BIG BEND REGION OF TEXAS

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A WEEK IN THE BIG BEND OF TEXAS



It was early March 2016 and we had decided to do some backcountry camping in the BIG BEND AREA of TEXAS. We, Steve and I had decided this in the middle of February and had started to prepare for the trip.



The original plan called for taking his Hummer and pull a trailer with the tent and other stuff we would need for ourselves and his 2 four legged kids. But I bought a 4-wheel drive truck and we opted to take that instead of pulling a trailer, which turned out to be a wise decision.



The day to leave came and we had loaded the truck the night before. We had so far been unsuccessful at making reservations thru the state park reservation line so we figured we would just drive down and hope for the best. We left at 6am and figured we would be there around 3 or 4pm(wrong). We had to make several stops to let the dogs take a break and then stopped in Ft. Stockton for the final supplies, which was food and ice. After leaving Ft. Stockton we opted to go thru Alpine and Marfa instead of going thru BIG BEND NATL. PARK we figured this would be quicker since it was highway all the way to BIG BEND RANCH STATE PARK and going thru the NATL. PARK was a 45 mph zone for about 100 miles.



We got to Marfa at about 4:30pm and knew we wouldn’t make it to the park before the office closed so we tried to call the reservation line again. But could not get thru. As we were heading to Presidio we were finally able to get onto the reservation line at about 5:10pm. They said the wait time for a customer service rep was 22 to 28 minutes which we thought was good because the office didn’t close till 6pm, well we stayed on hold until 6pm and than the line went dead. Needless to say we were not happy campers.



Just east of Presidio on highway 170 is the Ft. Leaton historical site. It to was closed but there was an info board for it and Big Bend Ranch State Park. The info for the park said that if we got there after hours we could stay at the Radford camp site which was several miles down the road, we located the site on the posted map and headed that way, we spent about 90 minutes looking for the site but was unable to locate it. We drove back to Ft. Leaton and looked at the board again. We were getting pretty upset with the info we were and weren’t getting, we looked at a second board that was in another area of the parking lot and it told us to drive up towards the ranch headquarters and camp at the turnout until it opened in the morning. So we headed for this spot but the directions were not that great, we did eventually find it. It was now close to midnight so we just pulled out the sleeping bags and tied the dogs up and went to sleep. The dogs had different ideas, they barked all night due to the javelin coming into camp and the coyotes howling all around us. Without much sleep the next day was going to be pretty rough.



As the sun started to rise I was reluctant to get out of my sleeping bag, but we needed to get to the park headquarters and try to get the site we wanted. We finally rolled out of the sleeping bags and packed things up. We headed to the ranch headquarters, which was still a 30-minute ride. The road from highway 170 to the headquarters was 27 miles of washboard and not a comfortable ride, but it did keep a lot of cars out of the area.



We finally made it to the park headquarters but had to wait about 20 minutes to get someone to help us and we were the only customers there. We could hear two employees in one office arguing about something, sounded like a messed up computer system, and another employee was in another office on the phone. We were already upset about the reservation line and the bad directions we had gotten the night before about camping and now we had to deal with this. We finally had a person wait on us and we got the site we wanted. And because of the trouble we had been having with the systems in place she did not charge us for the first night at the turn around. I have to say that the employees that we dealt with in the park were very helpful and professional and polite. We found out that the reservation line is a central line that is handled in Austin so that was not a park issue.



We left the headquarters and started towards the turnoff for our campsite. The turnoff was about 2 miles from the HQ. And than it was 8 miles to our campsite, this ride was thru some beautiful desert landscape; we saw some mule deer and quail. But to go the 8 miles it took 57 minutes. And you cannot do it with out 4x4 or high clearance vehicles. When we reached our camp spot it was on a mesa overlooking a large lower plateau that ended at highway 170 and the town of Radford and beyond that you could see the mountains of Mexico and a green ribbon of trees at the base indicating where the Rio Grande River was. We unloaded the truck but decided to not set a tent up. We set up a few things we would need in the camp since we were planning on being here for 6 days. After setting up camp we needed to go back into presidio the only town close by. I had discovered the night before that I brought the wrong blanket and it was to small, so I needed to get a sleeping bag. And since there was no firewood in the park we needed to get some charcoal or in town.



