Day 20 – Big Bend NP – Day 1

There are three different areas in Big Bend National Park and we will spend a day at each one.  The first day, we’ll visited Boquillas Canyon and then later Chisos Basin.  As we begin to leave the campground we have this view.  We later find out that the tall mountains in the distance are in Mexico.

As we approached Boquillas Canyon Carmen took this picture of the mule in the desert.  The buildings in the background are a village in Mexico on the other side of the Rio Grande.

As we begin our hike into the canyon we have a good view of the Rio Grande.  The land to the left of the river is in Mexico.  That is how close we are to the border. 

Here are some of the desert flowers we’ve seen.  They are small but pretty. 

After we began the 1.4 mile round trip hike and got near the river we find these holes in the bedrock along the river.  These are prehistoric mortar holes where the indigenous people would grind seeds, roots and other plants. 

When we started our hike of the canyon we saw a warning sign about the illegality of buying or possessing items obtained from Mexican Nationals.  And that those items would be seized and violators prosecuted.  Well, here are those illegal items. 

Some of the local 46 species of cacti that live in the park; look but don’t touch.  I think this is some sort of prickly pear.

Nearing the entrance to the canyon, you can see the waters of the Rio Grande turn left between the rocks.  The cliff in the background is on the Mexican side. 

We figured these horses belonged to the Mexican men who were on both sides of the river.  On this side we think they would check to make sure people paid for the items they took.  The horses were grazing on the grass that did not exist on the other side of the river.

Looking into the canyon you lose where the rivers runs between the rocks.  In the picture where the “V” is formed by the sky, splits the countries; the USA on the left and Mexico on the right.

We have been seeing all kinds of animals, but this lotus, grasshopper, or whatever is unusual.

Some of the rock layers along the walls. 

This is one of the first lizards I've seen today.  In ran into these reeds and it was difficult to get a good bead on it.  If I hadn't been watching it  move into the reeds, I would not have seen it.

While we were on our way back to the car, we came across this unusual flowering bush.  Seems like some sort of a milkweed type of flower.

As we were passing the last of the reedy area of the trail, a dragonfly landed on one of the branches of the small trees.  It stayed there long enough for me to get a good picture of it.  This almost never happens when I'm trying to get a picture of a dragonfly.

Here we are on the last part of the trail before we return to the parking lot.  You can see another couple just behind Carmen on the trail.  One we get to the top, just to the left of the picture, its downhill to the car.

From almost at the parking lot and now that the sun is shining brightly on the rocks, we have a good view of the mountains on the US side.

No animal this time, just a beast.  Check out this vehicle that was parked in the parking lot when we got back. 

Leaving the Boquillas Canyon, we are now heading to Panther Junction where we will then go to the Chisos Basin.  To get to Panther Junction we drive the 20 miles from the canyon trail and have to pass through the tunnel again. 

Some of the scenery we see as we drive to our next turnoff.  Those mountains are quite a distance away and o  the Mexican side of the river.

Look at the different colored strata in this hill; very interesting.

The junction and Ranger Station are to the right at the base of this mountain, still some distance away.

This is what we are seeing from the car as we are driving.  Look at how blue the sky is.

We’ve turned the corner at Panther Junction and are on our way to Chisos Basin.  These rocks look like they are lava based.

More of the mountain that we see.  This is the same mountain, but from the opposite side, of the picture three pictures ago. 

The mountains with their jagged edges and carved valleys are really remarkable and with the sun moving throughout the day, the shadows make it even more remarkable.  We come to a section of the road to the basin and see a sign that indicates the road is not recommended for RVs longer than 24 feet.  Maybe it is because of terrain like this. 

One of the times when we were stopped and were taking pictures of the mountains, I saw this snake as it was slithering to some bushes.  When it got there it coiled itself and stuck its head out of the grasses.  I did not tell Carmen it was there, she would have freaked

There are some pretty spectacular rock formations in this section of the Park.

Here’s Carmen at one of the overlooks on our way to the Chisos Visitor Center.

The “V” between the two mountains is titled “La Ventana o the Window”; do not ask me why, I haven’t a clue.  It is in the Chisos mountains and this was our view from the visitor center.

So back on the main road, we decided to take a little hike on the Grapevine Hills Trail.  As the sign says the trail enters a realm of petrified fire.  In other words under pressure molten rock ballooned up beneath the surface and as the ground eroded the exposed dome fractured into a moonscape of giant boulders.

Landscape structures like these provided windows in the rock formations.

Here we have a balancing rock along with two spires.

Some of the flowers from this hike and I'm not sure what they are, but I think they may be Desert Marigolds of some sort.

We saw may landscapes like these jumble of rocks and spires.  On the top of the cliff is a rock balancing on two smaller rocks.  I would almost guess that if we came back in f years it would have fallen.

This almost looks like a saw blade with all the rock protrusions. 

Any lizard is a good lizard.  At least this one is in the clear without any obstruction around it.  I think it is a Greater Earless lizard, but that is only a guess.

Carmen overlooking the valley we just hiked up.  We are now on a side trail to “Balanced Rock”.

This is the view just before we reached balanced rock.

Balanced Rock

The view on the back side of the hills from our hike to see balanced rock.  You can see for quite some distance.

Walking back to the car we have this view. 

Back in the car we drive back to the motorhome.  Now that the sun in the west and shining on the cliffs, we have a good view of the rock strata on the mountains on the both of the Rio Grande river.  The tall mountains with the white bands are in Mexico while the more rounded darker hills below the white bands are in the US.

Our last picture before we get back to the motorhome and it gets to dark.  You can see the different colors in the eroded side of this hill.  We are soon having dinner and getting ready for tomorrow where we will drive along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.