Big Bend State Park - The Next Adventure...

Big Bend State Park - The Next Adventure... I made a trip this past Thanksgiving w/ my wife, children (18 + 14) and parents to Big Bend National park. The primary purpose on this trip was, of course, to be a fun vacation trip w/ my family. It was also intended to be a scouting trip – a trip to which could be used to plan a bigger vacation.


The trip was very successful as a quickie vacation, but of limited success as a pre-plan trip. The realities of traveling w/ a large group in two cars meant we weren't really flexible when it came to making changes on the fly. The kind of changes that help you plan the next trip... Additionally, the first trip corresponded w/ a strong winter storm that caused some chaos in this part of Texas, so it was advisable not to deviate to far off the path (so to speak). That's fine if you are happy with your choices, but if you were wishing to find the town, the hotel, the trail, etc. - well, there just wasn't enough time.


A combination of similar work circumstances left both myself and a long time close friend w/ a lot of unused vacation. I called him up and we conspired to make another attempt at a “planning trip”. This time it would just be the two of us and we would go before the Texas school system let out for Christmas, giving us a lot more flexibility in where to go and make arrangements on the fly. Finally, there was Big Bend State Park. The state park was not a park until 1999, before that time it was a series of unsuccessful ranches. I had searched the web high and low for information about the state park and really couldn't come up w/ any – I realized I was just going to have to go and figure it out...


So! What's the game plan?


Well, we decided to drive from SE Texas to San Antonio on I-10 west, then veer off I-10 on to hwy 90. We would then take hwy 90 to Del Rio and spend the night. That journey should have only taken about 8-9 hrs according to mapquest, leaving plenty of time for the goofing around/seeing the sights we had planned along the way. After spending the night in Del Rio, we were going to drive to Big Bend National Park, off-road down Glenn Springs rd, Pine Valley and Black Gap road. Set-up camp at Elephant Tusk (off Black Gap Rd), maybe do some hiking, then get up early the next am for a drive to the state park. A little off roading in the state park, then on to our campsite at Chorro Vista (in the state park). Next day, more off roading/hiking then drive to Fort Davis, spend the night, come home the following day.


Mind you, it took longer to type than then planning that was put into the above, but we went with it.


Here's what we ACTUALLY did:


I was expecting Doug to show up to my house a little late on Thursday morning. Doug and I have hunted together for years. He is extremely reliable and punctual, but he also has a penchant for taking everything but the kitchen sink – this has caused him delays in the past at the start of big trips. Not this time. Doug was 5 minutes early and I was running late, still hadn't showered! 30 minutes later, showered, gear stowed in the 4Runner we were off.


We drove down I-10 West in the early am talking and laughing like a couple of 3rd graders just released for summer vacation. We stopped for coffee/bathroom breaks frequently, but still made excellent time. We stopped in a high end rifle shop that Doug knew of in Sequin and handled Blaser's, Nula's and assorted other high(er) end rifles. The Nula was sweet, 270win isn't my favorite chambering but its hard to argue its performance as a serious big game chambering in North America – the balance in the NULA was impeccable.


We left Sequin and passed through San Antonio. We stuck to the plan and drove hwy 90 west. We stopped at every little pawn shop we saw along the way. Frankly, it was a little depressing. We found nothing worth buying, little worth oogling – there was a Winchester 22LR lever action w/o much finish in Uvalde. While we enjoyed the scenery and our own “witty comments”, we didn't find much reason to stop along the way.


We ended up pulling in to Del Rio ~4:30pm, far earlier than planned. I was expecting Del Rio to be a seedy little border town (I saw “No Country For Old Men”...). Del Rio wasn't seedy. It was clean and nice. I know, I know – my town isn't seedy either, I get it, but still we were looking for a little adventure! They had a fricking Applebee's for Pete's sake!


After a brief war council, we decided this wasn't the experience we were hoping for. We called an audible and started looking for hotel alternatives on our smart phones further down the line.


Dryden? No.


Sanderson? No.


Marathon? What's this?


The Gage hotel?


Welcome to The Gage Hotel - Big Bend National Park - West Texas


A luxurious hotel in Marathon? They have one gas station in that town! I think I saw the last census said there were <500 people living in Marathon – A spa? Restaurant? Nice rooms?


