The Park

 

We entered Big Bend National Park via the western entrance at highway 118 at Maverick Junction and the entrance station there. The park host was very knowledgeable and gave us our pass and a map of the place. Keep in mind that there are over 150 miles of road in the park so you'll only select a few during your stay.

 

We chose to do the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive first and were not disappointed. The first stop on the trip was at the Sotol Vista. This vista has spectacular views toward the Rio Grande about 20 miles away and is named for a particular cactus variety, the Sotol.

 



 

For thousands of years the natives would cook these plants for food and drink and use the fiber for ropes and sandals ... really neat. There was no explanation for the rock below but we assumed it was used in the preparation of this cactus for eating and other things.

 



 

After that vista we motored another 20 miles down to the river and the Santa Elena Canyon. The picture below is still from a vista above the canyon but you can actually keep on going down right to where you can walk to the river. It had just rained and was pretty muddy so we opted out of the hiking part, but spectacular nevertheless.

 

 

Now hungry we headed to the park headquarters in the Chisos Basin Area another 30 miles or so. The park headquarters, hotel, and restaurant are located there at about 7,000 feet altitude and really spectacular.

 

The view from our table to the north was great even if the local locust appeared to want to join us for some of the good food. The food was good and the gift shop well stocked with neat stuff representing all the aspects of the park. Next to the restaurant is also a small nature museum.

As we departed the Chisos area one more rocky outcropping with some pretty hardy trees caught our attention.

 

The park is so huge that you need to spend a lot more time than we did to really enjoy all aspects of its varying terrain, foliage, and animal life ... did see four road runners though. A wonderful day trip and we'll be back to see more ... maybe in a different season.

 

After a long day of touring and a large lunch all we needed was a snack for dinner back at the B&B. We stopped at the Lajitas store and were impressed by the huge selection of food and other articles; including some excellent freshly made deli sandwiches. Super day!