Yeah, don’t mess with Texas. Why? Cuz it’s a pretty cool place. The saying may be a decades old ad slogan (an anti-littering campaign as a matter of fact), but it’s still representative of the attitude and size and greatness of Texas. Why is Texas so great? Um, BBQ for one. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the number one, best thing about Texas is Big Bend National Park. Argue with me all you want, or politely disagree and proclaim your own reason, but Big Bend is still #1 for me. And before this epic year-long road trip, we’d never even BEEN to Texas. (Airports don’t count by the way.) So whether or not you’ve been to Texas, or you’re just itching to see what we may have explored while we were there, scroll on through and check out all the highlights from Big Bend and Beyond. (Trust me, it’s way better than Bed Bath and Beyond…)
Big Bend National Park
It’s definitely an underhyped place. Possibly because it’s waaaaay off the beaten path in southwest Texas.
At first glance, Big Bend can look like a whole lot of nothing. But there are a lot of hidden gems here. Our appreciation of desert terrain continued, and also a great respect for the heat of the day. We strategically planned a lot of our hiking and sightseeing in the early morning and late afternoon to avoid the scorching heat of midday. And while there are paved roads throughout the park, we really enjoyed taking the Old Maverick Road on our trek out to Santa Elena Canyon. We kicked it into four-wheel drive (and reminisced a bit about the Apache Trail), braved the washboard and soaked in the solitude of the desert.
Santa Elena Canyon
As Old Maverick Road connected back with the park loop road, we approached Santa Elena Canyon. Just to preface, the Rio Grande cuts through and not only gives “Big Bend” it’s name, but carves some impressively huge and beautiful canyons in the mountains, while also creating a natural border between Texas and Mexico. The late afternoon sun was just starting to fall back behind the canyon and took our breath away as we neared.
This was the perfect time of day to hike the trail that winds up and alongside the canyon, then back down to the river bank. The canyon towered thousands of feet above us on both sides and as we sweated from the heat and the climb, it suddenly felt like we walked into another world when we crossed a thermocline. The temperature dropped and instead of hot and 82 it was cool and breezy.
And a quick little video to give you a 360 degree view. Don’t get dizzy, we moved a little fast.
After an incredible hike, we took the paved Ross Maxwell Scenic loop road back…our reward for a late afternoon hike? A freaking amazing sunset. Seriously. As we looped in and around beautiful rock formations and mountains the setting sun and reflecting colors confirmed Big Bend is a very magical place.
The Chisos Mountains
If someone had told me there are bear and mountain lions in Texas, I would have severely doubted the accuracy of the statement, and probably googled it to prove them wrong. Well, when the National Park posts several signs and includes it in the informational brochures, it’s true. No googling required (which is good, because there isn’t cell service in the park anyway).
So, we kept an eager eye out for potential wildlife at all times when driving through the park, and especially as we drove the road through the Chisos Mountains toward the Chisos Basin. The best way to describe the drive through the Chisos? A video.
The drive is spectacular and continues to climb in elevation and snake around some hairpin turns before heading down into the Chisos Basin, literally a large circular area surrounded by mountains. Turns out it was a volcano millions of years ago, and the basin is the center of the volcano. A gap between the mountains on one edge creates a “window” to view the horizon and far off mountains in the distance. And one helluva “window” to watch the sunset.
The silhouettes of the Chisos surrounded us, and the “window” framed the colors of the sunset and the endless shades of blue of the far off mountains in the distance. Our pictures and videos failed to capture even a fraction of the color spectrum. Really. So, just take my word for it and go see this in person.
After another exceptional Big Bend sunset, we decided to drive out of the mountains before it got too dark. And just when we least expected it WE SAW A BEAR!!!
Boquillas Canyon
Our second canyon adventure was on the other side of the park at Boquillas Canyon. Not as tall as Santa Elena Canyon, but wider and just as beautiful. Just as before, we hiked up to a beautiful view of the Rio Grande, before we hiked down alongside the river at the base of the canyon.
And just for good measure, a video to help share the majesty of this special place. Yes, those are donkeys across the Rio Grande in Mexico!
Nature’s Hot Tub
Another memorable adventure in Big Bend National Park were the hot springs. Not knowing how crowded they might get, we got up SUPER early and took a SUPER narrow and bumpy dirt trail back to the trail head for the springs.
We walked a short and easy trail past some old historic buildings and some tall cliffs alongside the Rio Grande to the Hot Springs.
And then we arrived! It was nature’s hot tub! Steaming and hot, right next to the cold, gurgling Rio Grande! Crazy. We unzipped our pant legs, took off our hiking boots and socks and sat on the edge up to our knees in the 104 degree water. We really wanted to sit and soak all morning, but the thought of wearing wet swimsuits on our next hike changed our minds. In the chilly morning air, with the sun rising over the horizon, the hot water felt great.
Now, I hope you can see why Big Bend ranks as the number one best thing about Texas. Canyons, cliffs, sunsets, mountains, bears, hot springs, petroglyphs and more won us over. And if you’re still not convinced, maybe this exceptional Big Bend sunrise will help close the deal.
So, that’s Big Bend. But I promised you Big Bend and Beyond. Well, Texas is soooo big I had to break that into Part 2…
Cheers! And don’t mess with Texas, y’all!
Kristin
Stubs says
Got the y’all down pat! What a magnificent adventure, thanks for sharing!