How perfect is this?

Moonrise Rio Grande

Texas Mountain High

This photo is shot from La Posada Milagro in the Terlingua Ghostown looking toward the Chisos Mountains in the Big Bend National Park. 

Photos by Mercer Black Declercq. 

To the Windows

Hikers Sara Meloncon and Ian Lewis enjoy a break in their hike on The Window Trail at Big Bend National Park. 

Park Bar in Boquillas

The Park Bar in Boquillas has received a new coat of paint and is waiting for your visit! Bring your passport and enjoy a day in Mexico to go along with your day in Big Bend National Park. 

Photo: Mia Warren

Chisos in the Distance

Gorgeous shot from Alan Rothwell of Big Bend National Park as viewed from Terlingua.

Happy Halloween from Big Bend

Instagrammer Laura Hicks took this fun photo we're going to say is SPOOKY because it's Halloween. Have fun out there tonight!

Perfection in Big Bend

We love this gorgeous photo from photographer Marco Isler of Big Bend. The weather here is PERFECT right now! Come ASAP!

Breathtaking Beauty

Wow. Flickr's Marcus Calderon snapped this amazing photo of Big Bend National Park. Dang, y'all. We'll be right back. We need to go weep from the beauty.

Remnants of Early Life in Big Bend National Park

Before Big Bend was a national park, it was home to many hardy souls who worked to carve out a life in this isolated and beautiful part of Texas.  If you keep your eyes open, you'll see remants of buildings, homes, businesses, and graves belonging to those pioneers.  Want to read more? 

Links to more information on the park's website:

Original Settlers of Big Bend
Castolon
Hot Springs Historic District

One of our favorite photos of Big Bend

At the end of the Window Trail!

Homer Wilson Ranch in Big Bend National Park

  We're sharing this post again, from our Texas Mountain Trail Daily Photo blog, January 2013.  Enjoy! Some of this information appears on our Texas Mountain Trail webpage for Big Bend National Park.

Homer Wilson Ranch house far off in the distance
from the scenic overlook from Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
in Big Bend National Park (click on the photo for
a closer view!)

Dwarfed by the majestic scenery, there's a historic ranch house standing in Big Bend National Park that is enormously effective in capturing our imagination.  What was life like on this wild land in the late 1920s when Homer Wilson established his ranching operation here?  Self-reliance, independence...it was a life requiring moxie and strong, strong character.

Even today, those characteristics are required of the backpackers who include a stop to the ranch house on the park's Outer Mountain Loop.  It is a three-day, 30 mile trip on a strenuous primitive trail and significant elevation changes.

From Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive pull-off, the ranch house looks like an oasis.  What was it like?

From the 1975 nomination form to place the ranch in the National Register of Historic Places:

Original Appearance: 

Although Homer Wilson maintained Oak Canyon as his headquarters, he "erected at this location (Blue Creek) a secondary and very substantial ranch house..."! "This house was 24 x 60 feet with 16 x 60-foot screened porch on the south side of the house. The house proper consisted of 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a large living room near the middle of the north wall. There is a large fireplace in which the mantle is made by very artistic placement of long slabs of stone placed horizontally. Some of these slabs are up to 8 feet in length and placed in a colorful arrangement.

The double roof is supported separately by large poles. The ceiling is made of reeds in the pattern that has been used for centuries by the inhabitants of the river. The story goes that Mrs. Wilson wanted the reed ceiling with the adobe mud on top, to-which Mr. Wilson agreed. However, since such a roof would leak, he used a 2-inch concrete mixture in place of the adobe mud and above that a sheet metal roof, thus making the house leak-proof. This arrangement not only accomplished its purpose but in addition made the house much cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, as it created an air space between the metal roof and the ceiling. It was a very satisfactory means of insulation.

The interior walls carry little if any support for the roof, as this was done by sturdy poles set in cement and holding up the weight of the ceiling and roof. Practically all materials for the construction of the house came from the area. The stone, sand, and gravel came from Blue Creek Canyon, the timber from the Chisos Mountains, and the reed from the nearby Rio Grande. Thus the Blue Creek line camp ranch house may be said to be indigenous to the area. The floor of the house was made of well-selected flags while that of the porch was 'concrete.

