Big Bend Area – Texas

In October, after a rapid fire exchange of texts between Reim and me, we decided to do a post Christmas RV trip to the Big Bend area and the  Davis Mountains.  We originally targeted to launch our latest adventure on December 27th giving the kids a couple of days to reach boredom with their new toys.  Leaving any earlier we were afraid of a mutiny.  However, as we approached the Christmas holiday scratching the adventure itch became too great and we elected to take our lives into our on hands and leave the morning after Christmas.  Surprisingly the kiddos were all over an earlier departure.

So, we headed out mid-morning on December 26th thinking worst case we would make it to San Antonio and best case we would make it to Del Rio.  After hooking up the RV, securing the bikes, we were on our way.  We made it to Luling before making the “necessary” stop at Buc-ee’s for the cleanest bathrooms in Texas.  We also loaded up on petroleum and caloric fuel and we were back on the road.

After calling ahead to make sure there was a spot available we we decided to push through to Del Rio so that we could get to Big Bend a day earlier. That was the plan anyway.

After pulling into Broke Mill RV Park, setting up and making a groceries run we settled in for the evening.

We knew there was some bad weather on the way and in the middle of the night the wind started blowing.  Really blowing.

By 10 AM the next morning the wind had picked up and it began to snow. Keep in mind that we are only a few miles from the Mexico border.  It was pretty cool and the kids were loving it.  Reim and felt it was too dangerous to pull the trailer and decided to stay an additional night in Del Rio.  I love my RV, but after spending most of the previous day in the car and being basically restricted to the RV this day the kids and I were getting cabin fever.  Reim had a good book and was loving the downtime.  The snow stopped and by mid-afternoon the wind’s ferocity had diminished.  The kids and I decided to drive the 37 miles to Seminole Canyon State Park in Comstock.  We had planned to stop at the visitor center then drive through park.  Luckily we arrived at the visitor center to learn that the pictograph tour had just departed.  We paid the small fee and ran out the door to catch up with the tour.  Several sets of pictographs can be viewed in the canyon, but to preserve these amazing historical murals the canyon and pictographs can only be visited through the tour.  The guide explained that some of the pictographs date back as far as 4,000 years.  Some of the animals that are depicted in art are likely extinct.

After returning to the visitor center we thawed out and toured the center. It contains an impressive display of prehistoric life.  We drove through the rest of the park then headed back to Del Rio.

On Monday, December 28th we made the approximately 5 hour trip from Del Rio to Lajitas.  To avoid the 45 mph speed limits in Big Ben NP we decided to take a slightly longer route by continuing west through Marathon to Alpine.  Marathon is home to the Gage Hotel and the Marathon2Marthon…uh…marathon.

We made a quick stop in a parking lot at Sul Ross State University in Alpine for a quick snowball fight and a bathroom break.

The first 30 or so miles heading south from Alpine is beautiful Texas mountains descending to the desert of the Big Bend area.  We arrived at the Maverick RV Ranch in Lajitas in mid-afternoon, set up camp and unleashed the kiddos.

Ireland and Luke from high above the Maverick RV Ranch

The following day we made the 25 mile trip to the west entrance (Maverick Junction) entrance of Big Bend NP.  We (when I say we I mean me) decided to do a desert hike.  The hike, called Mules Ear is a 4 mile out and back in the Chihuahuan Desert to a spring.  The desert landscape changes from, well, desert to lush greenery including ferns about 100 yards from the spring.

Hiking to Mule Ears Spring

After finishing the hike we drove a little farther to Santa Elena Canyon then on to the visitor center in the Chisos Mountains withing Big Bend NP.  This was the most amazing part of our day in the park.  Within a few minutes you leave the desert landscape for beautiful mountain scenery.  Its unlike anything I’ve seen in other parts of Texas. Nope…no pictures…I must not have been thinking straight due to being famished from the “grueling” 4 mile hike earlier in the day.

The following day we decided to check out Big Bend Ranch State Park.  We stopped at the Barten Warnock Visitors Center in Lajitas to get our day pass and grab a map (not overly impressed with the customer service or the map provided).  We drove several miles west of Lajitas to the Closed Canyon.  You start by hiking a few hundred yards to the canyon entrance. Closed Canyon is a slot canyon that is probably less than 8 feet wide in some parts and no wider than 50 feet at any point.  The entire hike is less than 2 miles.  We had to traverse some large rocks and boulders, which made it more fun.  The kids thought the “obstacles” were awesome and Ireland decided to “free run” back to the car with kids of a family we met on the hike in.  I can’t recommend this hike enough.

I had promised the kids that we would go horseback riding while in Big Bend and they weren’t going to let me forget.   The only thing that was available that afternoon was a 2 hour ride.  My ass said no so I found a 1 hour ride the following morning in Terlingua.  It was own our way to our next RV stop so I booked it for three.  As you can see in the picture Reim decided to join us.  She was scared the entire ride that her horse was going to fall.  I rolled my eyes at least a thousand times during the ride and continued to reassure her that her horse was not going to fall.

After the ride, we stocked up on some necessary road trip snacks and headed north to the Davis Mountains and our next stop at the Davis Mountains State Park.

To be continued…now you’re the one rolling your eyes.