The Rio Grande River forms the southern border of Big Bend National Park and also forms the park’s border with Mexico.
Big Bend is a three-for-the-price-of-one National Park. There is desert, lots of it: Big Bend serves as northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert, most of which is in Mexico. The craggy, volcanic formed, Chisos Mountains reach for the sky in the heart of the park. And the Rio Grande runs along its southern border, creating a ribbon of green and carving deep river canyons.
Our journey through Big Bend National Park will start with an exploration of the area around the Rio Grande Village on the right, take you around and up into the Chisos Mountains, and end in the area around the Castolon Visitor Center on the left with its towering Santa Elena Canyon.
We first visited in 1999 when we had taken a year off from work to visit and explore all of America’s national parks. We camped at the Rio Grande Village campground and celebrated Christmas there. A macramé hanging served as our Christmas Tree. Our main present was a long walk along the Rio Grande. We vowed we would come back.
A photo from the Rio Grande Village campground we took on our first visit to the park in 1999.Today’s journey will take us from the area above Boquillas on the right to the Hot Springs on the left.A lookout from above Boquillas, Mexico on the park side provided this view of the Rio Grande Valley. The distant tree line follows the river.It’s a wash! If you have ever spent time in the deserts you will be familiar with dry riverbeds like this one on the right. A thunderstorm can quickly turn it into a raging torrent. You don’t want to get caught in one when hiking, camping or driving! I did once when I was driving across Texas and was very lucky to get out of it. The same series of storms produced softball sized hailstones that night, which I was also lucky to avoid.Great views of the Sierra del Carmen were provided from the Boquillas overlook. Believe it or not, the limestone cliffs you are looking at were formed at the bottom of a vast inland sea between 130 – 83 million years ago. The cliffs were created 20 million years ago when tectonic forces were stretching the continental plate of western North America creating massive, down dropped basins and high, uplifted ranges along fault zones. The highest point you see is appropriately named, El Pico, the peak.A national park sign board provided this view of what the sea would have covered. The small star in the center at the bottom is Big Bend National Park. The sea stretches all the way up to Canada’s Yukon Territory. Another view of the Sierra del Carmen.A fun part of the Boquillas overlook was the Mexican arts and crafts on display there. A wide range of inexpensive, tourist oriented items such as these Mexican bobbleheads were for sale.No one was present. A handmade sign announced that the arts and crafts were from Boquillas. Prices were marked on each item and a container was conveniently located for visitors to put money in. It was totally an honor system.This provides a perspective on the variety of items that were available for sale.Dragonflies, scorpions, and snakes, oh my! I liked the shadows.Since Christmas was only a few weeks away, Peggy bought three Christmasy trees and decorated the biggest one with ornaments she keeps on hand. “Just in case.” Bone, who never misses an opportunity to party, put on a kilt and joined them. Bone, BTW, is wearing the Mekemson family tartan colors according to my 5th cousin who made it for him. Now, if you will look back at the map of the Rio Grande Village area, I’m going to take you over to the left where the Hot Springs are located. (A woman toasted us with her jug.) Originally, these springs were covered and, for a mere quarter, you could take advantage of their healing powers. And what did they heal? There was a flyer advertising them…Rejoice! Apparently, just about anything. Plus you could catch big catfish. (National Park photo)Like this beauty caught out of the Rio Grande on the opposite side of what is now the park near Castolon. (National Park photo)J.O. Langford, who had come to the hot springs from Mississippi in the early 1900s for his own health, built a small resort area including a motel, store and post office in the late 20s to share the health benefits of the springs plus make a profit. Visitors could get a room for a dollar a night or at the bargain price of $6 per week. He operated the resort into the 40s. Some of the old buildings still remain. (National Park photo)The old motel still looks well preserved. Rooms came without water, and, I’m assuming electricity.Since we just posted on Mesa Verde, we couldn’t help but note that the resort also came with cliff dwellings. Grin. They also came without running water or electricity plus required the ability to fly and catch bugs for dinner.A close up.Palm trees provided shade and a resort-like environment. This was the old store at Langford’s resort.A half mile round trip trail along the Rio Grande takes visitors out to the hot springs.Peggy caught a photo of me wearing my Death Valley NP hat along the trail.Mesquite provided us with minimal but welcome shade.Pictographs left behind by Native Americans can be found along the trail. Paleo people were inhabiting the area some 10,000 years before Langford arrived! The original hot springs had flowed into a tub that the Native American’s had carved out of the rock.Another photo of the hot springs.A herd of wild horses was grazing along the trail just above the hot springs…With much swishing of tails.That night we watched the sun set on the Sierra del Carmen Mountains from our campsite at Rio Grande Village. It provides a fitting end for this post. Next up we will explore the picturesque Chisos Mountains in the heart of Big Bend NP.
