Big Bend National Park - January 2020

It's a long drive from Houston but everyone should drive across Texas at least once in their life. I've done it twice in the last few years. Each time I see more and more of what makes Texas great. The night skies are dark in far west Texas and the whole reason is to make our way to Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend National Park is massive and it's border stretches nearly 120 miles along the river. It is the largest, most remote and least visited National Park. It's not on the way to anywhere. It is its own destination. The park has been described as splendid isolation by the National Park Service and that is not an understatement. There is a great silence here amid the expansive beauty. It is indeed the end of the road. It's a strange feeling to look across the river at another country. It's beautiful and sad at the same time. The desert cactus scorched by the southwestern sun and the vastness of this amazing Chihuahuan desert make this a very magical place. I feel honored to be here.

I catch my first glance at the Rio Grande River. I have my first worry that I will see distressed people crossing over from Mexico. I did not. What surprised me most was that the Rio Grande is not so grand at all. Nothing like I remember from the old movies. Water being tapped for irrigation up stream makes for an easy swim across if you are so inclined. I was not.

Rio Grande

We hiked in to where there was a small hot spring perched along the river. It was actually in the remains of a foundation from a former bath house called Boquillas Hot Springs which was long before the land became a National Park. It was a thriving little getaway between 1927 and 1942 during which time it had a little post office, store, motor court and community market. People would come from miles around to trade, shop and take in the healing properties of the hot springs. Big Bend became a national park in 1935. The owner sold the land where the springs are located to the state of Texas in 1942, it became part of the the national park, the buildings were abandoned and fell to ruin in the 1950's. 

Boquillas Hot Spring

Big Bend is the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert in the United States. There are 800,000 acres of stunning views, scenic drives and dozens of hiking trails. You can even take a row boat across the river and visit Boquillas village in Mexico if you have your passport handy. We did not. 

It takes a lot of time just to get here. You will want at the very least 3 full days to just skim the surface. If you only allow that I can guarantee you will leave wishing you had allowed more time. Don't cheat yourself, do your research and allow enough time to properly see it. Once you are there you will quickly realize how big this park really is. Just go slow and enjoy what you can. Revel in the solitude.

Leaving Big Bend National Park we make a quick stop in Terilingua. It is a small little ghost town about 5 minutes outside of Big Bend. It was a small but booming little mining town which was abandoned around 1946 after WWI when the need for mercury declined and the mining company went bankrupt and left. It has a small number of residents these days. It's worth driving through town. There is a smattering of local business and restaurants. Make a stop at the cemetery perched along the road with views of the Chisos Mountains and Sierra del Carmens. It's a beautiful example of makeshift graves with a bit of folk art thrown in for good measure.

We made another little stop in the town of Marfa, Texas before heading toward our next destination in Arizona. We've been to Marfa before but we stop again to walk along Donald Judd's legacy. The story of how he came to Marfa, the purchase of abandoned buildings from an old United States Army fort and his important contributions I find, quite interesting. 

Beautiful Texas

“You can live on the plains or the mountains / Or down where the sea breezes blow / But you’re still in beautiful Texas / The most beautiful place that I know.” 

~ Willie Nelson

Next Stop: All kinds of places in Arizona

More information:
https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bend_National_Park
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Judd 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinati_Foundation