Every time we left and returned to camp we had to make the 1-hour drive just to go the 8 miles to or from the campsite and than another hour to go the 26 miles to get to the highway. The ride in and out was very scenic but also very rough. We made it to town and picked up the supplies we needed and actually made it back to camp before sunset, this would be the only day we actually made it back before dark.



That night as I lay on my bed looking up at the night sky all I could see was stars and the Milky Way. It had been many years since I seen this many stars in the sky. I set up my camera and tried to capture the stars and when I later looked at the pictures I could see the different colors in the stars that I could not see with my eyes. It was so quite up there on that mesa you could almost hear yourself thinking. Unlike the first night when we heard coyotes everywhere and all night long, we didn’t hear anything the whole week we were on the mesa that made for real peaceful sleeping. Except for one incident, Steve had brought his two pit bulls with him and had one of the dogs name Mr.Man tied to his cot. Sometime during the night an unknown animal tried to come up the hill by our camp that caused Mr.Man to take off towards the hill and pulling the cot out from underneath Steve and bending the frame on the cot when it got snagged on the picnic table which is the only reason Mr.Man never got to the animal which I was later able to find the tracks of and determined it was a wild burro. After that it took a bit to get back to sleep.



The next morning I was up before the dawn, I wanted to get some pictures of the dawn and sunrise so I started the fire and got some coffee going. I already had my camera set up so all I had to do now was enjoy my coffee and wait. I took several pictures of the sunrise and waited for Steve to start moving around. After Steve got up and moving we decided to head to Terlinqua.



We bounced our way out of the state park and got on highway 170 and headed east towards Terlinqua, we made a couple of stops on our way, one was at a entry exit point for the river and let the dogs swim for awhile. And than we stopped at the movie set for several movies one called UPHILL ALL THE WAY with Roy Clark, Mel Tillis and Burl Ives, but all that is left is the cantina. I was able to get some nice pictures of the old cantina but than it was time to move on. The next stop was in Lajitas, which is a golf resort in the desert. We rode around the area a little just to see what was there, and than stopped at a little store to get a sandwich they had some very good sandwiches, we were also able to pick up some firewood. We left Lajitas and headed to Terlinqua. We have been to the ghost town a few times but never ventured beyond that so this time we drove around the area a bit and seen some interesting things. We stopped and got some fuel and decided to ride around BIG BEND NATL. PARK a bit. So we headed over there and Steve showed his disabled pass and we didn’t have to pay to get in.



We drove around the park and seen some of the things we didn’t see the other times we had been there on motorcycles. We went off road and checked out some of the campsites they had in the backcountry. I have to say I wasn’t impressed. As big as that park is there is very little access on less you are hiking because they limit the 4x4 activity to the maintained roads, unlike big bend ranch state park which has many 4x4 roads and welcomes you to use them. It was getting late so we figured it was time to head back to camp.



We started back to camp but had to stop in Terlinqua for some gas. After I filled up the truck it wouldn’t start. I had a guy come over and offered to give us a jump start but neither one of us had cables. Steve went into the store and bought some cables so the guy pulled his truck over next to mine and we hooked up the cables but to no avail. The said he was going to go get his wife’s car and come back and we would put the battery from her car into my truck and get it started than he would remove it and put mine back in. we pushed my truck away from the gas pumps and waited about 15 minutes for his return. Once we put the battery in the truck started right up and stayed running while we switched out batteries. He told me that the Oriellys in Presidio was open until 9pm so that is where we headed. We arrived at the auto parts store at 8pm and were able to get a battery it took awhile to get the battery replaced there so I could turn in my old one and get my core charge back. Hey 15 bucks is 15 bucks. Since it was so late we decided to eat in town but had no idea what there was, so I went back into the store and asked the manager where a good place to eat was. He told us that a place down the road called El Patio was very good so that is where we went.



