Few places on earth can be more beautiful and hostile at the same time than the high deserts of W. Texas.  Vast landscapes stretch as far as the eye can see, over 60 miles in every direction on a clear day!  At night you suddenly become aware of the intense blackness of the night sky and the breath-taking beauty of millions of stars, almost as if you could see them as individual points of light.  Like the land, the people you do meet are a hearty breed too yet surprisingly friendly and seem happy to take time from their daily activities to talk about the history and culture of the region.

Over the span of 4 days in March of 2001, we (my 2 sons, their grandfather and my dog) traveled almost 550 miles covering the park from the far western boundary near Presidio to the eastern edge at Rio Grand Village. Among the high-lights of the trip included two trips to Mexico, a visit to some 1830's ruins & the near-by Terlingua ghost town, a 4 hour hike up to face of the mountain 'Casa Grande' as well as side trips to many other beautiful and scenic spots. If you ever want to just 'get away from everything' I would put the Big Bend region of W. Texas on your list of places to visit.
the_fort_worth_spuder.jpg (43088 bytes)
The Fort Worth 'Spudder' -a local relic from the 1890 oil boom		 The_Capri_Motel-Marfa_TX.jpg (25842 bytes)
Capri Motel, Marfa, TX
3/14/2001		 Hotel_loby-Marfa_TX.jpg (30815 bytes)
Hotel where some of the film 'Giant' was filmed		 Marfa_lights_sign.jpg (29305 bytes)
Marfa
'Mystery Lights'
The real view was the clear night sky!
Church_in_Presidio_Mexico.jpg (30672 bytes)
A church in Mexico Ojinaga, Chihuahua 		Indian_ruins_1_W-Big_Bend.jpg (58642 bytes)
Early settler ruins		 Indian_ruins_2_W-Big_Bend.jpg (37203 bytes)
Landscape around ruins		 Indian_ruins_4_W-Big_Bend.jpg (46369 bytes)
Rio_Grand_1.jpg (36444 bytes)
Rio Grande river		 Rio_Grand_2.jpg (38901 bytes)
Rio Grande river		 Regan_playing_his_guitar.jpg (46039 bytes)
Regan plays 'Pancho Villa'		 Dos_Amigos_Restaurant-Santa_Elena_Mexico.jpg (36730 bytes)
Great little restaurant in old Mexico
Crossing_the_Rio_Grand_at_Santa_Elena_Mexico.jpg (46689 bytes)
Crossing the river by boat		 Indian_ruins_3_W-Big_Bend.jpg (39807 bytes)
Buena vista		 Casa_Grande_1.jpg (31939 bytes)
Casa Grande Mt.		 Chisos_Basin_1.jpg (31372 bytes)
Chisos Basin
(looking west)
Regan_and_Ryan_on_Casa_Grande.jpg (48560 bytes)
Up on the side of Casa Grande Mt.		 Regan_Ryan__and_Ziggy_on_Casa_Grande.jpg (50011 bytes)
Regan, Ryan & Ziggy on Casa Grande Mt.		 Jack_and_Ziggy_on_Casa_Grande.jpg (60125 bytes)
Jack & his dog Ziggy on Casa Grande Mt.		 Casa_Grande_2.jpg (40178 bytes)
Casa Grande Mt.
Elevation - 7,525 feet

Big Bend is over 800,000 acres in size and ranging from an elevation of less than 2,000 feet along the Rio Grande to nearly 8,000 feet in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend includes massive canyons, vast desert expanses, and the entire Chisos Mountain range
Links:
Offical Big Bend web site
The Marfa Lights
The geology of the region