Brake Lights & Bug Bites

Big Bend National Park is, well, BIG! The park encompasses an area of 801,163 acres which is larger than the state of Rhode Island! With the mighty Rio Grande separating the United States from Mexico, its solitary rugged mountain range, its temple-like canyons, its desert basin, and its unbelievable stargazing, Big Bend National Park is a truly enchanting place.

Here are a few of the highlights from our time at Big Bend:

Star Party at Marathon Motel and RV Park. On a night with no moon, we were awe-struck by the millions of stars that filled that night sky. With his huge telescopes (one over 7 feet tall) and vast knowledge, the host, Bill Ramey, took us on a 2 1/2 hour tour of the night sky. He answered our questions, shared his enthusiasm for all things night sky, and enchanted the boys with history, science and mathematics. It was a truly remarkable experience. (I don’t have any pictures because we weren’t allowed to pollute the dark sky with our phone light!)

Fort Davis- One of the best surviving frontier military posts in the Southwest. The fort was used to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road hoping to reach the gold fields of California.

Hiking in Big Bend-Mountain trails, canyon hikes, and river strolls, we experienced it all!

Scenic Drive- We did well over 100 miles of scenic driving which showcased the gorgeous vistas, historic landmarks, a fossil exhibit, the variety of landscapes, and the diversity of plants.

Big Bend Hotel- Our campground was located 90 minutes from the park’s entrance so we found it difficult to stay past dark. Thankfully, we were able to book one night at one of the park’s hotels so that we could fully experience the dark sky stargazing.

Hot Springs- This may have been the boys’ favorite stop in Big Bend. The Hot Springs District preserves a rich history of humans from thousands of years ago to the not-so-distant past. We saw rock art, remains of farms, a post office, hotel and bathhouse. The impressive bathhouse is long gone, but the spring is still contained within the foundation of the bathhouse. The boys loved jumping back and forth between the refreshingly cool Rio Grande River and the 105* hot spring! And the scenery was just beautiful!

Crossing the Border into Mexico-The national park offers a port of entry into the town of Boquillos, Mexico. After showing our passports, we walked down to the Rio Grande River where we took a little row boat across into Mexico. The river can sometimes be very wide and deep at this point, but at this time of year, it was only 3 feet deep. The boat was still nice so we didn’t have to get our shoes wet! After we crossed over, there were donkeys for rent to ride into town. We rented two donkeys just for the experience! It was so fun! Charlie and I rode into town. As you will notice in the pictures, we are pretty sure that Charlie ended up with the smallest donkey available! We couldn’t stop laughing. After hopping on the donkeys, the man in charge slapped the donkey on the rear and off we went, by ourselves, hoping the donkeys knew where they were going! It was a straight shot into town and the donkeys knew exactly what to do! We spent 3 hours in Boquillas shopping at the little vendor stands, eating at a local restaurant, and taking in the whole new experience. Tate, Miles, and I rode the donkeys back to the boat. Tate had the time of his life! What a fun experience!

We did so much and we were so exhausted by the end of the week, but there is still so much more to explore and experience at Big Bend. We all voted that this is a park we would like to visit again!

And. finally, a shoutout to Ken who does an amazing job of driving our home on wheels from campground to campground. Here he is crossing a bridge on our way to San Antonio! Remember the Alamo!