We get to the restaurant and see that it’s small and old but Presidio is a small town and we were just glad that something was still open. We park right across the street so that we can keep an eye on the truck and Steve’s 2 dogs. When we entered the restaurant everyone was staring at Steve and followed him with their eyes as he walked to the bathroom and then it dawned on me he was wearing his 45 long colt in his shoulder holster. But he came back and sat down and everyone seemed comfortable not to mention really friendly. The waitress took our order and we had to wait awhile for the food but it was worth the wait. The food there was excellent the chips and salsa they served us was good but the salsa was very hot. We were at the restaurant for about an hour and a half to two hours. I was not looking forward to the ride back into camp. I really enjoyed the site and the solitude. The one thing I don’t like is camping in a community campground, there is always too much noise and to many kids running around. We made it back to camp without incident and it didn’t take long to get into my sleeping bag and go to sleep.



The next morning I again was up before the sun just to watch it rise and see if I could find some different pictures. The sunrise was beautiful but not much different than the day before. I started the fire and got some bacon and eggs going and we talked about the plan for the day. I have wanted to go to Marfa and photograph some of the old buildings and Steve wanted to check out the mystery lights so we decided to make a day of it.



On the way to Marfa we stopped at the ghost town called Shafter, which is an old mining town. There are still a few people living there but most of the adobe structures have fallen apart but you could still see quit a bit of the old town. We than continued to marfa and I was able to get some pictures of marfa. There have been several movies filmed in marfa just Google (movies filmed in Marfa Texas). You can also check out the Marfa mystery lights on Google. After taking my pictures of marfa we decided to take the dogs somewhere to let them stretch there legs after being cooped up in my truck all day. We went up to the mystery light area since it was fenced in and let them run a little. After about an hour we decide we needed something to eat it was about 430pm and we didn’t eat any lunch and still had a few hours until the sun went down and we could see the mystery lights. We drove around marfa but couldn’t find anyplace that was open to get some food. We finally stopped at a bar and asked the lady there where we could get something to eat. She told me that nothing really opens until 6pm but there was a Mexican place up the road that opened at 5pm so that’s where we headed, it was 440pm when we got there and he opened at about 505pm. The food was pretty good and reasonably priced. I think the name of the place was Mondo’s.



Well we had a full belly and still had a couple of hours until the sun went down. We couldn’t think of anything else to do so we went to the viewing area for the lights and just hung out. We met a guy and his girl there that were on an extended vacation and just traveling so we talked to them for awhile and recommended some things to see and do on the route and places that they were heading, the sun finally went down and we started watching for the lights as we talked. This was the fourth time I had been here and had only seen the lights once but I saw a whole lot that first time I was there. Steve said he had been there a couple of times and had never seen the lights, and as the night went on and the temperature dropped it appeared there would be no lights on this night, but the girl we had been talking to said she thought she was seeing a blue light and as I looked I seen a blue light and than it was gone about 30 minutes later I seen a red light and it stayed there for about a minute so everyone seen it. It was now about 10pm and we still had at least 3 hours to get back to the campsite. Steve said he was cold and was ready to go if I was, so we jumped in the truck and headed south.



It was about 115am by the time we got back into camp and it was a lot warmer there. According to the temp gauge on the truck it was 75 degrees on the mesa but it had read only 47 degrees in marfa. We found out later that it had actually got down to 18 degrees in marfa. Once again we were both to tired to start a campfire so Steve set the dogs loose since they had been staying in camp on there own. And I hit the sack.



The next morning the sun beat me up. When I rolled out of the sack the sun was already peeking over the mountains behind our camp. Steve was still sleeping and one of the dogs was snoring. At least I think it was the dog. I got the fire going and started some coffee; I always have to have my coffee in the morning. After Steve got up and got his coffee we talked about what to do on this day. We decided to go over to Davis Mountain State Park, which was about a four to five our drive.



