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Big Bend National Park - 3 days January itinerary?

Big Bend National Park - 3 days January itinerary?

Old Nov 20th, 2014, 07:52 PM
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Big Bend National Park - 3 days January itinerary?

Just booked 2 nights in Chisos Mountain Lodge in early January. Looking for a good itinerary to hit the park highlights, including a couple of easy hikes and visits to some of the best sites.

On our first day we arrive from Marathon. On departure day we'll probably just go to Alpine or Marfa, so we'll have a good part of 3 days in the park. We are considering this to be an exploratory trip with the idea of doing a longer one in a future spring or fall season.

The NPS website has a ton of information, but would appreciate help in narrowing that down. In general our travel preference is to spend more time in fewer places rather than trying to see everything.

I'll admit I have not done a lot of research yet.

Thanks for any suggestions.
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Old Nov 21st, 2014, 03:16 AM
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http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...0IatW7FqybsWzL

Link above from a Spring Break trip a couple of years ago.

I don't think it would be that cold, but there is a slight potential it could be and even not out of the question for a rare snow at that time of year.

Balanced Rock is a good easy hike to do.
We also did the Boquillas Canyon trail. We took a picture with a couple of Mexican men on horseback that crossed the river. They leave little trinkets on the US side of the river, in hopes that you leave them a little money. You might see Victor the singing Mexican too. Look for him on youtube, if you want a sneak peak.

You might want to do a soak in the Hot Springs.

Best picnic area is at Village Campground. Lots of trees there.
You are likely to see javalina in this area too.

We did a float trip on the Santa Elena Canyon. It's a nice way to spend 1/2 a day or more.
We did a couple of other hikes too, but I'm blank on the name.

Really the park is about 3 features. Desert, River, and Mountain.
I think it is good to do a bit of each.
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Old Nov 21st, 2014, 07:53 AM
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Thanks spiro.

For some reason shutterfly wants me to login before looking at your photos. I checked your Tucson album, which I know I looked at when you posted it and it's the same deal. Something has changed (?).

Anyway, appreciate the information. Desert, River, Mountain, sounds good. Will definitely do some of each. Definitely like the idea of getting down to the river. Santa Elena Canyon looks impressive. Lots to do in that Park.

Yes, the weather will be what it is!
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Old Nov 21st, 2014, 08:04 AM
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I've been to the park 5 or 6 times and still there is much I haven't seen or done. My first trip was a 3 day overview like you're doing, and I divided my time between 3 main areas: Chisos mountains, Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and the east side of the park between Panther Junction (PJ) and Rio Grande Village (RGV).

In the Chisos, you'll want to do the Windows trail and Lost Mine trail. I wouldn't call them easy though, more on the moderate side due to length and some elevation gain/loss. If you don't want to do the entire Lost Mine trail, at least hike the first mile until you get to the Juniper Canyon overlook (great views).

Also sort of lumped into the Chisos area is the Balanced Rock hike that Spiro mentioned. It is a desert hike but it is fairly close to the Basin road. Definitely easy and nice. You'll have to drive on a dirt road to get there but it is almost always in good shape (just use common sense).

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive has probably the most hiking options. At the very far end is Santa Elena Canyon - in my opinion this is a must-do hike every single time I go. Other hikes along the Drive are Mule Ears, Lower and Upper Burro Mesa Pour-off (do the Lower trail, it's easier and shorter), Tuff Canyon and Homer Wilson/Blue Creek trail. Stop in at the Castolon Visitor Center and look around at some of the outdoor exhibits. Maybe walk to the Dorgan/Sublett site if you spot the parking area (it's between Santa Elena and Castolon). And lastly, stop at the old Sam Nail Ranch site and wander around a little.

From PJ to RGV, there isn't much along the main highway until you get to Hot Springs. Before that you could stop at Dugout Wells (short nature trail, picnic area). Otherwise everything else is off the main highway on rough dirt roads and probably not suitable for this trip.

Drive to Hot Springs if that interests you (the road is narrow and rough). Soak in the springs or hike the trail. Boquillas Canyon is good too. At the RGV area, my two favorite hikes are the RGV Nature Trail (trailhead is inside the campground) and the Daniels Ranch trail (which eventually connects to the Hot Springs).