In addition, to the house in the Blue Creek complex,  a small 1-room house for living quarters for additional ranch help, a small storeroom, an outside barbeque fireplace, a cistern to catch and hold fresh rainwater, a circular corral with a snubbing post for the training of young horses, and a nearby dipping vat and chute. There was also a chemical outhouse, a small chicken house, and a combination rock and tin structure likely used for the storage of salt and other equipment and tools,

Access to the Blue Creek house was over a reasonably well-maintained dirt road which came up the valley from Oak Canyon along the flats between Burro Mesa and the Chisos Mountains and then over the ridge into Blue Creek Canyon.

Present Appearance: Of the structures described above, all but the chicken coop still remain* Except for the storeroom and toilet, which are in poor condition, all are "structually sound, but deteriorating in detail."

More about Homer Wilson from the same document:

Homer Wilson was born in Del Rio, Texas, in 1892, studied mining and petroleum engineering at Missouri School of Mines, served in Europe during World War I, and returned to the Rio Grande country after the war. 

In 1929 he purchased ranch land west of the Chisos Mountains, and ultimately expanded his holding to include 44 sections to operate this vast tract he established his home and headquarters at Oak Springs. 

Later he moved part of his operations to Blue Creek. Wilson developed the ranch and raised his family-there during the years up to 1943 when he died suddenly. In 1942 he deeded the land to the State of Texas during-the early days of park land,-acquisition. 

The family moved from the ranch by the agreed deadline of January l,1945.  As one of the largest ranches in the Big Bend area, the Wilson Ranch has local significance. Its structures along with the natural setting provide opportunities to interpret twentieth century ranch life for this area.

Balanced Rock in Big Bend National Park

photo courtesy Visit Big Bend

This great photo of Balanced Rock in Big Bend National Park is courtesy of our friends at Visit Big Bend; provided to us for our recent National Trails Day social media project.

Want to know more about this trail?  Here's the trail description from the park's website:

Grapevine Hills Trail
Difficulty: Easy; Distance: 2.2 miles round trip
Begin 6 miles down Grapevine Hills improved dirt road at the parking area
This trail leads to a group of balanced rocks in the heart of the Grapevine Hills. Initially, the trail follows a gravel wash, then climbs steeply for the last quarter mile into the boulders. Grapevine Hills is an exposed laccolith, with many giant, rounded boulders that are tempting to climb, but watch for snakes. 

For more information about visiting Big Bend National Park?  Try www.visitbigbend.com

More on desert hikes from the park's website:

"The Chihuahuan Desert covers about 80% of the park and surrounds the Chisos Mountains. Bare, rocky ground and sparse vegetation are hallmarks of the desert, but there is plenty of life here. Look for termite nests along plant stems, exoskeletons of millipedes, animal scat, and rodent and reptile tunnels. Bird life is plentiful, especially in the morning; look for nests hidden in yuccas and cacti. In the spring, bluebonnets, paintbrush, bi-color mustard, desert marigold, yucca, ocotillo, and cacti blossoms add color to the desert landscape."

Scenic Driving on Big Bend National Park's Ross Maxwell Drive

While the drive is scenic along Ross Maxwell drive in Big Bend National Park, those who stop and explore are richly rewarded with more to see!  Interested in learning more about the Sam Nail Ranch, the Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff, Mule Ears and more?  Click here for details.

Celebrate National Trails Day with us!

If you post photos and stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Flickr with the two hashtags, #txmountaintrail and #nationaltrailsday, we'll be able to find them online...and we'll select our favorites to include on stories and features about the Texas Mountains all summer long!  Join in the fun and hashtag to your heart's content!