17 thoughts on “Craggy Mountains, an Arid Desert, and the Rio Grande: Big Bend NP… The National Park Series #9”
Spectacular trip and pictures, Curt.. Love that you got a macrame tree and the little ones Peggy bought to keep the spirit alive and the vendors in bus. I can’t help but say.. “same crap, different day” and I mean that in the nicest of ways.. the wares in all the places start looking the same after awhile. Omg the pics of Sierra del Carmen, day and night were spectacular. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us.. so wonderful! 💕💕
Thanks, Cindy. Laughing about the crafts. And it’s true. Mexico has figured out what American’s like, so you see pretty much the same things whether you are on a remote overlook in Big Bend or at a public market in Puerto Vallarta. American tourist oriented shops do the same thing. I always like the humor of Mexican crafts however, and the art can be superb when you get into a city like Puerto Vallarta. I posted a lot on that during the years that Peggy and I made annual trips to PV. The Sierra del Carmen have a unique look of their own. The Chisos Mountains, which I am covering next look much more like the mountains we find throughout the Southwest.
What a beautiful assortment of pictures! I especially loved the lovely articles for sale on the ground and the horses! I know you realize you are so fortunate to be able to do these travels. Do you have a certain time that you stay in one place for a bit? My daughter and I are planning a little trip maybe up to La Push which is a favorite of mine. I can remember traveling up there and the roads were all dirt. Take care and God’s speed…what is that speed?
This last trip we committed to staying in places for one to two weeks, Wendy. It made the trip so much more enjoyable. Fortunately, we had the time. Otherwise, it’s a tough decision, especially if you have never been in an area. Do you stay in one place, relax and explore it well or do you try to see as much as you can?
La Push is wonderful— so beautiful, wild and rugged. We didn’t make it there this time but we have been there before. Have a great trip.
Your photos of the mountains are wonderful, Curt, especially when painted by different light. And that’s fascinating that all those pieces are artwork are displayed without anyone there. The honor system must work and how delightful is that. Thanks for sharing part of the country I’ve never visited. I appreciated the tour!
Light and photography go hand in hand. And I was amazed by the honor system, D. Even more so because the borderlands are scary to so many people. It’s good to have a counter perspective.
Oooh, so much here! I, too, love the shadows of the crafts. I was tempted by the hot springs, and what a great background story. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen a map that shows the probably extent of the inland sea. I’ve lived and traveled all through there, and have heard “There used to be a sea.” But it’s something else entirely to see it on a map like that. I am just dying to visit Texas. Some day I’ll do it proper. So far, I’ve only seen Amarillo during an ice storm, and San Antonio for six weeks of Basic Training. I do not recommend either.
That was a great year, Peggy. We took the year off and explored North America. Many grand adventures! And Bone, he’s always trying to steal the show. Grin.
Your photo of the mesquite tree reminded me of an old Texas saying: “Seeking shade under a mesquite is like collecting water with a sieve.” The cliff swallow nests reminded me of similar ones at Monument Rocks in western Kansas — also a remnant of the Western Interior Seaway. While looking for a little more information on Langford, I came across a Big Bend visitor’s page that had a caution I’ve never before encountered: “Be aware that cell phones may inadvertently change to Mountain Time.” For some reason, that makes the place seem even more appealing than your photos!
A few spots outside Big Bend that show up on your map are iconic, too. There’s Terlingua, for example: home of the big daddy of chili cookoffs, every first weekend in November. And of course there’s that album: Viva Terlingua! put Jerry Jeff et. al. on the map. I didn’t make it to Luckenbach for the recording party, but it wasn’t long before I got there.
Now, I’m feeling a little more enthusiastic about getting to Big Bend.
That’s sure true on a mesquite tree. Grin. You have to be a little desperate to choose one for shade. I’ve been there a few times.
I always like cliff swallow nests, even when they choose freeway overpasses to make their homes.
There were definitely some mountains around! I listened to the song. Jeff has a nice voice. I may have driven through Luckenbach on our way to visit Peggy’s brother on one of our trips.
Glad you are feeling more enthsusiastic about Big Bend, Linda. Stay tuned.
Thanks, Lauren. It was an interesting combination of history, beauty, and geology. And weren’t those horses beautiful! I would have thought they might be a bit more shaggy looking, being wild.