OK, war council says we're going! We filled up w/ gas and I canceled our hotel reservations at the Del Rio Holiday Inn Express on my I-phone as I dropped the hammer on the skinny pedal for Marathon. Rooms are a little pricier, but nothing to out of line for “luxury in the middle of the desert” and ~130 miles closer to Big Bend! As we drive into the setting sun I start to realize that the resident deer population may become a problem. After we drive through Sanderson w/ twilight coming on I apply a liberal dose of skinny pedal to try and reach Marathon before sunset, to no avail.


"Hotel California"
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Captain,
"Please bring me my wine"
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine"
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

Ok, a little dramatic I know, but that's all that was going through my mind as we drove the desert to the hotel Gage. Marathon, as mentioned is small and the hotel Gage is lit up w/ lights! Its not that you've never been to or seen a hotel this nice – I'm sure you have. But finding it in Marathon? A town of <500, 120+ miles from larger population centers was surprising. Refreshingly surprising! The room was very clean, very nice. The restaurant was very nice – we can have our choice of indoor or outdoor. Outdoor by the large fireplace or a side corner w/ propane heaters.


We'll sit outside by the large fireplace, thank you. Two excellent steaks, salads, potato's, and glasses of wine later we were ready for an after dinner cocktail and a cigar.


“Excuse me, Mam? Where can we smoke a cigar?”


“Right here – I'll get you an ash tray. Can I get you something to drink?”


I'm not going to talk about it anymore. If you are heading to Big Bend from the east side and aren't on a tight budget check out the Gage Hotel in Marathon. Did I mention I liked the Gage Hotel in Marathon?


TO BE CONTINUED...


David

 

On with the trip report.


Next morning, I couldn't sleep. I'm in the habit of getting up at 4:30 every morning and my eyes popped open on their own about 4:00am. I got up and punched the button on the coffee pot and checked the weather for the day. Weather forecast was getting increasingly worse. Calling for rain early and then again in the afternoon, all night. We had planned on camping in the park – time for another war council....


After careful deliberation, we decided we weren't all that interested in spending the night in the desert in the rain, so we called and booked a hotel room in Terlingua. We had a split decision on hiking the slot canyon in the rain that morning – I still wanted to do it, Doug was grudgingly willing. After thinking it over, I realized hiking the slot canyon in the rain probably wasn't the best idea and that we probably couldn't fit it in our revised itinerary.


We departed Marathon at 6:30am, well before sunrise. The only gas station in this town was not open at this time. I still had about 2/3 of a tank, but obviously that's less than an ideal way to start a marathon off-road trip. I remembered that there was gas available in the park itself and decided to take a chance that we would be able to fill up there. We were, and everything worked out – lesson learned, fill up in Marathon when you arrive....


We drove in to Big Bend National Park as the sun rose. Doug had never been there, so I drove up to the Chiso's Mountain Lodge first. After checking that out, we drove down and filled up w/ gas. We drove to Glenn Springs Road and aired down the tires. We would not refill them for 75 miles...


We drove Glenn Springs Road to Pine Canyon, ran the length of Pine Canyon. We stopped and took pictures along the way but I've already posted a bunch of this area, won't bore you with duplicates... Well that's not entirely true – here are a few from Black Gap road, some gratuitous Toyota love photo's. I hope you don't mind:










To be continued....

David

 

We followed Black Gap out to River Road and turned east to go to the Mariscal Mines. Again, I detailed this pretty well in my previous trip report. Doug hadn't been there before and it was still fun to check it out again. Last time we were there we didn't climb to the top of the ridge above the mine – did that this time, here are the pictures:















To Be Continued...


David

 

Nice, did you go again? Or are these from the first trip? I'm

 

Went again - this time I tried to hit a bunch of different places and also went to the state park. I've got a bunch more stuff to post...

David

 

After the Mariscal Mines we went down West River Road. West River Road is fairly isolated. Over ~50 miles we saw 1 other vehicle – a JK Rubicon that the owner had installed one of the those pop-up style camper tops on. There are some deep rutted sections and a lot of sand – better air down your tires for this road! There is the potential for some wash out if you get rain, but over-all not too difficult.