Also near RGV is the Boquillas border crossing. Put that on your list of must-do items for either this trip or the next time. They re-opened this border crossing a few years ago but it has limited hours and requires a passport with an RFID chip because it is scanned and viewed remotely by agents in El Paso. You won't find anything too exciting on the other side, just the little town of Boquillas but it's part of the classic Big Bend experience. Probably due to limited time you'll want to skip it this time. Or maybe you should go just to experience it in case politics change and close the border again (fingers crossed that doesn't happen).

I would skip the float trip that Spiro mentioned, in winter water levels on the river are usually too low to have a decent experience. I would actually expect that your only option would be a kayak trip and even that might involve a lot of stopping to drag your kayak over sand/gravel bars in the river.

I'm not sure how to arrange your days - about when will you arrive the first day, about when will you need to leave on the last day and which hikes interest you the most? Because of the amount of driving, I'd allot most of a full day for Ross Maxwell and the drive to/from RGV.

There are two gas stations in the park (one at RGV and one near PJ). Food can be purchased at RGV general store, the gas station near PJ, the general store in the Basin (plus the restaurant of course) and the general store at Castolon. Plan your days so you aren't backtracking a lot, take food with you or buy it at one of the stores rather than going back to the Basin restaurant for lunch. And drive the speed limit....it's easy to push that because you feel like you're crawling along but don't. Way too many animals jump out of the brush along the road side and quite frankly, you'll see more if you relax and don't speed around.

That should get you started for now.
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Old Nov 21st, 2014, 10:17 AM
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Thanks WhereAreWe, really appreciate it.

I pulled up the park map in another tab and followed along as I read through your posting. I have an idea of the Park layout now. So an itinerary could be

Day 1: Arrive from Marathon mid-morning and most likely drive to RGV. Alternatively, go to Chisos and do the hikes near there, maybe weather dependent. Stay at lodge.

Day 2: This is definitely the day for the Ross Maxwell Drive and Santa Elana hike. Return to lodge.

Day 3: Do whatever we didn't do on Day 1. Depart early afternoon for Alpine or Marfa. Or, if we are having fun and they have availability, then spend another night(s).

We'll have a cooler and will make sure we have enough food in the vehicle so we don't have to go to the Basin during the day. (We are somewhat finicky eaters and like to have our comfort food in the car.) Most likely we'll have dinners in the restaurant there.

I'll spend more time researching the hikes so I have a good idea of our options.

Our passports expire in March. Last week I picked up the renewal forms. Presumably our new ones will have the chip, should we decide to cross the border.

> That should get you started for now.
I think that's all I need. Thanks!
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Old Nov 21st, 2014, 11:46 AM
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A few more things I forgot to mention:

The Basin is going to be dark at night. Yes, they have lights but a few years ago they updated all the lighting to cut back on light pollution and it has made a dramatic difference. Since it's your first visit it may not be as obvious to you but on my last trip it was a shock to see how dark the lodging area is now. It's a good change, just be aware that it won't be lit up like an airport runway.

Go outside at night and look at the sky if it's not cloudy. Big Bend has the darkest night skies of any national park in the lower 48 so you will see stars like you haven't seen before. Even better if you drive out of the Basin and get out in the desert a ways.

Go to a ranger talk at the campground if they have one. They also have guided walks/hikes scattered around the park - it one fits with your schedule go for it. This park is probably the most fascinating one I've visited in terms of the diversity of things to learn about (fossils, geology, history of humans in the area, diversity of animal species, etc.)

You're in bear and mountain lion country. That point will be made many times with signage. Use common sense when hiking in brushy areas and doing anything at dawn/dusk anywhere (including the lodging area). It is not unheard of to see bears or mountain lions in the Basin, and a young child was attacked by a mountain lion while walking between the lodge and restaurant a few years ago. Highly unlikely it will be an issue for you but you will see and hear warnings at every mountain trailhead. Part of the Windows trail will creep you out if you dwell on thoughts of mountain lions.