We made it to Davis Mountain State Park, which I thought was ok for families and glampers. It was all community camping and great for day hikers and mountain bikers but really not much they’re outside Indian Lodge. We spent about an hour and a half in the park and left. I decided to drive the scenic loop back to Fort Davis. This is a very nice ride. You pass the Davis Mountain Observatory. I had already been to that so we just went on pass. We stopped at a rest area to let the dogs run a bit and do what they need to do. The area had been totally uprooted by hogs. As we continued around the loop we had seen one wild pig crossing the road and some aoudad on the side of the road. I was able to get pictures of the hog and sheep. Just after the sheep I got pulled over by the TEXAS HIGHWAY PATROL the issue was I had my front plate covered up with the winch. He was a really nice trooper and just gave me a warning to get it fixed. And while we were talking he told me that the temp in marfa had gotten to 18 the night before. After parting ways we headed to the campsite but decided to eat supper in presidio at the el patio again. The people in this town are really friendly and it felt like we were part of the community.



The night was uneventful but very peaceful, we were leaving the park on this day to start our way home but hadn’t decide on which way to go. After Steve woke up and got some coffee he started packing his stuff, I already had mine packed while waiting for him to wake up. We finally got the truck loaded and headed to the park HQ. To check out and I was going to take a shower. The park has hot showers and free ice at the HQs that is where the ranch headquarters use to be when it was still a working cattle ranch. I had been just washing up all week and the shower felt really well. After the shower we grabbed something to drink and started out of the park.



As we were leaving the park, Steve seen a snake so I had to stop and get some pictures of it. It was a rat snake about 6 feet long. He didn’t appreciate me taking pictures of him or poking him with my monopod so he went under the truck and up into the chassis. I climbed back into the truck and was hoping the snake would fall off while I was driving across the washboard-covered road. We than stopped at a river area to let the dogs get one last swim in because we had decided to exit the area thru big bend natl. park which would take a couple of hours because the speed limit is only 45mph in the park. We let the dogs play for about 30 minutes and than decided it was time to leave, as I was walking back to the truck I stepped in a hole and twisted the heck out of my right ankle, I believe that if I didn’t have my boots on I would have broke it. I tried to drive with it but eventually had to pull over and let Steve drive.



We continued north towards Marathon Texas, going thru BIG BEND NATL. PARK and it took about 2 hours to get there. We pulled into a gas station to fill up and noticed that I guy was looking at the front of my truck. When we got out of the truck he made the statement that he had never seen anything like that, us not being sure of what he was talking about walked around the front of the truck and noticed that the snake from the park was now wrapped around my brush guard and winch. I was able to get the snake loose and moved him over towards the grass next to the station. The man and his wife were from Quebec Canada.



After filling up the truck we headed east on highway 90 to Sanderson for the night. There is not a big choice of places to stay in Sanderson but we picked what we thought was the best and was able to get a room with 2 beds and they allowed pets so it was ok. The next morning my ankle really hurt so I let Steve drive again, we were headed to Langtry Texas. I wanted to get some pictures of the old buildings. We had been here before but never ventured beyond the JUDGE ROY BEAN visitors area. If your not familiar with Langtry or JUDGE ROY BEAN you can Google them. I believe if I tried to explain it I wouldn’t do it justice or would get it wrong. I like this part of Texas because it seems as if not much has changed in the past 125 years. We actually rode thru Langtry and went down to the Pecos river bottom and read the historical marker, which we had never done before. We spent about an hour here and than moved on to Seminole canyon state park also an interesting place with a lot of history.



We left the park and headed to Comstock where we were going to turn north on highway 163 this is a nice road to ride as it parallels the devils river. We saw a lot of wild life on this road mostly wild turkey. I had ridden this road in 2004 on my motorcycle and found a historical marker where a Lt. John Bell Hood had fought some Comanche Indians, the military base I grew up on is FORT HOOD named after a general John B. Hood and just found it interesting to actually see a place that he had fought the Indians on. This would be our last stop for sight seeing. We stopped a couple of times for fuel and something to eat but more or less just drove straight home.



The pictures being posted will show a lot of the landscape we were in the hitchhiking snake the river where the dogs swim is the Rio Grande with Mexico on the other side. The sunrise from our camp and the sunset from the marfa light area. If you Google the places I mention you will see that there is a lot more information and I am afraid that I would get it wrong or leave out a lot, if I tried to explain them. I hope you enjoyed this almost as much as I enjoyed the trip.

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