Laughing, ancient history, on the earlier photo, Alison. Actually we are digitizing all of our photos we want to keep now. Peggy was just working on our 1998/99 trip where we visited Big Bend for the first time. Thanks. –Curt
Wandering through Time and Place 
Spectacular trip and pictures, Curt.. Love that you got a macrame tree and the little ones Peggy bought to keep the spirit alive and the vendors in bus. I can’t help but say.. “same crap, different day” and I mean that in the nicest of ways.. the wares in all the places start looking the same after awhile. Omg the pics of Sierra del Carmen, day and night were spectacular. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us.. so wonderful! 💕💕
Thanks, Cindy. Laughing about the crafts. And it’s true. Mexico has figured out what American’s like, so you see pretty much the same things whether you are on a remote overlook in Big Bend or at a public market in Puerto Vallarta. American tourist oriented shops do the same thing. I always like the humor of Mexican crafts however, and the art can be superb when you get into a city like Puerto Vallarta. I posted a lot on that during the years that Peggy and I made annual trips to PV. The Sierra del Carmen have a unique look of their own. The Chisos Mountains, which I am covering next look much more like the mountains we find throughout the Southwest.
What a beautiful assortment of pictures! I especially loved the lovely articles for sale on the ground and the horses! I know you realize you are so fortunate to be able to do these travels. Do you have a certain time that you stay in one place for a bit? My daughter and I are planning a little trip maybe up to La Push which is a favorite of mine. I can remember traveling up there and the roads were all dirt. Take care and God’s speed…what is that speed?
This last trip we committed to staying in places for one to two weeks, Wendy. It made the trip so much more enjoyable. Fortunately, we had the time. Otherwise, it’s a tough decision, especially if you have never been in an area. Do you stay in one place, relax and explore it well or do you try to see as much as you can?
La Push is wonderful— so beautiful, wild and rugged. We didn’t make it there this time but we have been there before. Have a great trip.
Your photos of the mountains are wonderful, Curt, especially when painted by different light. And that’s fascinating that all those pieces are artwork are displayed without anyone there. The honor system must work and how delightful is that. Thanks for sharing part of the country I’ve never visited. I appreciated the tour!
Light and photography go hand in hand. And I was amazed by the honor system, D. Even more so because the borderlands are scary to so many people. It’s good to have a counter perspective.
🙂
Oooh, so much here! I, too, love the shadows of the crafts. I was tempted by the hot springs, and what a great background story. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen a map that shows the probably extent of the inland sea. I’ve lived and traveled all through there, and have heard “There used to be a sea.” But it’s something else entirely to see it on a map like that. I am just dying to visit Texas. Some day I’ll do it proper. So far, I’ve only seen Amarillo during an ice storm, and San Antonio for six weeks of Basic Training. I do not recommend either.
Laughing especially about basic training. 😁 I once went through an ice storm in Oklahoma. I’m totally with you there.
So many wonderful photos. I think the 1999 view is my favourite along with Bone in a kilt.
That was a great year, Peggy. We took the year off and explored North America. Many grand adventures! And Bone, he’s always trying to steal the show. Grin.
Your photo of the mesquite tree reminded me of an old Texas saying: “Seeking shade under a mesquite is like collecting water with a sieve.” The cliff swallow nests reminded me of similar ones at Monument Rocks in western Kansas — also a remnant of the Western Interior Seaway. While looking for a little more information on Langford, I came across a Big Bend visitor’s page that had a caution I’ve never before encountered: “Be aware that cell phones may inadvertently change to Mountain Time.” For some reason, that makes the place seem even more appealing than your photos!
A few spots outside Big Bend that show up on your map are iconic, too. There’s Terlingua, for example: home of the big daddy of chili cookoffs, every first weekend in November. And of course there’s that album: Viva Terlingua! put Jerry Jeff et. al. on the map. I didn’t make it to Luckenbach for the recording party, but it wasn’t long before I got there.
Now, I’m feeling a little more enthusiastic about getting to Big Bend.
That’s sure true on a mesquite tree. Grin. You have to be a little desperate to choose one for shade. I’ve been there a few times.
I always like cliff swallow nests, even when they choose freeway overpasses to make their homes.
There were definitely some mountains around! I listened to the song. Jeff has a nice voice. I may have driven through Luckenbach on our way to visit Peggy’s brother on one of our trips.
Glad you are feeling more enthsusiastic about Big Bend, Linda. Stay tuned.
Fantastic photos, Curt, and interesting dwellings and art. The hot springs and beautiful horses caught my attention, too. Wonderful, as always!
Thanks, Lauren. It was an interesting combination of history, beauty, and geology. And weren’t those horses beautiful! I would have thought they might be a bit more shaggy looking, being wild.
Such a majestic place. And wonderful photos. I especially like the one from your earlier visit.
Alison
Laughing, ancient history, on the earlier photo, Alison. Actually we are digitizing all of our photos we want to keep now. Peggy was just working on our 1998/99 trip where we visited Big Bend for the first time. Thanks. –Curt