Top Spot

I first camped in Big Bend National Park forty years ago, and it’s been my favorite place in the world ever since. This was my fourth time to visit the park and there were still corners that I hadn’t explored. I intend to return much more often in the future. In this one park you can find deserts, mountains, pine forests, deciduous forests, marshes, and river gorges. In this post, I’ll cover my first day in the park, a visit to the mountainous Chisos Basin.

Big Bend is not the sort of place you just happen to pass by. You have to get there intentionally, since it’s not on the way to or from any place else. Here’s a map that shows its general location:

On display at the Panther Junction visitors’ center is a 3D map ( I love these things ) of the park itself:

The green line is the park boundary and the red line is the road in from the north, the way I entered. The darker brown at the far edge of the map is Mexico, which is separated from the park by the Rio Grande River. The rangers at the entrance station were very friendly and helpful ( I was the only visitor for three rangers ). When I told them my destination for the evening was Chisos Basin, they cautioned me that the road there is not recommended for RVs over 24 feet. I replied that was exactly the length of mine, and that I had purchased it specifically with the Chisos Basin restriction in mind ( a true statement). They seemed very flattered. 

Pather Junction is further into the park, where the red line meets the base of the mountains. It’s the main visitors’ center, with the greatest number of exhibits. What interested me were the fossils on display. Outside the center were two iron castings of massive skulls that have been uncovered in the park:

Inside the center are the wing bones of a pterosaur:

I asked the ranger if there were other fossil displays in the park. She replied the only other was along the road coming in. I had passed it, but would visit on my drive out. ( I'll cover it in my third post on the park. ) She said money is being raised for a much more complete fossil display in that location.

Referring back to the 3D map above, the Chisos Basin is the turquoise-colored area inside the ring of mountains. ( I don’t understand why they chose that color, it’s not filled with water. ) Here’s a photo of the mountains I took as I drove into the park from the north:

 The sun was low in the sky as I began the drive over the pass into the basin:

The scenery is just as rugged as you descend into the basin:

I have to say, the restriction of RVs to 24 feet makes sense to me. The road includes some of the tightest hairpin turns I’ve ever driven. As you might expect, the entire basin is ringed with mountains, as this 360-degree panorama shows:

Here’s an view of the campground on the floor of the basin:

I found it ironic that both camp hosts were in RVs much longer than 24 feet. I guess if you could block off the road temporarily, you could get a larger vehicle in. Below is a photo of my campsite for the night; that’s a covered picnic table beside the van, with Casa Grande looming in the background.

The campsite had no electricity or water, but I considered myself lucky to get it since I’d arrived late in the day and assignments were on a first-come-first-served basis. There was a public toilet close by, though. The temperature fell into the low 20s that night, and with no electricity, I had to burn through some of my precious propane supply to run the furnace.

Having established a campsite, I still had enough daylight left to hike part of the way to a feature at the west end of the basin called The Window:

This is the low spot in the basin where all the rain water and snow melt drains out. Maybe on my next visit I’ll make it all the way there. I should mention that visiting in mid-November as I did, daytime temperatures were in the mid-50s to low 60s - perfect for hiking. Summer in Big Bend can be sweltering.

It was dusk when I returned from my abbreviated hike toward The Window, and I decided I would hike up to the Chisos Mountains Lodge for dinner. That was the beginning of a bit of a misadventure. What’s a trip without a misadventure or two, right? I knew it would be dark when I returned, so I did have the presence of mind to take a jacket and a flashlight. The hike up to the lodge from the campground was longer and steeper than I’d anticipated, but I did make it before dark. I even took this photo of a hare along the way, about the only wildlife I saw in the park except for birds:

The Lodge has a bar, very nice dining, and many rooms with a magnificent view, though I’ve heard they’re often booked a year in advance. I had a lovely, leisurely meal of pork tacos and bread pudding for dessert. It was pitch dark when I exited the building and the temperature had dropped 30 degrees. I immediately regretted not having brought a hat; my scalp and ears were freezing. Soon enough, I began to regret the whole excursion. The darkness swallowed up the beam of my flashlight, and a trail that had been arduous on the way up seemed very treacherous on the way down. The thought crept into my mind that it wasn’t unreasonable that I could meet a bear along the way. When I finally found my way back to some semblance of civilization, I was in an unfamiliar part of the campground and had to stumble around for another ten minutes before I found my camper. Fun!

Even with the furnace on, it was a cold night in the van (I’m rather obsessive about conserving propane.) The next morning, I drove back up to the Lodge to see some sights I’d missed the previous evening. There’s a great view of The Window from there, and I took this series of successive closeups:

With this sort of zoom on my camera, I almost don’t feel the need to hike there (kidding!).

When I returned to the van from taking the photographs, I had my first encounter with people that were curious about my Sportsmobile. I’d been told that it would attract attention, and was a little disappointed that I’d driven over 6000 miles by now without anyone expressing interest, but this group made up for it. It was an extended family group including brothers and cousins and wives, about ten people in all. They kept me busy for at least twenty minutes answering questions, and, of course, I was happy to open it up and let them have a look inside. One husband and wife had a serious interest in buying one. In my remaining two days in the park, two more groups had questions to ask about it. I think the Sportsmobile appeals particularly to the off-the-beaten-track sort of folks who go to Big Bend.

I felt a twinge of regret as I left Chisos Basin that morning ( tempered by the fact that the coming night was supposed to be just as cold ), but was excited that I was headed to visit the west end of the park that I’d never seen before, which is the subject of my next post.