I can not put into words the sights we have seen in the last two days. Yesterday we traveled the river road FM170 to the west along the Rio Grande River and the south side of the Big Bend Ranch State Park. When we returned to the campground we decided to rest a bit and then go into the Big Bend National Park.
What an exciting afternoon. It was about 4pm when we entered the park and the sun was full against the west side of the mountains. It was breathtaking to see the colors of the mountains. Some were mostly rock, in colors from brown to tan to white. Some were covered with vegetation, if you want to call it that. Just scrubby bushes and pin cushion cactus and various other plants that grow without very much moisture. The altitude at the campground is about 2400' and at the park entrance, about 2 miles away, is over 2700' and we gained altitude as we traveled to the east. We took every paved side road we found. We did not take the gravel/dirt ones as they were very rough, more suited for a 4 wheel drive vehicle. We saw some of the most beautiful vistas you can imagine. It comes close to the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Big Bend contains approximately 800.000 acres. There are valleys that are over 10 miles wide. You drive down and through them and up the other side into the mountains, some you can go around and others you go over. We attained altitudes of over 6400' on more than one occasion. Yesterday we visited the Panther Junction Headquarters of the park, about in the center. We traveled on to the east and visited the Rio Grande campground facility. This is probably the most accessible campground in the park, very close to the river and at about 2300'. We returned, taking a few side roads to see springs and some of the old ranches that once were in existence before being purchased by the Government for the park. The buildings are still there, some deteriorating but appeared to be in pretty good condition. The area was made a Park in 1944, so they were left where they were and not destroyed. One ranch was down in a big canyon and there was no indication of roads or drives for access. Maybe it was all hauled in by horse back or by pack mules.
We traveled back west past Panther Junction to the turn off to the Chisos Basin campground. It was 17 miles from the main road 118. It was mostly a climb to about 6400' except the last couple of miles and it was down into the basin. This is a very steep road with 10 and 15mph switchbacks. Campers are limited to 24' and I would not want to take one in there myself. The sign says trucks use LOW gear, not lower gear. I would estimate the grade at 15 to 20%. Low gear in the van kept the speed down so that I only had to use the brakes to slow for the switchbacks. What a beautiful place. The campground is mostly primitive with a shelter, table and safe for your food stuffs. This is Bear and Mountain Lion country. We drove through the camping area and there was directions to the handicapped site. I had to see that as most of the sites were on the side of the hill and only a small area flat enough to pitch a tent. The handicapped site was fairly level with a place to park and a concrete slab about 20' square to put your tent. It looked doable to me, if I was a tenter. But not in Bear and Mountain Lion country. The complete area is surrounded by tall mountains that were all red with the setting sun.
We left the camping area and drove on down to the Welcome center, etc. What we found was a full fledged resort. There was shopping, restaurant, motel, hotel and meeting rooms, etc. All surrounded by these beautiful mountains. A breathtaking view in every direction. What a beautiful place to spend a few days to a few weeks, if you could afford it. We did not ask the price, just enjoyed the scenery. As the sun was getting low in the west we thought it best to be getting out of there and back to familiar territory before it got dark. So, back up the mountain, in low gear, around the switchbacks to the top and then to second gear to descend the mountain grades 17 miles back to the main road and west out of the park and to Terlingua. More about the park tomorrow and our day long visit to Big Bend National Park.