Fort Davis has a great state park, national historical site and observatory (if you happen to pass through that area).

Lastly, I loved spending part of a day in Alpine. They have a really good museum there (Museum of the Big Bend) at Sul Ross University, and several really nice art galleries run by locals. Marfa definitely has an art scene but it seems to be more of a hipster, come for a few years then head to the big city type of vibe whereas Alpine seems to be a place where people choose to settle down.
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Old Nov 21st, 2014, 12:29 PM
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Turns out we will be there right around full moon, so our star watching will be compromised by that. Of course that will have it's own beauty. I'd probably schedule a future trip around new moon, but this just happened to be the timing for this trip.

Definitely will check the schedule for ranger talk, we always go for those.

We'd love to see a mountain lion, (from a distance). Have never seen one all these years of hiking the West. There have been, sadly, two fatal attacks on children in my memory not from from where I live in Colorado. Both had separated from the group. Snakes scare us more than black bears or lions. Thanks for the heads up.

Fort Davis looks great. We love those places and spent a long time in Fort Union, NM when we passed by there last year. Davis is added to the options list.

A friend of ours stayed at the Holland Hotel in Alpine this spring and said it was a really cool town. Sort of planning to spend the night there rather than Marfa. TBD.

Might have to rewatch the movie "Giant" before we go.

Thanks again.
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Old Nov 21st, 2014, 04:08 PM
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I don't know why the link isn't working for you. It is working for me when I'm not signed in. Who knows.

We were in a Canoe and it certainly isn't a white water trip(nothing like what we experienced in Grand Canyon for example). It would certainly be a worthwhile trip unless you were actually dragging your boat. We were there in a very very bad drought year and didn't know what to expect. I don't remember dragging our canoe at all. It was more of a relaxing trip of just a few miles and included a lunch stop. Certainly not a thrill ride. Of course, since the water really wasn't going that much some paddling was required.

The Windows Trail that WHEREAREWE mentioned was other hike I'd forgotten. It is a nice one.

I'm usually very positive about National Park Lodging food. Actually, think most of them do a good job. I'm not negative about the restaurant in BB, but it is one of my least favorites. We did a couple of meals there, but we enjoyed picnic along the way.
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Old Nov 22nd, 2014, 06:04 AM
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spiro, I got into shutterfly this time. Not sure what was different, I did the same things trying to click outside the login dialog; this time it went away. Right, who knows?

In any case, thanks for sharing. Santa Elena Canyon looks really impressive. Truth be told, a quiet, gentle float trip as opposed to white water would be up our alley so it fits the bill. Most likely we won't take the time this trip, but it looks nice. We'll definitely plan for the Santa Elena hike so we can see part of the canyon.

Looks like you had some spectacular sunsets, and a morning with some dramatic cloud layers down in the valley. Nice shots and good job holding up those rabbit ears with your hand!

I agree that a lot of NP food is good. Two of the best meals I had this year were dinners at the North Rim Lodge and at El Tovar, with the latter being particularly memorable. I'll keep expectations down at Big Bend, plus make sure we have packed enough in to have our picnics.

Thanks.
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Old Jan 6th, 2015, 07:18 PM
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Well, we never made it to Big Bend. As we were leaving San Antonio we got a call from the lodge's business office canceling our reservation. The New Year's ice storm knocked out power all over West Texas.

When we got to Marathon, where we were supposed to spend the night, the whole place was completly blacked out. We arrived shortly after dark, it was eerie. Our hotel had a note on their door saying sorry, but try Alpine or Fort Stockton.

We were able to get a room at the Holand Hotel in Alpine, and pushed on to there. Fortunately we had filled up in Del Rio.

The Holland had power restored two hours earlier, after being without for nearly three days. There was still quarter-inch thick ice on many north facing surfaces four days after the storm even though temps had hit 60. When we drove north to Fort Davis the next day we passed three crews working on the lines, and one car that had gone off the road and was on its side.

Interestingly, the woman at the visitor center in Langtry seemed unaware of the outage, when we told her about our cancellation.

Fort Davis was nice. Some other day for Big Bend.
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