January 12th and 22nd

Big Bend National Park

Texas

About 7 hours West of Austin. Big Bend NP is a huge park that sits along the famous Rio Grande River.

Since the Eco Ranch was so close to the National Park we were able to visit it twice on our days off from work. Big Bend is a huge park! We felt like we mostly drove it. We didn’t even make it the eastern side of the park. We also got to experience the park during a government shut down, which wasn’t a big deal for us. The Visitor Centers and restaurants were closed, but we didn’t need those. The park is a combination of desert and mountains. It was unlike any park we’ve been to yet. It is a very dry place, but there are trees that manage to grow in the higher elevations.

Enjoy our pics!

Starting off with the Window Trail. It winds down through a dried creek bed and ends with a dramatic cliff drop off.

Bears and Lions… Oh My! No Tigers though.

Baby Agave

Starting to see trees.

The rock features are really different here.

Giant Agave. Looks like a painting.

This is a Century Agave. At the end of its life cycle (20 plus years), it sends a huge towering stalk of seeds into the air. And then it dies.

We heart cactus. 🙂

Working our way through a canyon.

This is just about the end of the trail. It ends with an opening in the rocks and a huge drop-off. If there ever is more water in this canyon it would make for a cool waterfall.

Heading back up the trail.

Acorns!

Sotol strands

This is the Window Trail from above. We basically walked to the bottom of the “V” in the mountain.

Gotta get a picture with the sign before we leave for the day!

The Next Week

No one to greet us today.

Long quiet drive through the park.

Cool old dwelling. Used by Native Americans.

New Trail!

Walking up to the Canyon. It’s HUGE!

Switchback time :/

Sweet!

A Fossil Imprint!!

Looking back at where we just came from. Nice views.

Getting deeper into the canyon.

The canyon walls are so tall!

And so are the plants!

Ha ha!

It’s a jungle down here.

The end of the trail. Deep in the canyon. Lots of echoes.

Walking back out. Super cool trail!

Oh Yeah! That’s Mexico across the river. Say “Hi” to Mexico! We’re so close!

So cliche.

Old abandoned homestead.

Made with a mixture of Adobe and rocks.

Aww… a cute little cactus is growing out of it.

Ocotillo plant and a Mountain.

A little museum was open.

Cute photo. We want a donkey now.

Another cool old Adobe building,

Nice view.

And a cool thatched porch.

Another heart. So vicious looking.

Bighorn Sheep!!!! Can you see them all?

Look at this majestic creature and it’s flowing hair. They’re little different than the sheep up North.

Lots of Yucca.

Mules Ears Mountain in the upper left corner. Looks like mules ears.

Beautiful!

Stopped by the porch in Terlingua one last time. Enjoyed a beer with the locals.

We’re loving the warm weather and laid-back style of this place.

Thanks for reading our blog. Up next… West Texas!

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