panther Junction (another quick stop at the outdoor gift shop) over to Grapevine Hills Rd with the plan to hike to Balanced Rock. Balanced Rock is a giant bolder perched up on top of a couple of other rocks. Another guy on the trail called it
Wedged Rock but either way it's something cool to see, the trail was pretty flat until you hike up to the rock.
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| Balanced Rock |
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| Balanced Rock and the surrounding rocks |
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| View of trail back to to parking lot from Balanced Rock |
By the time we finished Balanced Rock trail the sun was getting low in the sky but I still wanted to head up to the Chisos Basin area for a sunset pic. The Chisos Basin area is in the mountainous section of the park and this section of the park is very different from the flatter desert sections. In the mountains there are much larger trees and this is also where the bears and mountain lions hang out. This area was really different, really cool, and we will be back up here tomorrow to see what the hikes have to offer and from the looks of it will be strenuous.
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| Sunset at the Windows Overlook |
Day 2 Dec 10th (WE SAW A COYOTE!)
Yesterday we discovered that they were doing construction on the road into Chisos Basin and supposedly they close the road from 8-11am. Meaning to get where we needed to be we needed to get up early and get in the park before the road closes, also we wanted to get to the Lost Mine Trailhead parking lot before the crowd. We were at a distinct disadvantage due to the fact that the Chisos Lodge was only 2 minutes from that parking lot and our little cabin was 40 minutes away. We figured 730 would be a good bet on arriving and we would skip breakfast at our cabin and just eat when we arrived at the trailhead. The bet paid off and we were the fourth car to arrive, and it seems we weren't the only ones with the idea of eating breakfast at the trailhead.
The Lost Mine Trail does not actually lead to a 'lost mine'. They think the mine might have been on the other side of the mountain but either way it is a good name. The trail zig-zags its way up the mountain to a location that provides northerly views of the desert and southernly views back towards the rest of the Chisos Mountains. This is also BEAR and MOUNTAIN LION country, so before leaving your car you are advised to put your food in a hard sided container or in one of the bear proof lockers on site. Who knew that south Texas has mountain lions and bears?
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| View a mile into the Lost Mine Trail |
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| Snack View on the trial |
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| Snack view II |
After sitting at the top of the trail for 20 or so minutes relaxing and snacking we headed back down the trail while discussing our afternoon plans. We would drive over to the Lodge/Visitors Center area to find a picnic table in the shade for our PBJ lunch. While we were dining we had a visit from a friend, we think he/she wanted food but they were not too aggressive about it but we did not feed them.
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| Our lunch time friend (Greater Roadrunner) |
After lunch we drove over to the campground for a closer (read: lower) start to the next hike of the day which was down the Windows Trail. The "window" which is where the sunset photo from yesterday is from, is this slot that peeks out of the Chisos Mountains. What you can see from the top is not actually what you come across when you hike to the bottom. The hike down takes you through the basin and into what is probably a creek during heavier rainstorms and leads to the edge of the window or when wet a waterfall. The views all the way down are great and we even ran into a couple of beautful mountain bluebirds (these pics can be found in the
full album)
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| View down the Windows Trail |
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| Some cool steps carved into the wall near the end of the trail |
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| The true "window" |
The hike back up was just as nice, except it was uphill 900 feet (280 meters).
When leaving the Chisos area we headed back towards our cabin but the mountains caught my eye from a perfect pull off so I stopped a took a couple of sunset photos. We tried to order pizza on the drive home but the pizza shop wouldn't pick up, so we drove by to see what the deal was. Full parking lot, put in an order to go but the wait was 1.5 hours so we went home and came back later to get it.
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| Roadside Sunset at the Chisos |
Day 3 Dec 11th
Since day 2 was a bit strenuous we thought (Rebe mainly) it would be a good idea to take it easier today but also venture to another section of the park. Today after a really lazy start we entered the park around 10am and head down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. There are quite a few stops along the way, first being the view from the west side of the Chisos Mountains similar to what I took pictures of at sunset the night before.
Then there was an overlook for Sotol Vista, which you can look further west and actually see the start of the Santa Elena Canyon. The canyon is where the scenic drive ends.
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| Sotol Vista with Santa Elena Canyon in view |
The road continues on past the Mule Ears Viewpoint, Tuff Canyon, Cerro Castellan, the Castolon visitors center and historic town/store and finally Santa Elena Canyon. I won't type out the details of us getting out of the car and then getting back in.
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| Santa Elena from the cliffside trail |
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| Santa Elena from the water line |
After the hike we had lunch at Cottonwood Campground at a nice picnic table in the shade and watched a few birdies. Took a nap before slowly making our way back to the park exit. Of course I stopped a took a few more pics on the way out. Spent a lot of time at the last spot waiting for the perfect light on the mountains.
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| Mule Ears from afar |
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| Mule Ears up close |
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| Chisos aglow at sunset |
Day 4 Dec 12th
Today was the last day in the park and why not finish with something epic or stupidly strenuous? 7am wake up with a cereal breakfast, made some sandwiches to pack for hike and then we were on the road. We had two choices for the hike today, it would be either the hike to Emory Peak or the hike to the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains. The hike to Emory Peak is a total of 10 miles (16km) with an elevation gain of 2513ft (766m) and the hike to the South Rim is 13 miles (21km) and ~2000ft (600m) of elevation gain...
We picked the South Rim and went the counterclockwise route which is less steep going up and shaded in the morning. I almost wish we went the other way just to be in the sun a bit more because when we left the car is was 38F (3C). It was a fun hike, the views going up were great and the hike gives you views of the western, southern and eastern sections of the park. I think it was cool to save this for last as you can point out all the things you have seen over the past few days.
We enjoyed lunch at the southern tip and then hiked back. The trek took us 8 hours and my feet feel like someone hit them with a hammer. Below are some pics with commentary.
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| Morning deer just off the trail at the start |
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| View of the Basin |
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| View off the South Rim |
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| I assume these are the Pinnacles from the Pinnacles trail |
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| Look at the fall color on the east side of the Chisos |
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| Another view of the Basin, this time you can see the Visitors Center and Lodge |
The evening was tame after such a hike, though we did go out at around 10pm to see the Geminids Meteor shower. While we did see a few with our naked eye, I was unable to capture any with the camera. I did make this fancy gif to show you all the stars out.
Day 5 Dec 13th
Before heading back to Houston, there was one place in the park we had yet to see. This area is the main road in and out of the park but leading to and from the city of Marathon. If you have ever looked at a map of Big Bend or the area in which it sits it is really isolated.
Marathon (70 miles/112km) and Terlingua (30mi/50km) are really small towns, couple of hotels and shops but no hospitals or large grocery stores (think Kroger/Publix). Alpine is 100mi and it is what I consider a large town with all the amenities, but staying here to visit the park means at a minimum you are looking at 3.5 hours of driving just to get to and from the park not including anything else.
That was a long way of saying that the road we haven't explored is the road from the center of the park to Marathon, and along this road but still in the park is the Fossil Discovery Exhibit. One of the reasons, beyond the geology, is that a lot of the park was preserved because of the number of fossils that have been found in the area. At the Fossil Discovery Exhibit it talks about the history of the area and has a number of replica fossils (because idiots can't be trusted to view and not steal the true fossils).
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| Fossil Discovery Exhibit |
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| Rebe getting close with the ancient croc |
From there is was the long drive home, but this time we took US 90 home instead of I-10. This took us along the Rio Grande until Del Rio, up through San Antonio for In-N-Out and then home to Houston.
Great trip , beautiful park , glad you had fun and able to hike a lot , can not wait to read about your next adventure, love you both ,Lilian 😘😘
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