Big Bend National Park, Texas - Part I

San Pedro Flats CG, Amistad Reservoir, TX
    Big Bend Natl Park is a mix of three major components: 1)River, 2)Mountains, and 3)Desert.
    And since the Rio Grande makes up 118 miles of the park's southern border from NW of Santa Elena Canyon to Mariscal Canyon at the bottom of the "U" and then to c4 miles north of Boquillas Canyon at the eastern tip of the park, many assume the River is the main story.

 

    But I think that the big story is the mountains -- and not just stand-alone buttes like Cerro Castellan (3293') to the right but the Chisos Mtns in the center of the park.
    Most national parks have lodges to cater to the more affluent visitors. Where is Big Bend's? Not on the Rio. Rather -- in the Chisos Mtns.

 

    But let's return to the one canyon on the Rio Grande which I visited: Santa Elena. Here's a close-up of the left corner of the canyon. The analogy used in the park brochure for explaining the three deep canyons is that the heavy sediment in the river makes it like a "belt sander" -- which is always ON.

 

 

    Here's a plaque explaining the evolution of Santa Elena Canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    And here's a look at the canyon from a somewhat elevated overlook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Look like pigs from a distance, don't they?

 

 

    This fellow was brave enought to cross the road where the grass was literally and figuratively "greener." He [she?] is a Collared Peccary, which is also called a javelina. When I told a ranger at the Panther Juncion station that they appearded to be eating grass, he said they eat a little of everything. [A woman in the campsite next to mine cautioned me not to leave anything out; told her that the 2.5 ft. step up into my camper is tough enough for me to negotiate let along a javelina.]

 

    From 1918 to the end of the Mexican Revolution these adobe buildings were La Harmonia store -- serving residents of both side of the river border.

 

 

 

    Heading north on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. [Mr. Maxwell was the park's first superintendent.]
    Don't believe the white material is salt, but the combination of colors caught my eye. [Turns out the white material is volcanic ash; see the next photo.]

 

 

 

    In this close-up of Cerro Castellan note the middle layer of the top: more ash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Mule Ears. They're both listed at the same elevation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A closer view of Mule Ear Peaks, which are both listed at 3881 ft.

 

 

    Google has made a change in Blogger's Image Upload Function which may limit the number of photos I'll have tine to upload; hwr, it also gave me an idea on displaying photos of plaques as larger images -- like the next explanation of Goat Mtn.
    Alas, the experiment to enlarge the NPS explanatory plaque did not work because an enlarged image is not magnified when you click on it once as are smaller images.

 

 

 

    Goat Mtn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    In the distance just to the right of the top of a small spire, the top of Santa Elena Canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

    A photo of Santa Elena Canyon from an even greater distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A nearby mesa from Soltol Vista.

 

 

 

 

    A plaque with a view from the south of the heart of the Chisos Mtns. ("Chisos" is pronounced "CHEESE-Ohs" -- as though it were a Frito-Lay snack.) [Click once to enlarge; press ESC to return here.]

 

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Links:

• National Park Service web pages on Big Bend National Park
• Wikipedia article on Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross
• Visit Big Bend piece on the the U.S. Army Camel Experiment; includes larger photo of plaque

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Th 14 Feb Actual Route: Picnic Area SE of Sanderson - Sanderson Lib - Langtry - 8mi SE of Langtry bd

F 15 Feb Actual Route: 8mi SE of Langtry bd - Langtry - San Pedro CG, Amistad Natl Rec Area

Sa 16 Feb Actual Route: San Pedro CG, Amistad NRA - Amistad Dam - San Pedro CG, Amistad NRA

Su 17 Feb Actual Route: San Pedro CG, Amistad NRA - Del Rio Lib - Walmart

M 18 Feb Actual Route: Del Rio Walmart - Home Depot - Del Rio Lib - Walmart

T 19 Feb Actual Route: Del Rio Walmart - Home Depot - Brackettville Lib - Ft Clark Sprs RV PK

W 20 Feb Actual Route: Ft Clark Sprs RV Pk

Th 21 Feb Actual Route: Uvalde Walmart - Uvalde Lib - Walmart

F 22 Feb Actual Route: Uvalde Walmart - Uvalde Lib - Walmart

Sa 23 Feb Route: Uvalde Walmart - Uvalde Lib - Walmart - Hondo
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.