One of the things that we didn't see last trip was the Rio Grande. It's a short hike from Rio Grande Village, but my parents weren't up to it last trip, and I didn't know the park well enough to know where to view it from a road – West River Road is that road. Here are some pictures from the first cut off – Woodsons campsites #1 and #2:
















We continued on to Johnson's Ranch and Black Dike. I kinda lost track of which pictures are from where – Mule Ears Mountain is NW of those locations (pointing away from the river). Doug liked the large fissures in the cliff face on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande:



















We continued on to Buenos Aires. The sky began to darken as we stopped to take a few more pictures:











We got back in the 4Runner as the rain began to fall. We still had a few more miles to go before we got back to the black top. I ran a little harder, wanting to get off that road before it turned to soup. It never got to bad, but at some point I picked up a rattle from underneath – Great! Did I break something? Pick-up a rock in one of the skid plates? No time to stop and check...


When we reached Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive (black top road) I stopped to air up just as the trip odometer clicked over 75 miles since we left the black top that morning. There was a light drizzle as I stepped out to air up.


My God! The Gnats! It was like a scene out of a horror movie! I'm not sure, if it was the warmer weather (~65F) and the close proximity to the river or the recent rain that triggered a hatch, but the gnats were like a fog. I've never experienced anything like that – you couldn't breathe – gnats running up your nose, down your ears, in your clothes, etc. Did I mention that they were hungry?


So as soon as I get the Viair 450P hooked up, problem #1 rears its head – the Viair fill gun valve must have some sand it in, it's not releasing properly. Not the end of the world, just means I will have to use a separate gauge to check pressures, but adding time to the procedure is not something I want to deal with in the gnat storm.


I filled the drivers front tire first. Over filled to about 46 psi, so I could adjust pressure w/ the separate gauge (because the fill gun isn't working properly). When I take the hose off the schrader valve, Murphy's law kicks in and I hear air hissing out of the tire. FRICK! The valve isn't holding. I have valve cores and a tool in the truck, but I really don't want to screw with changing a valve core in the rapidly fading light, in the sand, in the rain, in the gnats – did I mention the gnats were hungry?


I attempt to tighten the valve core, it turns and the hissing gets worse. I loosen it a little and the hissing almost stop. I depress the valve a few times and the hissing stops. Next press it hisses a little... I topped the tire off again, not leaking. Check the pressure w/ the gauge – its hissing a little bit. Check the pressure again, the hissing stops. Spit test shows no bubbles – DON'T TOUCH THAT VALVE AGAIN!!!


I filled the rest of the tires w/o incident other than the horrible horrible gnats – did I mention that they were hungry? We jumped in the truck for the 20 minute drive to Study Butte. I eyed the dash waiting for the TPMS sensor the whole time, but it never came on. We pulled into Study Butte, filled up w/ gas and I bought a can of WD40. I removed the valve cap and sprayed a liberal dose of WD40 on the valve stem. I exercised the valve repeatedly w/ the pressure gauge and it did not leak again. I decided to call it fixed and not change a valve core unless forced to.


We drove another 10-15 minutes to our hotel in Terlingua,the Big Bend Holiday Hotel ( http://www.ghosttowntexas.com/bigbendholidayhotel.html ). The rooms were nice and clean. Cool rooms, w/ an outside porch, not quite as cool as the Hotel California err, I mean the Hotel Gage in Marathon, but still nice. Rooms were a little pricey for what you got, but you are in the middle of the desert in their peak tourist season – really it was a good value when you look at it like that. We had a good meal in the Starlight Theatre (just in front of the hotel) and enjoyed a cigar and after dinner cocktail on the porch. Talked to a few other travelers, had a pleasant conversation, then called it an evening and went to bed.


To be continued...


David

 

The next day we woke up about 6:30, made coffee, SSS (actually I skipped the shave...). We left out of the hotel at 7:30 with a full gas tank - we're learning, we filled up last night in Study Butte. About 100 yards from the hotel (to the west) we see a little open air breakfast shop. We stop and get another cup of coffee and a breakfast burrito. We eat our breakfast in the cold morning air while we warm ourselves at the fire pit and stare at the scenery of the ghost town and surrounding views. The weather is colder today and much windier.


