Balmorhea State Park: Perfect for R&R

Saturday, 27 February 2016
Balmorhea State Park Campground — Toyahvale, Texas
Temps: Hi 79F (26C) / Lo 30F (-1C)

Our plans have changed.  We were going to stay at Balmorhea State Park five nights, but we have reduced the number to three.  Two reasons: (1) high winds forecasted for Monday … we prefer not to be on the road in gusty conditions; and (2) four sites will become available at the Fort Bliss RV park tomorrow … no one is scheduled to leave on Sunday or Monday.  Since that is our preferred campground for the El Paso portion of our trip, we will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning.  That means we won’t get down to Fort Davis or to the Observatory … all the more reason to return to this part of Texas at some point in the future.

In the meantime, let’s get caught up before we start another chapter of our travels.

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.

Exploring Texas from Lajitas … A Week Flies By

Sunday, 21 February 2016
Maverick Ranch RV Park — Lajitas, Texas
Temps: Hi 78F (26C) / Lo 52F (11C)

I know … I need to stop saying that time is flying by … but it is … and that’s a fact.

Hard to believe that it was a week ago that we left our site at the Rio Grande Village RV Park on the east side of Big Bend National Park to continue our explorations further west.  What a send off we had … thanks to wispy clouds, a gorgeous sunrise colored the beginning of our easy travel day.

A glorious sunrise bathes the sky in a pleasing array of colors.                           

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.