Do you know where Big Bend National Park is located? So many of my friends did not know that this park resides in far West Texas, a few hours South of El Paso and along the Rio Grande River. While I was in Glacier National Park last summer, three other seasonal employees made arrangements to see this one and only Texas National Park in 2023. I raised my hand and said, "Yes, please!" Lynnette and I would be driving from Arizona, Kathryn would fly into El Paso from Montana and join Lynnette and me. Becky would drive from Louisiana and meet us at Chisos Mountains Lodge in Big Bend National Park. We would stay two nights in a lodge cabin. I feel we were lucky to be able to get a booking here. The lodge/restaurant is scheduled to be torn down and replaced in 2024 due to instability of the terrain. More about that can be found under Big Bend at nps.gov. We had done our homework, packed for the predicted nice weather, but luckily brought warm clothes for those chilly nights. Well, Mother Nature fooled us! As we left El Paso (and Becky leaving Fort Stockton) we found fog, sleet, even a bit of ice and snow on the road into the park! We had managed to start the trip in the central Texas regions worst "icing event" in more than 15 years! We did little more than settle into our cabin and eat our dinner in The Mountain View Restaurant which looks out to the famous Window View, shown in top picture.
Below you can detect the historic lodge. It's the building at the top, just right of the photo center.
After a night's rest, we rose about 7AM and in spite of a drizzle, headed out to hike Ore Mine trail after a light breakfast in our cabin. What started out as a drizzle became a harder rain and in fact turned to sleet at the end/top of the trail. Below is one of a flock of Mexican Jays that begged for our snack.
Kathryn and I had stopped along the trail to admire Mexican Blue Jays and reevaluate the conditions.
Our boots had become laden with thick clay known locally as The Javelina Clays. It is mostly bentonite and is ranges in colors from yellowish brown to pink and even slightly green. Geologist J. A. Udden wrote, "When rain falls the surface of the bare clay swells up into an exceedingly sticky mud, which renders the land practically impassable to man and beast." This is what was sticking to the soles of our boots. We turned back to the car while Becky and Lynnette braved the elements and returning to the car with the sleet report. Luckily, we all had packed rain gear. From there we found the Fossil Bone Exhibit.
Parts of the exhibit are partially covered yet that did not serve us well in subfreezing weather with driving wind! We followed a short trail to see a nice panoramic view of the vast array of geologic points of interest. Visit fossildiscovertexhibit.com for more details and photos of this remarkable exhibit. We returned to the lodge restaurant for another outstanding meal followed by an early bedtime.
The next day would be February 1 and we all had hope for a warmer, sunnier day. We awoke to a light rain once again but held hope for a break as we were going toward the Rio Grande where it was reported to be clearer. We parked in the parking area of Boquillas Canyon Trail and donned our rain gear once again. This 1.5-mile trail just had an elevation change of 150 feet which seemed pretty doable. This is the view of the Rio Grande River on stairs near the parking area.
Yet again, we gathered the infamous clay on the soles of our shoes and found the mess pretty distracting from the amazing beauty of the canyon. As we walked, we saw wild horses and small exhibits of sale items from the residents of the Mexican village of Boquillas - on the other side of the river.
We lucked out after this short hike as the rain stopped just in time for us to cross by rowboat to the other side, reaching Mexico in the most unique manner I have experienced! Once on the Mexican side we could walk, ride in a truck or ride a donkey to the little town for a bite of lunch. Had it not been raining, I MIGHT have opted for a donkey ride, but no....we all decided to take the 1/2 mile walk into town, passing the donkey corral and sales tables and booths set up in front of houses. We had a delicious lunch then did a small amount of shopping before the rowboat rebound to the US. The Rio Grande is very small here and rowboat ride took less than five minutes. We piled into the car after clearing the border and drove to the Boquillas Hot Springs.
This historic area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The Langford Bathhouse goes back to 1909 when Joseph Oscar Langford bought property and build a 2-story building for he and his family. More about this fascinating area can be read at www.visitbigbend.com.
With just a small window of daylight left, we quickly made our way to Terlingua, TX for our 4 nights stay at an Airbnb. We did manage to arrive in daylight but found quickly that the soil here was more of the same stuff we'd suffered on our boots. Only now it would attempt to suck in cars! Lynnette quickly realized what was happening and found a safe place to park. We arrived to the news that power had been out several hours and no idea when it would be restored. We got luggage into bedrooms and made our way to the Starlight Theatre in historic Ghost Town.
This is an old movie palace turned eatery. The food and atmosphere are very good and well known. Its funky decor offers something for everyone.
The Airbnb sits on a commercial piece of property that houses a few mobile homes, RVs and workshop. Once we returned to the house, we found power on (YAY), but the key would not open the door! A worker in the shop was familiar with the situation and stated this had recently happened causing a replacement of the door! After a bit of work, this man did in fact have to ruin the door to get us in. We all got settled in and captured a good night's sleep in spite of it all. The next day Feb 2 we took a stroll at Sam Nail Ranch Homestead and admired Northern Mockingbirds and Robbins.
This was followed by a short hike to Ward Spring Trail to Homer Wilson Ranch. I actually opted to sit and watch the other 3 walk to the homestead, attempting to give my body a respite. From there we drove to the Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail. This was a flat and short hike down a gravel wash lined with Mexican persimmon, Mexican Buckeye and Desert Hackberry trees. Bounded by volcanic hills, the trail ends at the pouroff - a 100-foot-tall vertical channel carved into rock that funnels water from the mesa above.
Feb 3 The day started with a hike to Chimneys Trail
followed by the beautiful Santa Elena Canyon. This is where we will need to use the bug nets we packed as the "no-see-ums" were out in force!
Feb 4 - Our fifth and final day at BBNP and we found ourselves on the Mule Ear Trail...we all agreed it was the most versatile trail of the week.
We took time to return to the Chisos Mountain Lodge to see the grounds in sunlight and fair weather!
We left the park and made our way to Terlingua where we scouted the interesting and eclectic cemetery as well as a general store and an art gallery.
Somebody had lots of party friends!
