Big Bend National Park, Texas |
After an enjoyable visit to San Antonio, we headed
west and south to Big Bend National Park.
Big Bend National Park is in southwest
Texas and includes the entire Chisos mountain range and a large swath of the
Chihuahuan Desert. The Park is named Big
Bend NP because of the large, almost 90 degree, bend in the Rio Grande (turns
from southeast to northeast), which of course forms the border with Mexico. Two distinctive
features of the Rio Grande are the Santa Elena Canyon and Boquillas Canyons,
both carved by the Rio Grande, and feature steep limestone cliffs on the
Mexican side. The Park is huge and isolated so the night
skies are so dark the stars seem to jump out at you.
Boquillas Canyon, Big Bend |
We
had previously been to Big Bend, once in 1985 with our son Rob on a cross
country driving and camping trip when we first moved to northern California. If
you can believe it, we visited Big Bend in late June or early July; the Park
was deserted-no wonder with the day temperatures over 110 degrees! We only had
a short one day camping stay in the Chisos Basin, but long enough to swim to
Mexico across the Rio Grande, so we wanted to return and really explore the
park under cooler conditions.
Sunset after Storm, Campground, Big Bend |
This
visit was very different. It was spring,
and mostly warm, and the desert was in bloom!
With the exception of one very big storm one afternoon/evening, we had
sunny, clear weather. We did a lot of
hiking, including to and into the Boquillas Canyon on the east side of the park. The canyon walls tower over 1550 feet straight
up on either side of the Rio Grande. We
wanted to hike the Santa Elena Canyon on the west side of the park, but a flash
flood on Terlingua Creek, which you had to cross, closed the trail while we
were there.
Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend |
We
particularly enjoyed a visit to the Chisos Basin, a basin inside the top of the
Chisos mountain range, which are wholly contained within Big Bend National
Park. The weather in the basin was at
least 10-15 degrees cooler than the desert floor. The most interesting aspect of the Chisos
mountains are that they are a “mountain island” surrounded by desert. Many species of plants and some animals are
now “trapped” in the mountains, and would not survive if they left that
environment. There are a few bobcat, mountain lion and bears in the high
country.
Desert Valley through The Window, Chisos Basin |
Javelina, Rig Grand Village Campground, Big Bend |
The
most interesting animal we encountered was the Javelina. These are members of the pig family and
travel in small herds or “family groups”.
They are active in early morning and late afternoon, and were found
throughout our campground at those times.
They usually feed on cacti, fruits and insects, but have found human
food to be easy to get. They will search
in a campsite for food in coolers, or even in tents or cars if left open. The herd we encountered was used to human
interaction.
Fossil Head, 40 Ft Crock, found only in Big Bend |
Big
Bend is a geologist’s paradise, partly due to easy observation of the various
strata, but also the complex geologic history of the area. The geology spans from 500 million year old
rock at the north Persimmon Gap entrance, to the current sand dunes in
Boquillas Canyon. From about 200 to 300
million years ago (mya), Big Bend was under an inland sea; the sediment
accumulated during that time became sandstone and shale bed. Those strata eventually became mountains
that eroded down, and are now found as the oldest rock layer near Persimmon
Gap. Subsequently, a warm, shallow sea
invaded some 135 to 100 mya, allowing deposition of lime and sea organisms,
which eventually became the dramatic limestone walls of the Santa Elena and
Boquillas canyons, and the magnificent cliffs to the south of the Rio Grande in
Mexico. From 100 to 65 mya, the sea
retreated forming lowlands which was home to dinosaurs, fish and reptiles. The fossils found in Big Bend are incredible,
including a giant flying reptile, with a wingspan of over 35 feet. Finally, volcanic eruptions from about 38 to
32 million years ago formed the Chisos Mountains and the surrounding
mountains. Differential erosion is the
key to the current topography and landscape.
There is an excellent new Fossil Discovery Center in Big Bend with incredible
local early-to-late Cretaceous fossils and a fabulous explanation of the
complex geology and environment found at each stage.
Bob Hiking, Big Bend |
Linda under Balanced Rock, Big Bend |
"Illegal Goods", Mexican Art Stand, Big Bend Hiking Trail |
There
is one border crossing from Big Bend into Mexico that is open part of the
week. Boquillos Mexico is on the other
side. The Mexicans from that town
routinely just cross the river anywhere, and use the US side as if their own
country. Several Mexican artists have
little “gift stands” set up on the main hiking trails. They leave their artwork, with a price, and a
can for you to put $$ in. Interestingly,
the National Park Service newspaper cautions from buying from these stands
since the goods are contraband and illegal.
Orig Jersey Lilly Bar, Only Law West of the Pecos |
We
left Big Bend and headed west on Highway 90.
If you go that way, do make a brief interesting stop at Langfry TX
(don’t blink or you will miss it), home to Judge Roy Bean-he was the ONLY law
west of the Pecos River, and a very interesting story.
