Big Bend Big Blog

We started a 24-day fall tour on Nov 15th. 

 

Fall 2024 Trip Route

The first destination was Big Bend National Park. We broke the 600-mile drive into two days. At one of our stretch breaks, we stopped at a park in Early, TX. They had a really cool Sound Garden with a variety of items to make music with.

Sound Garden Park in Early, TX

The halfway stop was San Angelo State Park where we had a nice quiet campsite. We also got to view their bison herd from a distance.

Bison at San Angelo State Park

Day two took us into the park. Big Bend NP has three different campgrounds. On the east side is Rio Grande Village. On the west is Cottonwood. In the middle, and at a higher elevation, is the Chisos Basin.

We were in Rio Grande Village for the first two nights. Before going to our campsite, we headed straight for the hot spring and Rio Grande. The natural spring, which was a resort early last century, is now part of the park. It’s a perfect temperature - probably about 102ºF. The river water temperature was very mild as well - in the 80s. The air temperature was near 90ºF, so it was a great afternoon to be in the water. We spent about an hour soaking and swimming, then headed to our campsite in the Rio Grande Village. The nearly full moon rose over the mountains that evening.

Natural Hot Springs in Big Bend along the Rio Grande

Sunset on the Boquillas

The next day started cloudy with temperatures in the 60s. It stayed in the 70s for most of the day - very nice hiking weather. I hiked the nature trail next to our campsite up to the overlook to watch the sunrise - which was mostly behind the clouds. I watched several cows scale up the hills to eat cactus pads. Back at the campsite, a roadrunner stopped by for a visit. We took the short drive to the Boquillas Canyon Trail and hiked into the mouth of this sheer wall canyon.

Sunrise in Big Bend

Chisos Mountains in the distance

Cow eating Prickly Pear (the kind without spikes)

Roadrunner at our campsite

Boquillas Canyon

We hiked back up the nature trail at sunset for a nice view of the mountains to the east.

Another lovely sunset in Big Bend

The next morning, I hiked up the nature trail once again for a clear view of sunrise. It cooled off overnight, with temperatures in the 50s. We would have beautiful clear skies with cold nights and mild days for the rest of our Big Bend visit.

Sunrise hits the Chisos Mountains

Sunrise hits the Rio Grande

The next morning we drove up to the Chisos Basin. On our way out, we saw six different roadrunners along the highway. Then we saw a coyote near a pullout. When we slowed down, it began coming toward the van. We turned into the pullout, and it came up to the van and sat there like it was waiting for a handout. Bebop saw it and started barking, but it was not concerned. It definitely has developed some roadside begging skills.

A very wily coyote asking for food at a pullout

In the basin, we hiked to The Window. The Window is a drainage channel for the basin, and the periodic stream has carved many interesting rock features over the years. The wind was blowing so hard through the gap that if you slipped and fell off, it’s likely the wind would have pushed you back up on the ledge. We were the only people there. You could see for well over 100 miles thanks to the clear skies.

The hike down to The Window

The Window

Elena & Paul at The Window (where it was windy)

The next morning we hiked the Basin Loop trail, then hiked the Lost Mine Trail. Both were great hikes. We drove down to Cottonwood Campground near Santa Elena Canyon, with the obligatory stop at the Mule Ears viewpoint. It was a clear, calm night, which was excellent for stargazing.

Lost Nine trail (not lost mind!)

Mule Ears - who wore them best?

Dark skies - many stars

The overnight temperature dropped to 35 degrees F. The next morning started with a gang invasion of our campground. Nine collared peccary came grazing through next to our van. We headed up to the Tuff Canyon hike in the morning, then hiked into Santa Elena Canyon in the afternoon. It was a perfect day, with highs in the 70s.

Visit from some collard peccary

Tuff canyon

Santa Elena Canyon with Elena

After another crisp night, we drove out to the metropolis of Terlingua, TX.

- Paul