Big Bend National Park--The River

Big Bend gets it name for the “big bend” of the Rio Grande River, the southern boundary of the park, which changes from a southeasterly to northeasterly flow.  The landscape is diverse with desert, mountains and canyons each with their own individual plant and animal habitats.

Along the park road

Of course, there are many ways to see Big Bend.  Probably most visitors stay in their cars and drive the paved roads, all of which lead to the River.  Others like the adventure of paddling the Rio Grande.  This is a great place for a rugged 4-wheel drive along the many miles of unimproved roads.  For us, though, we want to get out and walk on the land.

After our initial drive to the Visitor Center yesterday, we studied the brochures and information we got from the Ranger.  We had originally planned to do a 4.5 mile hike this morning, having been strongly encouraged to get out early before it got hot.  However, I slept poorly last night and having gotten little sleep the night before, I was in no shape nor mood to rush out at the crack of dawn today.  But we are flexible so it was easy to change to something less strenuous which did not require an early start.  Instead of the hike, we drove the 50 miles to the east side of the park at the Rio Grande Village area.

A Group of 5 mortar holes

This park is described in three parts—the mountains, the desert, and the river.  We went to the river today.  I packed a lunch and we drove on the main east/west park road past park headquarters at Panther Junction and the Visitor Center we visited yesterday to Rio Grande Village.  Village may be an optimistic word to describe this area which consists of another smaller Visitor Center, a small store, a gas station, and a campground.  We had our lunch in the picnic area which was really at the end of the tent camping area.  This area was just a hundred yards or so from the river and through irrigation it is kept green and even has trees.  It was pretty nice actually.  The campground was typical of National Parks with no hook-ups.  There was a dump station, for you convenience.  The parking pads were large enough for big rigs and the sites were large and grassy.  There were some trees, not a lot, but enough to provide a little shade.

Boquillas Canyon was a few more miles east of Rio Grande Village.  This was one of the areas recommended by the ranger for a short hike with interesting features.  Of course, the main feature was the Rio Grande River.  There was a pull-off on the road and a couple vantage points along the hike that offered great views of the river.  The first part of the hike took us past an area of perhaps 15 mortar holes.  These holes had been created hundreds of years ago by natives grinding seeds.  We were surprised at the depth of some of the holes.

At Boquillas Canyon the River is relatively narrow.  We walked along the rocky river bank with the canyon walls rising over a thousand feet above our heads.

Tomorrow, if I am able to sleep well tonight, we’ll go for our hike in the mountains.

By the way, yesterday evening I had a very difficult time getting my story posted and photos uploaded.  The WiFi the campground advertized is almost nonexistent, plus you have to go down to the restaurant to get it.  We have an air card, but cell service is not all that great here, either.  I’ll do the best I can.