27 April 2022
We got to Big Bend early to try to avoid what was predicted to be a hot day in the desert. Don’t tell my dermatologist that I forgot to bring sunscreen (I’d already done my face, I wore a hat, we both stayed hydrated, but somehow, on that relatively short walk up the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook trail, my arms managed to tinge in the pink direction….sheesh). The sky could not have been prettier, even early when it was kind of cloudy. I thoroughly enjoyed the colors of the desert, canyons, mountain. Such a wonderful park. We hit four of the five visitor centers and I think this park is worth returning to…someday. At 1252 square miles, it’s larger than the state of Rhode Island (!).
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My favorite photo of the day, taken looking upriver towards Santa Elena Canyon,
at the raft/canoe takeout point |
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| Along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive |
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| Desert Textures |
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| We pulled over to get some flora photos. Note the truck…. |
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| The second of several Dodge Ram truck ad photos. This one was taken early in the day when the temps were really pleasant and the sun was still making her way up. |
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| Desert Textures |
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| Old wagon for display at the Castalon visitor center |
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| There is a little bit of water here, but not enough to float a kayak. |
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| Santa Elena Canyon. No border walls needed here—that canyon wall is over 1500 feet in height and it’s a pretty steep drop off here. |
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| Santa Elena River access point; note that the wash where the river might be is completely dry. I had two rangers tell me that this was the driest they’ve ever seen it with river “flow” measured in some areas at hundredths of a CC/minute. Is that even “flow”?? |
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| Santa Elena Canyon |
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On the early part of the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook trail.
Can you see the footprints in the shallow river? |
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| I blame my photography habit for why I can’t keep up with Dan! |
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| I caught up with Dan; here, looking upstream. Santa Elena Canyon Overlook trail. |
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| View from the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook trail. Note the prickly pear and ocotillo. |
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| View from Santa Elena Canyon Overlook trail. That IS the Rio (not) Grande; it kind of ends right there where it seems it does. Farther downstream, it is faster flowing thanks to being fed by natural springs in the area. Water flow is controlled across the border in Mexico. (See that wall on the right? That’s Mexico!) |
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| We decided that since we’re traveling in a BAT, we could take the Old Maverick Road back for some “similar but different” scenery. It was a blast! The road was marked for 4-wheel drive only and as soon as we started bouncing around, I was laughing like a fool. Washboard road. Potholes. But, it was fun! And, look at the scenery! (Taken when I got out to get the basin photo…no good photos would come from a moving truck on this road!) |
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| Santa Elena Canyon |
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Dan heads back to the truck (see it?) from the Boquillas Canyon Overlook.
Not far from here, there is a Port of Entry from Mexico to the US. We could see the Mexican town of Boquillas del Carmen from along the road from Panther Junction to Rio Grande Village. |
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| There are several of these what I call “Ram Ads” in this post. This is one of them. The sign behind the truck warns that mountain lions and bears are in the area. I heard the Chisos Basin Ranger say that two “teenager” black bears were in the parking lot at the visitor center before lunch today; that doesn’t bode well for them…. |
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| We ate our sandwiches sitting on the low wall; this was our view. #priceless We saw no bears. |
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| View from the Chisos Mountain Lodge |
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| A basin of sorts—I think this was along the Old Maverick Road. |
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The shape and texture of these uplifted mountains reminds me a lot of Palm Springs, CA.
(Hazy due to shooting through the front windshield of the truck) |
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| Desert Textures |
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| This photo is from the Big Bend RV Park in Terlingua, where we’re camping, outside of the National Park. We’re at the extreme western edge of the time zone, so when we got up at 6:30 so we could get an early start on a hot day, we were greeted by a beautiful show in the eastern sky. Many “free gifts” today. |
Tomorrow: we head to Riverside Road at the Big Bend State Park. Stay tuned!
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