After breakfast we drove to the Barton Warnock Visitor Center in Lajitas. Once there, we overcome the primary obstacle I had in planning this part of the trip – no map. They have an excellent map for sale that shows the entire park, trails, roads, 4wd trails, campsites, etc. complete w/ mileage indications between various legs. Its actually a better map than the National Geographic Big Bend National Park map that I bought off Amazon! While there we picked up a few other books, hiking guides, scenic vistas, etc. (help plan the next trip better). The maps and other publications are also available at the other Big Bend State Park Centers in Presidio and Marfa as well as the Saucedo Ranger Station in the heart of the park.


We left the Barton Warnock Visitor Center and stopped in Lajitas for the last gas till Presidio (50 miles). The tank was almost full, but what the heck, better safe than sorry. After a quick check of the tire pressures we rolled on down river road.


River Road between Lajitas and Presidio is without a doubt the most scenic drive I have ever driven. There is no way to adequately describe it and the pictures do not do it justice. Regardless, I tried w/ my mediocre photography skills:



















As we were driving along, the road dipped lower – almost to the level of the river. There was a pull over on the side, so we stopped and walked out to the river to get a few photgraphs:





















We continued on, in awe of the beauty until we finally reached the entrance road to the State Park:






To Be Continued....


David

 

As we turned onto the main road, we quickly realized they weren't kidding about the rough road! It wasn't that it presented any hard core off road challenge – it just sucked! A few minutes of that and I pulled over and we aired down to 15psi. No more problems from the front tire valve!


As we drove into the park we were struck w/ one spectacular view after another. The state park is significantly different than the national park. Most of the national park you (except when you are driving up to the Chisos mtn basin) you are around 2500'. The landscape all around you is dominated by the Chisos mountains and surrounding mountains. As you drive around the national park you don't generally lose sight of the dominant surrounding mountains and your view of the park changes slowly as you drive around the park.


In the state park, the terrain is more rugged. You drive in at ~2000' and the elevation increases to over 4000'. There are deep valleys and as you drive up and over ridgelines you experience different terrains, different dominant structures. The views are spectacular!


We had picked out a likely trail to run as we drove in – we turned off the main (dirt) road onto the trail at Agua Adentro Pens and looped around till we came back out by Cinco Tinajas Trail head. Some of these pictures are as we drove in, some are from that trail – I can't keep them straight....
















































We shot some video of the Agua Adentro to Cinco Tinajas loop - here it is:


http://youtu.be/QiQg-UZIcvM


To Be Continued....


David

 

After we came back out on the main dirt road we drove to the Sauceda Ranger Station. When we got there, the Ranger wasn't there and there was a “be back at XX:XX” note on the door. We had already checked in and paid our fees at the Barton Warnock Visitor Center in Lajitas, so we decided to just press on and took the road for Chorro Vista.


The road to Chorro Vista was very rugged. It was the kind of road that could be taken by a stock 4wd vehicle (w/ LT tires) – at the same time, I'm not interested in tackling much more difficult terrain when I'm traveling in 1 vehicle, 800 miles from my home, 30 miles from the nearest ranger station. We took a bunch of pictures along the way stopped at some of the other alternative campsites along the way.


Here are the pics:















































It may not be obvious from the pictures, but the road to Chorro Vista has one over whelming theme - Climb! Climb! Climb! Here's some video that was shot along the way:


http://youtu.be/HMP8ACyl5Ww

To Be Continued....


David

 

This is the camp site at Chorro Vista:











Here is the campsite, after we got everything set up and started a fire to cook our steaks:

















About the tent – it's a new purchase for my buddy Doug, a Kodiak Canvas 10'x14'. Obviously it was overkill for the two of us, but he was ready to try his new purchase. I had never used a canvas tent before and was curious as to the difference between the simpler synthetic dome tents I'm accustomed to. The tent was fantastic, warm, roomy, dry – it also required about 24 stakes be driven. In rock. I'll spare you the details, it wasn't fun to put up. This was not the right tent for this campsite!


We hiked to the edge and over the ridge (to the left of the campsite pictures) – amazing views! Here are the pictures:














To Be Continued....