Judd Concrete Art, Chianti Foundation, Marfa, TX |
We
camped and spent a day in Marfa, TX. Our
friends Jeffery and Louise Leibovitz highly recommended stopping at Marfa, but
the published reviews were very mixed; some good, some bad. Marfa has become a cultural center for
contemporary artists. Minimalist, Donald
Judd, moved to Marfa from New York City.
Judd acquired a decommissioned military base (Fort Russel), and began
transforming the fort’s buildings into art spaces in 1979. He began to install his art for permanent
display. Since Judd’s death in 1994,
two foundations work to maintain his legacy.
We had a tour of the Chinati Foundation (you need a reservation-AM only),
and saw art work by Judd and other selected artists. After seeing it, we would say it was
interesting, but not really our preferred type of art. The most interesting aspect of Marfa town was
the eclectic people: old time Texan ranchers, hardworking Hispanics, and young
artist/student residents and tourists; many were young millennials and quite a
few from New York City….a kind of mini New York art district. Marfa bills
itself like this: “New York, Paris, London, Marfa”. We camped in Marfa with new friends we had
just made at Big Bend and dinned together at one the great Marfa
restaurants. It was a fun stop. Go there and you can judge the art for
yourself.
"Star Party" Telescopes, McDonald Observatory |
We
next headed to Ft. Davis, TX, home of well restored and preserved historic
1860s to 1900 Army Fort Davis, built to protect the San Antonio - El Paso Road
used by early settlers and travelers to California. We made a reservation to attend a “star
party” at the nearby McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains. Research today at the
McDonald Observatory encompasses a wide variety of topics and projects,
including planetary systems, stars and stellar spectroscopy, the interstellar medium, extragalactic astronomy, and theoretical astronomy,
including the newest project to discover the
nature of “dark energy”, a mysterious force causing the expansion of the universe
to speed up. There are three large telescope facilities for professional use.
"Whirlpool", intersecting galaxies, through telescope, McDonald Observatory |
The star party program started about 9pm and WAS
EXCELLENT. We started at a large outdoor
amphitheater, where there was a very interesting talk about the constellations
and the planets. Without a telescope, in
addition to the stars and constellations, we saw the Iridium Satellite Flair,
and even some meteors (shooting starts).
There was no moon showing that night (the moon was up during the day),
so the stars were brilliant. After
learning about the constellations and why the Milky Way is not so bright and
obvious in the winter, we then visited 7 different telescopes to see: a brilliant Jupiter and 4 moons, the
whirlpool galaxy (two intersecting galaxies), a star cluster, a nebula in Orion
(some of the youngest stars in the galaxy), a very old galaxy, etc. They have four large permanently mounted telescopes
around the amphitheater for visitor use during this and other events, and some
slightly smaller telescopes that are set up for the party. We finished up at midnight and drove home
down a dark road with incredible skies…this is a definitely a dark sky area,
similar to Big Bend.
El Capitan and Guadeloupe Peak, Guadeloupe Mtn Ntl Park |
Our last stop in Texas was the Guadeloupe Mountains
National Park, the “Texas Alps”. Guadalupe Mountains
National Park is in the vast Chihuahuan Desert of western Texas. It’s known for
its bright-white Salt Basin Dunes, wildlife-rich grassland and fossilized reef
mountains (the famous Permian Limestone Reef which formed about 250 million
years ago - too early for any life except the earliest life forms). Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at
8,749 feet, has fabulous views of El Capitan peak, to the south. We camped at the base of Guadeloupe
Peak. It was VERY windy during our
entire stay, and we had to keep the slide outs pulled in much of the time…this
made for much closer living arrangements than we normally have. Our motorhome rocked and rolled in the wind
gusts – made us feel like we were back on our sailboat Villomee, but at least we did not need to worry about dragging
anchor J. We hiked a couple of the local trails, but not
the very strenuous hike to the “Top of Texas”; an 8 hour, 8.4 mile hike, with over 3000 ft elevation
gain and into a 20-30 (gusts to 50) mph headwind coming down the valley and 90 degree
temp. We are not quite at that hiking
level …yet J, but it is very scenic.
McKittrick Canyon and Stream, Guadeloupe Mtn Ntl Park |
We did complete the McKittrick Canyon hike;
a beautiful 4.8 mile hike up an increasingly lush canyon with a year-round
stream at its upper end. This canyon is
considered one of the most beautiful in Texas, especially during the fall. Thousands of
visitors come to experience the brilliant reds and oranges of the canyon
(maples and other colorful deciduous trees), which contrast sharply with the
desert foliage, not seen elsewhere in West Texas. There
is a homestead mid-way up the canyon, which was owned and occupied by Pratt, a
geologist, from the 1930s until the 60s.
Pratt donated the land to the park service in 1961. We have seen the
generosity of many people in the US, whose donations to the National Park
Service and various state park systems, have helped to expand and preserve the
beautiful places in our country for following generations.
We are next headed to New Mexico, starting
with Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell and White Sands.
We continue to be blessed with a
great trip and safe travels. Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone
who might be interested.
Best,
Linda and Bob
We're following right behind you! Closely reading to get tips!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the detailed report. Enjoyed it much.
ReplyDeleteDon and Linda