Big Bend National Park … the West is Different from the East

Wednesday, 24 February 2016
Maverick Ranch RV Park — Lajitas, Texas
Temps: Hi 63F (17C) / Lo 36F (2C)

This is our last day in Lajitas.  We move on tomorrow.  We debated doing a couple of hikes off El Camino del Rio, but decided we would be better served taking care of pre-departure chores.  We won’t have a sewer hook-up at our next stop, so laundry was a top priority as well.

We spent the past few days exploring the west side of Big Bend National Park (BBNP).  Very different from the east side … can’t put my finger on why exactly, but Mui and I agree we liked this side of the park more.  Maybe it has something to do with the color of the formations, which reminded us of some of our favorite haunts in Arizona and Utah.

Big Bend National Park … East Side … Final Hikes Before We Leave

Sunday, 13 February 2016 (Part III)
Rio Grande Village RV Campground — Big Bend National Park, Texas
Temps: Hi 75F (24C) / Lo 39F (4C)

Two days of reporting left to complete our week-long stay at Big Bend National Park (BBNP) … one of which is the day I skipped in the previous post about our activities in and near the Chisos Mountains Basin.  The second day, which ended with an explosion of color, was … well, you’ll just have to read the story to find out more about it.

Big Bend National Park … East Side … the Chisos Mountains Basin and More

Sunday, 13 February 2016 (Part II)
Rio Grande Village RV Campground — Big Bend National Park, Texas
Temps: Hi 75F (24C) / Lo 39F (4C)

The previous post covered the first three days of our visit to Big Bend National Park (BBNP).  Now for the story of exploring the Chisos Mountains Basin (and more) here on the east side of the park.

10 February — Balanced Rock & Chisos Mountains Basin

BBNP is big … very big … 800,000+ acres (324,000+ hectares) big.  Ideally, we would have moved to the Chisos Basin Campground to explore the basin and mountains, but the road to this campground is limited to RV’s no more than 24 feet in length — we don’t qualify.

Chihuahuan Desert landscape from the road to Dugout Wells — Nugent Mountain (left) and the Chisos Mountains.

So, we stayed put at the Rio Grande RV Campground, and drove the 30 miles (48 km) or so to explore the Chisos … with a few other stops en route.

Big Bend National Park … Exploring the East Side

Sunday, 13 February 2016 (Part I)
Rio Grande Village RV Campground — Big Bend National Park, Texas
Temps: Hi 75F (24C) / Lo 39F (4C)

Big Bend is a land of strong beauty — often savage and always imposing.
… Lon Garrison …

A week of exploring the “splendid isolation” that is Big Bend National Park (BBNP) has flown by in the blink of an eye.  Tomorrow we move west to explore more of what the barren landscape of the Borderlands has in store for us, including more of BBNP.  But first, I need to get caught up on what we did this week.

Sunrise at Seminole Canyon before we head to parts further west.

We left Seminole Canyon State Park on 7 February — after enjoying a most colorful desert sunrise.  The sun took forever to break over the horizon in this land of unlimited flatness, but it was worth the wait.