Texas has a little-known treasure, Big Bend National Park, a place many have never heard of and even fewer have visited, even Texans.   As we traveled hundreds of miles, through mostly flat desert, there was barely another car on the road.  Our destination, Big Bend National Park, is in such a remote part of southwestern Texas that there is zero cell phone reception anywhere near it.  Gas stations and grocery stores are few and far between and the park strongly recommends you stock up on supplies at either of two nearby (it is all relative) towns, Marathon or Alpine (Alpine is 80 miles away, Marathon a bit less) if you are staying in the park.  Is it worth it?  Unquestionably, yes!

Big Bend National Park was established in June 1944 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, just days after D-Day.  The majestic beauty of Big Bend is as unique as its natural environment.  Three totally different ecosystems come together to exist side by side: desert, mountains, river. 

Big Bend lies in the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert, the most easterly and southerly of the North American deserts, where summer ground temperatures can reach up to 140 degrees F at mid-day. 

Big Bend’s Chisos Mountain Range is the only mountain range entirely within the boundaries of a national park.  The drive through it was stunning.

And the river: 118 miles of the Rio Grande River runs along the park’s southern boundary and separates Mexico from the United States.  The name, Big Bend, refers to the U-turn the river makes, defining this boundary.

Among the park’s animal inhabitants are the Mexican black bear (which are making a comeback in the park), panther, coyote, golden eagle, and the road runner (beep, beep).  But animal life is very diverse in Big Bend, and the park hosts nearly 450 species of birds, 75 species of mammals, 67 species of amphibians and reptiles, 40 species of fish, and a host of insects.  The desert is full of plants that have adapted to the climate; wildflowers bloom after a rainy period and many plants remain dormant until a rainfall comes.

We entered the park through the northern entrance; after checking out the Visitors Center, we got back in the van and drove a few minutes to a fossil exhibit of prehistoric animals.  Though the archeologist in charge of the project for exhuming the fossils found at Big Bend wanted to display his discoveries where he dug them up, the display location had to be changed due to thieves helping themselves to his team’s discoveries. They are now displayed in glass exhibition cabinets.  The exhibit was interesting, especially (but not only) if you are into dinosaurs and other such creatures; seeing actual skeleton parts (just the heads were huge) was fun.

We camped just outside the western entrance to the park, near a town called Terlingua.  The campground does not have a lot to brag about, but the surroundings (mountains all around and spectacular sunsets) were breathtaking.

The next day we took two outstanding hikes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  The first was to the Boquillas Overlook and Canyon Trail.  Each turn of the trail provided a beautiful view of the Rio Grande River.  On parts of the trail we were so close to the river we could wash our hands in the water, and we did.   

An interesting side story is that Mexicans who live on the other side of the river come over, display their works of art on rocks, and leave an empty jar for people who would like to make a purchase.  (This works on the honor system.)  We have heard that for a small fee they will also row you across the river (to Mexico) where you can walk or take a mule ride to the local village and have a meal.  The return trip is included but don’t tell the border patrol (we’re sure they are aware of this system of commerce since it has been going on for years).

The second hike was the Santa Elena Canyon Trail that follows the Rio Grande into a gorge with high rock walls on either side.  The drive to get to the trailhead took an hour along very twisting curves; the trail itself had ups and downs and it was one of the best hikes we have taken.  The silence of the Santa Elena Canyon makes it easy to forget that the Rio Grande is an international boundary.

Big Bend has entered our list of favorite national parks (Glacier, Yellowstone, Acadia, Carlsbad Caverns (Sima), Canyonlands (Bill), and now Big Bend.  It is 800,000 acres, and the park headquarters is more than 100 miles from the nearest highway, hospital, or shopping mall.  Big Bend National Park is beautiful and quiet and remote, and the mountains and sky seem never-ending.

Davis Mountains State Park – February 15 – 16, 2019

We left Big Bend in the morning and drove to our Shabbat location, Davis Mountains State Park, a beautiful state park about 1-1/2 hours away.  On the way we met up with Border Patrol which is stationed just before Alpine, Texas, about 80 miles north of the park; they were stopping all cars with the usual questions (from where, to where, U.S. citizens?).  

We decided to do laundry in Alpine in the old section of town which also has a number of interesting stores: a lovely independent bookstore (you almost don’t see them anymore) and other boutique/gift shops.

We arrived in Davis Mountains in early afternoon – another park built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

We have become more and more intrigued by the Civilian Conservation Corps in our travels, as so many of the U.S. state parks we have visited were built by the CCC.  As mentioned in our last post, the CCC was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 by executive order and as part of his New Deal.  The purpose was to provide work – manual labor – to unmarried, unemployed men.  The work included planting nearly three billion trees to help reforest America, constructing trails and lodges, upgrading parks – including state parks – and updating forest fire fighting methods.  The CCC can be said to be the first instance of public awareness of the need to protect the natural resources of the United States.

Such was the desperation of so many people in the 1930s that within three months of its founding, over 250,000 men signed up.  They were provided with three meals a day, work clothes, medical care, and training.  The enrollees were paid $30. a month, $25. of which was automatically sent to their homes, thus providing their families with the means to buy food and necessities.  The minimum time for enrollment was six months, and many young men stayed for several years.

The CCC was phased out in 1942, after Pearl Harbor.  Most of the men who enrolled in the CCC were drafted; although they did not have military training, they did learn things that benefited them in the military and in life – discipline, hard work, and learning to live with others.  During the nine years of its existence, over three million men participated in the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

We cooked and set up for Shabbat in a very nice campsite at Davis Mountains.  There are some short trails just near our campground which we were able to do on Shabbat; the weather was great, and the surroundings were lovely.