Big Bend National Park Texas - Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and the Chinos Basin - November 7th

Monday morning we decided to head into Big Bend National Park and do the 30 mile Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. Out the door at 8 am and didn't get back until 2 pm. It's been really hot here at 86F or better. A little warm for this kid, thank goodness for A/C.

A trip along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive highlights the geologic splendor Big Bend is famous for, and offers many scenic overlooks and exhibits along the way. Sotol Vista, Mule Ears Overlook, and Tuff Canyon are all worthwhile stops.

The gate to the park is only 3 miles away but is unattended. We drove into the park about 10 miles to the Ross Maxell Junction and headed south. The road wound it's way over and between mountains until we reached the Rio Grande River and Santa Elena Canyon.

Even though we left early, the sun is already so strong it bleached out the colours for the pictures. It's much more extraordinary with the naked eye.

Mules Ears taken on the way to the St. Elena Canyon.

Picture taken on the way back from the St. Elena Canyon. More light on the "Mule Ears".

Mule Mountain on the right and Goat Mountain on the left.

Everything is greening up from the rain a few weeks ago.

These colours were amazing in the rock.

Lots of yellow and green.

Other than roadrunners and flies that was the extent of the animals we saw. lol

We stopped at the Sotol Lookout for these next pictures and my video. Absolutely amazing. The vast distances of mountains and valleys. Where that cut in the mountain ridge shows, that's where the Rio Grande River cuts through the mountains.

On to the old remains of Castolon, an old cotton farm. The store and Visitor Centre here is closed and some work is being done it looked like on water lines. Fortunately their bathrooms were open. :)

Another industry was the candle/wax industry.

Candelilla is a flowering plant native to Texas, New Mexico, and multiple Mexican provinces. It has also been termed the “wax weed” for the natural, outer coating of wax that grows along its multiple, reed-like stalks. This wax is an ingredient for thousands of commercial products ranging from shampoos to furniture polish to chewing gum. Despite this wide usage, most of the candelilla harvesting and processing is done by laborers (most of whom are Latino) living in temporary desert camps and relying on their own hands and burro labor. Big Bend National Park contains the traces of many wax-processing camps. Because the candelilla industry is still active, some of these camps are recent. However, others are over 100 years old.

Candelilla

We headed down the road to the right for the 7 mile drive to St. Elena Canyon, where the Rio Grande comes through the cliffs. Below is our first glimpse of the Rio Grande River in this park. It sure is a heavily silted river.

There is a trail to take up the cliff on the right which takes you further into the canyon 1.4 miles but the access is across the river which is running at this time. We saw some people go further up the spur and get across further up. The right side is USA and the left side is Mexico.

This guy waded across and quite the time climbing up the muddy bank. The water is about 3 feet deep. Above you can just barely see the railing as the trail goes back and forth up the cliff.

Back into the car. This is definitely the more "popular stop" as there is quite a few people here attempting this trail. We decided to head back the way we came instead of the old Maverick Road which is 14 miles of gravel, to get some shots of the mountains now that the sun is on them. It certainly is a quicker drive back than coming without all the stops. lol ( A day later Ray talked with a neighbour at the RV Park and that road is really rough so glad we did not take it.)

When we hit the junction to go towards Panther Junction, Chinos Basin or home we decided to take the road into Chinos Basin as there is a Visitor Centre, a lodge and a restaurant. Boy were we glad we did. The short, windy 7 mile road is spectacular. First you wound your way up and then through the pass down into the Chinos Basin where the lodge and campsites are. We also need the park map and information as the box is empty at the park entrance. The pictures below just don't do the scenery justice as they are taken in the harsh afternoon sunlight Ray says.

Although there is a campsite in Chisos Basin, the maximum length is 25 feet overall into the canyon and down the very windy road. Coming down several switchbacks we ended up here at the Visitors Centre.

Visitor Centre and Store.

Looking through  "The Windows"

Considering how far they have to get their supplies, we were very surprised that a burger and fries was only $15.

The restaurant we ate lunch at.

By this time it was 1:30 after eating and time to go back home. What a lovely drive we had. Hot when we got back home so we were inside with the A/C running.