Big Bend: Luna's Jacal

There are plenty of places inside Big Bend National Park that are remnants of a life before the region became a park.  At the edge of Alamo Creek inside Big Bend National Park is a small home built by Gilberto Luna for his very large family.  Built of earth, stone and plant fiber, the home was well adapted to desert conditions..inside is considerably cooler than outside.  Luna irrigated his crops from the nearby creek. And early park superintendent is quoted, 'Gilberto Luna "survived eleven wives, sired thirty children, and was in his late nineties when he finally moved in with his grandchildren in Fort Stockton."' (Source)   Read more about this special place HERE.  Take the rugged drive on Old Maverick Road at the western section of the park near the Chimneys Trail to visit Luna's Jacal.

Gilberto Luna
Photo: NPS/Big Bend National Park

Celebrate National Trails Day with us!

If you post photos and stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Flickr with the two hashtags, #txmountaintrail and #nationaltrailsday, we'll be able to find them online...and we'll select our favorites to include on stories and features about the Texas Mountains all summer long!  Join in the fun and hashtag to your heart's content!

Drive to Big Bend National Park's Chisos Basin plus MAPS!

We always hold our breath and remember our first visit to the Big Bend, as we recall THIS drive to the center of the park, the nine miles from Panther Junction to the Chisos Basin.  Nothing but adventure awaits! 

Click here for a detailed map of the Chisos Basin.  And here for the full park map!

View from Big Bend's South Rim

Looking for one of the pinnacle experiences in all of Texas?  Hike Big Bend National Park's South Rim!

From the park's website:

South Rim
Difficulty:Strenuous; Distance 12-14.5 miles round trip
Begin at Basin Trailhead
This challenging trail is well worth the 2,000 foot gain, as midway are the stunning vistas from the South Rim. Ascend either the steeper Pinnacles or more gradual Laguna Meadows Trail. During Peregrine Falcon nesting season, the Northeast and Southeast portions of this trail are closed.

Click HERE to read Backpacker magazine's online trail guide to the South Rim.

Window Hike at Big Bend National Park

This is one of our favorite hikes in the area...it has a big payoff at the turnaround point...this dramatic view from the Window! 

From Big Bend National Park's website:

Window Trail
Difficulty: Moderate; Distance:, 5.6 miles round trip
Begin at the Chisos Basin Trailhead
This trail descends through Oak Creek Canyon to the Window pour-off which frames panoramic desert vistas. During wetter periods Oak Creek may be flowing, and must be crossed several times. Use caution on this trail: the top of the Window pour-off is slickrock with no railings, and the return hike is uphill.

For information about the national park, state park and the communities around Big Bend, take a look at www.visitbigbend.com !

On the Mexican Border (1917)

British Pathe just downloaded their collection of historical videos onto YouTube and we've been featuring a few from Texas' past.  Today a video, attributed to "possibly Arizona, New Mexico or Texas," and we thing the terrain and vegetation looks like our own part of the Chihuahuan Desert.

There are many sites in our region with Mexican Revolution history...the revolution was a factor in our region at the time this film clip was produced.  One notable place, still easy to visit and envision the history is Big Bend National Park's Castolon Historic District.  Click here and here to read about this place...and make plans to visit!

 

#30DaysofBiking: An Easy Ride in Big Bend National Park

 An easy ride in Big Bend National Park offers terrific vistas and around this time of year, some views of blooming cacti.  Mostly gently downhill, about 20 miles, the ride begins at Panther Junction Visitor Center and continues to the small visitor center past the turnoff to Hot Springs.  The road is paved and smooth, and while there is vehicular traffic  (but not much!) the speed limit is 45 miles per hour so it is easy for everyone to "share the road."

Here's the park map.

An easy way to ride this route in a group is to shuttle cars.  Drive one car down to the Visitor Center between Rio Grande Village and the Hot Springs, and then drive back to Panther Junction to start the ride.

The elevation drop is gentle, making for an easy ride.  Panther Junction's elevation is 3750 ft., and your destination is 1850 ft.  Enjoy zipping downhill! Once you arrive at your parked car, consider a little detour to visit the Hot Springs for a soak!


Travel Spotlight!
What's blooming at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center just outside Fort Davis?  The Texas Mountain Laurel!