Big Bend National Park, TX

We made fairly good time from the Del Rio area to Big Bend National Park, staying on US-90 until we hit Marathon. Then we turned left and took US-385 south to the park.

This is our second visit to Big Bend; our 2010 trip was cut short due to the heat, and we decided then that we would return one day.

From Marathon to the entrance of Big Bend is a driving distance of 40 miles. And from the entrance of the park to the Rio Grande Village RV Park is another 48 miles. Big Bend is huge and encompasses more than 1200 square miles. The park is bigger than many countries, bigger than the state of Rhode Island. You definitely need a motorized vehicle to properly enjoy Big Bend.

The vastness of this area offers up an amazing variety of flora, fauna, geology, and climate. From the Sierra del Carmen mountains in the east, across and up through the Chisos Mountains (contained entirely within the park), and south west to the Santa Elena Canyon, this amazing area offers rivers, desert, and mountains.

On the road between Panther Junction and Rio Grande Village

The abundance, diversity and complexity of visible rock outcrops in Big Bend is staggering, especially to first-time observers. From 500 million year old rocks at Persimmon Gap to modern-day windblown sand dunes at Boquillas Canyon, geologic formations in Big Bend demonstrate amazingly diverse depositional styles over a vast interval of time.It is a geologist's paradise, or maybe a nightmare.

If you're lucky, you might see a glimpse of the diverse wildlife such as a Mountain Lion, a Mexican Black Bear, a band of Javalina, or a lone coyote. And the bird life is equally as rich, including Vermillion Flycatchers, Golden Eagles, Roadrunners, Mexican Blue Jays, and Woodpeckers.

We arrived Monday afternoon and left Thursday morning. We would have preferred to camp at the Rio Grande Village campground but it was pretty full and I wanted to be sure we had a place to stay when we got there. I was able to make reservations at the Rio Grande Village RV park, which is essentially a parking lot with hook-ups - but still, it is in Big Bend and surrounded by the great outdoors.

One thing I really enjoy about Big Bend National Park is that it is never crowded. You can be alone in the park. No lines, no traffic, no noisy groups. It is serene.

After we arrived and got settled in, I decided to assemble the new bike rack. This proved to be easy enough, and then we loaded the bikes onto the new rack. We wanted a day or so to drive around with the new rack before disposing of the old one, to be sure it is tough enough for our bouncy driving.

When we entered the park, Lynda went into the gateway Visitor Center to check in and she picked-up several pamplets. One of them was about the town of Glenn Springs, which had been established next to Glenn Spring - a natural source of water. The town of Glenn Springs was long gone, having been dissolved in 1946, but we thought it would be fun to go and look at the area and whatever remnants of the town that might still be visible.

Ruins off Hot Springs Primitive Rd

We looked at the map of Big Bend and decided to go to the site of Glenn Springs via the Hot Springs primitive road - our Honda CR-V has all-wheel drive and a fairly high clearance. So off we went. We made it about 2 miles before we had to stop because there was a very deep trough in the road and I was afraid the car would get hung up. Then we realized the road was blocked with boulders.

Soooo.... plan B. We back-tracked to the main road and went toward Panther Junction to turn left onto the Pine Canyon primitive road. Long story short, we finally made it to Glenn Springs, although we weren't sure at first because there was no marker or exhibit. We confirmed with a ranger later that afternoon that we had, indeed, found the old town. Anyway, that drive was quite an adventure... It took us more than two hours round trip (approx 20 miles). I don't think Honda intended the CR-V to do what we did with it that day. Hahahaa!  And the new bike rack held up just fine.

After our off-roading adventure, we went to the Panther Junction Visitors Center and checked out some of the exhibits. Then we made our way to the Chisos Mountains Basin to enjoy the views and have lunch at the Chisos Mountains Lodge restaurant.

Going up to the Chisos Mountain Basin

 

Old phone booth in the Lodge store

View from restaurant

Finally, we returned to the motor home  to see how our four-legged friends were doing, and they were fine - I must say that Sydney, Barley, and Celia are very well-behaved traveling companions.

We were just taking a break and puttering around when Lynda found a fellow RVer who was happy to get our old bike rack, so we did not have to throw it away after all.

Sunrise and Sunset in Big Bend are S.T.U.N.N.I.N.G.  We decided to go up to the Boquillas Canyon Overlook to enjoy the sunset - this is only about 10 minutes from the RV park.

Golden Sunset on Sierra Del Carmen

The Rio Grande looking East

The Rio Grande looking West

Just as we had encountered in 2010, there were two sets of "offerings" of handmade articles at the Boquillas Canyon Overlook, each with a note listing prices and a jar in which to place your money. These items are left by Mexicans from the other side of the Rio Grande for tourists to buy on the honor system. We know they really need the money, but it’s illegal to purchase these items and the border patrol is very serious about enforcing the law. We left everything untouched.

Earlier in the day, I had been saying to Lynda how great it would be to see some Javalina... that spotting a band of these peccaries would be the "cherry on top."  Well, we were driving back to the RV park from Boquillas Canyon and what should we see? A band of nine Javalina crossing the road right in front of us! Yeah! Unfortunately, it was dusk and we could not get decent photos.

Later that evening, when it was fully dark, we watched the stars. I cannot adequately describe the night sky at Big Bend, other to say that it is beyond anything I've seen before. Because there is essentially no ambient light at Big Bend, every star jumps out at you from the night sky. I could even make out the Milky Way. Amazing!

On Wednesday, we got up early to drive over to the other side of the park by 9:30AM - we wanted to attend a two-hour "Geology 101" program. We met the volunteer Interpreter and other interested visitors at the Sotol Vista Overlook and enjoyed a very nicely presented introduction to 500 million years of geology in Big Bend.

Then we drove to canyon overlook to learn more about the effects of rivers on erosion and canyon formation.




After that, our group went to Tuff Canyon for a closer look. It was a very interesting time.

After the "Geology 101" program was finished, we made our way to Santa Elena Canyon. Along the way, we stopped to look at ash hills, formed by volcanic ash.

Then we made a stop at the Castolon Visitor Center for lunch - a sandwich and potato chips from the store. Then on once more to the Santa Elena Canyon.

Santa Elena Canyon - 1500ft Cliffs

The majestic Santa Elena Canyon is perhaps the most impressive in Big Bend National Park - it is visible for over 10 miles away, as the Rio Grande changes direction abruptly after following beneath the straight Sierra Ponce cliffs for several miles and heads due west, cutting through the mountains via a deep, narrow gorge - the cliff walls are approximately 1500 feet high. This sharp bend in the river was formed by movement along the Terlingua fault zone that crosses the park.

Sierra Ponce Cliffs

Lynda looking westward, into the canyon

Looking from the canyon towards the east, into Big Bend

During the two full days we toured around Big Bend, we put more than 230 miles on the car. Visitors sometimes forget how vast this park is, and poor planning can result in running out of gas. After this busy day, we were low on gas by the time we got back to Panther Junction and filled up.

We were pretty tired out by the time we got back to the motor home this afternoon, and have just been relaxing.. We leave tomorrow for El Paso, where we will spend a couple days on our way to Arizona.

I highly recommend a visit to Big Bend National Park. Best timeframe to go is November through March, otherwise it is too hot for most people to enjoy. Check the park's website for information about places to stay, eat, get gas, etc. Big Bend is not a developed park such as Yosemite or Yellowstone and so you need to plan ahead.  You also might enjoy this video: