We really wanted to stay at a primitive back-country site in the park but they were all reserved by the time we were in cell reception range to try to get one. So, we are spending a couple weeks...
Paddling Santa Elena Canyon
The short hike into Santa Elena Canyon we did the other day was gorgeous but we wanted to go further. To access the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park is different than in Big Bend Ranch State Park....
Terlingua, Texas
Ghost Town Terlingua, Texas is a small town on the edge of Big Bend National Park. We drove over to Texas’ most visited ghost town one day to check it out. The Terlingua Cemetery was first on our stop....
Big Bend National Park West
Exploring Big Bend National Park takes time as it’s huge! We took one day and drove out the gravel Old Maverick Road to Santa Elena Canyon Trail, and then around on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. Santa Elena Road is...
Cattail Falls and The Window
Cattail Falls This hike isn’t on the Big Bend National Park map, partly to protect the fragile environment. It starts uneventfully on a gravel road that is closed to vehicles, and then after a mile or so the trail...
Upper Burro Mesa and Ward Spring Hikes
After a couple weeks in Big Bend Ranch State Park, we moved on to explore Big Bend National Park for a few weeks. We’re camped in Study Butte for a week to explore the west side of the park...
Paddling the Rio Grande
After sleeping in and feasting on homemade pancakes, we decided to try paddling the Rio Grande. The Visitors Center in town didn’t really have much river intel when we asked, so we decided to just wing it and go....
West Contrabando Part Two
The Big Bend Ranch State Park trails out of the Contrabando Trailhead were so much fun the other day that we decided to ride the rest of them another time. Starting from the same place, we rode all the...
Lajitas, Texas Town Trails
The tiny community of Lajitas, Texas is a wisp of a place, but has some fun mountain bike trails. The area is known for a mining history and now it’s largely a western themed resort complete with a championship...
West Contrabando Trails
West Contrabando Trailhead just down the road from where we are camped is the start of a great trail system. During Prohibition contrabandistas brought huge amounts of liquor out of Mexico to the US border. They risked crossing the...