After celebrating Christmas in Dallas, we set out for Big Bend National Park, also in Texas. Texas is big! The drive, which took two and a half days (about 11 hours of total driving), led us through flat, dry, and largely empty countryside dotted with oil wells. Each day, we launched off unsure where we’d end up that night. The first night brought us to a dusty, somewhat forlorn RV park, but the second night, we found a charming park in Fort Stockton.
After so much time driving through bleak terrain, we started to worry about what Big Bend might offer. But those worries melted away when we arrived. The park was breathtaking, with striking mountain ranges and the lush river valley of the Rio Grande.
While visiting friends Karen and Pete in Boston earlier, we learned they were also planning a trip to Big Bend over the holidays. Amazingly, our itineraries overlapped by a day and a half. Big Bend is enormous, and their hotel was over an hour from our campsite, so we adjusted our plans. We reserved a spot at a private park in Terlingua. This quirky little park sat in a dusty pit, surrounded by big warehouse sheds, rusty tractors, old cars, and a chorus of noisy dogs. The proprietor, Spoons, was missing several teeth but was a sweet and entertaining character. The experience added a bit of spice to the adventure.
We had a fantastic visit to the park’s Hot Springs and enjoyed a scenic hike in Big Bend Ranch State Park. The hike aligned with Karen and Pete’s route to the airport, giving us a chance to share the experience with them.
The next day, we moved to the Rio Grande Village campground on the park’s east side, close to the Mexican border. Our no-hookup site meant boondocking, and our loop didn’t allow generators. It was the perfect opportunity to test our new batteries and solar panels. Luckily, the sun cooperated, and our batteries stayed full for the entire five-day stay. With no internet or cell service and limited light usage to conserve power, we embraced the chance to disconnect and savor the peaceful evenings.
Hiking in Big Bend was spectacular and diverse. Over six days, we explored stunning trails and even took a quick trip to Mexico for lunch. One memorable hike near our campground led us to the Rio Grande. Along the trail, we encountered a couple of donkeys, completely unbothered by our presence. Later that day we learned they probably crossed the border, illegally, from Mexico!
Next, we crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico. After checking in with U.S. border patrol, tourists can walk across the river or pay for a boat ride and then hike or take a donkey ride to the town of Boquillas, Mexico. We chose to walk across the river and enjoyed the short 0.75-mile hike into town (Carmeins tend to be cheap, if we can do it ourselves, why pay for it?)
One morning, we chose one of the park’s most popular hikes: the Lost Mine Trail. Arriving at the trailhead before sunrise, we were treated to a spectacular sunrise in the morning ascent. We were rewarded with jaw-dropping views from the summit. No picture could ever truly capture the awe-inspiring experience of standing there, surrounded by such natural beauty.
On our final day, we decided to tackle a trail with a trailhead accessible only by a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle. We have been driving our in the big monster truck for weeks and we thought, what the heck, let's try it out.
The hike involved a fun scramble up to this amazing balanced rock.
Every view from every hike was just awe inspiring. We simply loved this park.
Wow, that is some beautiful country!
Judy - a great post! Don’t know if we’ll ever got down that far south, but wonderful hikes that you went on in the winter cool weather! We’re shoveling snow here for the 2nd time this week - yay!
I am getting some seriously good vicarious travel from you guys! 👍