David

 

Thank You and merry Christmas. Here I sit in beautiful ne Iowa, a winter wonderland. I'm wondering why I'm here and not at the big bend area of tx. I've been there three times and spent most of the time in the national park and around Terlingua exploring via motorcycle. I haven't made it to the state park yet but now I know I need to go.

 

Thank you and Merry Christmas to you as well! If nothing else, the ride from Lajitas to Presidio on river road is well worth the trip - more so, if on a motorcycle. I've got a few more pics and information about accommodations in the state park. I'll post it in a little while.

David

 

I don't know if you know about the mines. They mined cinnabar (HgS) which is toxic if ingested or inhaled. The cinnabar ore was heated releasing the mercury as a vapor which was condensed to liquid. The sulfur combined with oxygen to form SO2. What kind of job was that!?

 

We had a pleasant evening, grilled steaks, had a fire, stared at the stars. The night sky is spectacular here with almost no light pollution, the number of visible stars is greatly increased. It got down to around 40F that night but the wind died down.


I woke up around 6:30am (an hour before sunrise) so I could make a hike. Doug wasn't feeling it, so I went alone. I wanted to climb down the ridge from our campsite, but the frequent sheer rock faces were making it real difficult in the dark. I gave up and walked to the Chorro Vista trail head and took the easy path down. I made my way to the bluff opposite the canyon from our campsite and took some pictures of the canyon on the opposite side before sunrise:












I backtracked on the ridge and got back in the little canyon below our campsite and walked it for a few miles:














I realized I was out of time and headed back to the campsite. At the ridge underneath the campsite I realized that I could probably make the climb up in the morning light that had stopped me earlier in the dark. I climbed directly up to the campsite, up a few small sheer faces and came out at the campsite as planned. Doug already had broken camp and had hot coffee ready for me! I drank some coffee then we loaded our gear into the 4Runner.


We began our descent from Chorro Vista to the Ranger Station about 9:30am and arrived at about 11:30am. Back at the Sauceda Ranger station we talked w/ the Rangers about the park and the accommodations at the Ranger station. After showers, we went and checked them out. For $35/night you can stay in the Bunk House – the bunk house is segregated male/female and there are semi-private 2 bed bunk rooms in each section. Full bathrooms w/ showers. There is a large common room w/ couches and chairs, a TV and a full kitchen if you want to cook.


Next we went over to the Ranch House. The Ranch House has 3 bedrooms, 2 beds in 2 rooms, 1 bed in the 3rd. It rents for $100/room, you can rent the whole thing for $300/night. There is a living room, dining room, full kitchen, 2 full baths, and a large screened in porch. The house was obviously pretty nice when it was built and it is still nice, though it has fallen into a little bit of disrepair.


After we were done checking everything out I decided to just air up at the Ranger Station. I had no more trouble w/ the tire valves and now that I was able to give it a few shots of WD40 I was able to get the valve on the Viair air gun working again. I filled the tires and we left. The rough roads were even rougher w/ the tires full of air, but we pressed on. The odd rattle from underneath the 4Runner persisted and began to get worse. I had about convinced myself that I had broken something and that I needed to pull over and check it when the noise stopped. Must have been a rock behind a skid plate or similar – looking everything over at home, I can find nothing out of place or loose....


We drove to Presidio and filled up, then made the drive to Marfa. Marfa was a pretty little town. We looked a little, but it was pretty quiet on a late Sunday afternoon and we pressed on to Fort Davis. We arrived at Fort Davis Hotel and Pharmacy about 4:30 and got checked in. We made a quick excursionary trip to check out the town, but they seemed to have rolled up the sidewalks Saturday night – nothing was open. We went back to the hotel and had a good meal in their restaurant. Back to the room and turned in early. We made the drive home back down 90 through Del Rio w/o incident. Was a very good trip over-all! The only things I would do differently next time is extend the trip a little so there is more time for hiking and plan my 1st stop and last stop to be at the Gage Hotel in Marathon.


It was a little intimidating for me to go out to Big Bend these first couple of trips because I had never been and I didn't know anyone that had been. I hope the trip report helps someone plan their vacation. Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer.


David

 

Yeah, that was a really tough way to make a living. Truth be told, all possible ways to make a living looked pretty tough in this area "back in the day". I'm guessing that has a lot to do with why they are National and State Parks now.

David