Saturday Nov. 8

On Friday we returned to Big Bend to finish our exploration. We first went to Carolon to check out the Cottonwood Campground. Our first stop was at the Visitors Center. As you can see in the photo it does not appear to be much. However inside it was full of all kinds of things for sale, even some pre-made sandwiches and bottled cold drinks. We continued on down toward the campground and found many areas where they had plowed the mud and silt off to the side of the road and it was apparent that there had been a lot of high water all over the flood plain of the river. When we finally got to the campground we found them still working on the roads and when we talked to the fellow that was running the grader, he said the park had been flooded in September and the campground had only been open about a week. We drove through and there was dirt and dust everywhere. There was only one camper there and I do not know why he was there as the dust was terrible and surely the inside of the RV was filthy.
We returned to the main road and decided to return to the Chisos Basin to see what it looked like before noon. It was certainly Utopia in the daytime and spectacular at sunset the evening before. Of course it was back up and down that steep road with the switchbacks but all worth it.
They say the park is known for its many species of birds as well as wildlife. We only saw one Peccary, a couple of Roadrunners, a Deer and a couple of squirrels. We did see a few birds but not a lot. Maybe it was not the season for birds, it is winter in the real world where we come from, so maybe they go further south in the winter.
The Big Bend National Park is one you could visit on a daily basis and just take in the natural beauty that abounds everywhere. So, back to Terlingua which is not Utopia, in my opinion, but certainly a good place to base while visiting the park. We are to leave for points north on Saturday.