1/4 – 1/16/2020

We’ve been looking forward to exploring the Big Bend area and it certainly lived up to our expectations. We camped at Maverick Ranch RV Park in LaJitas, TX and side-by-side with Anne and Neil with beautiful views. Across the street is the LaJitas Golf Resort with restaurants, stores, fitness center, hotel, spa and golf course which were available for campers to use. Our buddy site was back-dropped against the rolling sandstone hills where we hiked, practiced disc golf (thanks to our neighbor John who had a portable golf basket), had cookouts, and hung out.

Our first hike was at Closed Canyon at Big Bend Ranch State Park which was 30 minutes west from LaJitas. It’s the largest state park in Texas at 311,000-acres, but is still less than 1/2 the size of Big Bend National Park. The trail was short (1.5 miles) through tall narrow canyon walls with rock obstacles along the way. The trail leads to the Rio Grande River but is blocked near the end with deep water pools and large rock formations so no river view was seen. However, on our way home, we saw a javelina (wild boar) on the side of the road.

On January 7 we were all ready for Big Bend National Park! We started easy with a short hike on the Windows Trail which had a beautiful “window-view” of the valley and desert. Next we drove down Grapevine Hills dirt-road with the Swinton’s Super-Duty bad-a$# truck to Balanced Rock which is a moderate 2-mile hike through a desert area with cool rock formations to a perfectly balanced rock.

The next day, Anne and I went to Big Bend Rio Grande Village to have lunch at Daniels Ranch Picnic Area with a road runner, walked along the Nature Trail birding area to watch a green heron eating fish, then finished our day at Boquillas Canyon view with an amazing sunset and purchased beaded animals from Thomas on his horse “Diamond” who rode along the Rio Grande River and up a steep bank to talk with us. Such a beautiful and amazing day!

We went back to Big Bend State Park to hike the Hoodoos Trail near the Rio Grande River. It was very windy and chilly so we only stayed a little while but enjoyed climbing amongst the rock formations. Even Milo had fun and his fur color blended in with the hoodoos.

Back in LaJitas, we walked through the town cemetery which was filled with 138 graves of residents and area workers who are buried beneath rocky cairns. Most were not labeled but one was “Just Jane.” In town lived the world-famous Clay Henry, Mayor of LaJitas, who was a beer-drinking goat elected in 1986. Clay had a cult-following, appeared in movies, and had the ability to consume massive amounts of cheap alcohol. Clay died in 1992 and his stuffed body is on display at the Terlingua Trading Post. Today, there is a large-cage structure with two goats, that I assume are decendants of Clay Henry Sr., with a bottle of beer on the ground from someone hoping to share a drink with them.

Our favorite hike at Big Bend National Park was the Santa Elena Canyon. To get there we took the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive which had pull-outs to enjoy the many beautiful views along the way. We read that it might be difficult to cross the creek to get to the trailhead so when we got there we followed others to find out where the easiest place to cross would be. We watched as others jumped across the water and climbed up the river’s embankment about 20 feet high. Well, they did it so we followed. That was the hardest part and the rest of the trail was better. Once in the canyon it was just spectacular! The height, color, and texture of the walls were stunning. That day was Neil’s birthday so we sang to him and it echoed throughout the canyon walls.

After hiking we drove towards Terlingua Ghost Town (more on that in a moment) to Big Bend Art Studio just outside of town. We were greeted by a woman artist who was cleaning a paintbrush in a can. She welcomed us into her studio/home and proceeded to tell us all about her special paste to whiten her teeth and clean her brushes. She invited Neil and Bob into the kitchen to show them the pot on the stove with the mixture which she dipped her finger into then smoothed onto her face. We spent about 20 minutes with her and during that time she continuously talked about various subjects with no pause. Bob and I received interesting comments about our appearances from her (Bob’s aging face and my indistinguishable gender). We left in amazement, laugh crying, and will never forget our experience there and meeting Alice Knight. I must say, that I really liked her art style which was funky, colorful, and playful.

Now more about Terlingua … in 1888 it was an old mining town where mercury/cinnabar brought people to the area. Since 1967, the Rancho CASI de los Chisos hosts the International Chili Championship in November. Terlingua has restored many of the historical buildings like the Starlight Theatre Restaurant where we celebrated Neil’s birthday with tasty smoked brisket and, of course, their famous award-winning chili. No restrooms exist in the restaurant so you need to leave the building and go to the back entrance of the Jailhouse to relieve yourself. Next door at the Terlingua Trading Company there were many local-made and Texas-theme products. For those curious about Neil’s birthday cake, it was Tres Leches cake topped with ice cream and bacon!

Fort Davis, TX

On January 12, we drove a couple of hours north to camp at Davis Mountains State Park in Fort Davis, TX which had great campsites with a metal shade structure that allowed Bob to hang his rings on for working out. In the campground there was a cool wildlife viewing station with a shielded outside patio, and watering/feeding stations.

We hiked the Montezuma Quail Trail and the Indian Lodge Trail with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and the Adobe Lodge that the CCC’s built in the 1930’s.

On January 14, Bob’s birthday, we went to the town of Alpine to see the Museum of Big Bend and walked around the downtown area which had some beautiful murals and a great independent book store called “Front Street Books.” In the evening, we all went to the McDonald Observatory for a “Star Party” which guided us on a constellation tour and views of celestial objects through a number of telescopes.

Next stop was Marfa. On the drive there, I spotted a group of what look like deer but different. We turned around to check them out and none of us could figure out what the animal was. Looked like a cross between an antelope and a deer. Neil searched Google and they were “Pronghorn” (Antilocapra americana). So think of the song “Home on the Range,” with the lyrics “where the deer and the antelope play” which refer to pronghorns, not the African antelope. Fun fact: they are a member of the Giraffoidea family and their closest living relatives are giraffes and okapi.

We heard great things about the town of Marfa which is known for it’s Mystery Lights and as the location for the classic movie “Giant,” with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Dennis Hopper and James Dean. We stopped in The Hotel Paisano where the cast and crew members gathered for six weeks in the summer of 1955. Movie posters, photographs, DVDs, cards and other Giant memorabilia were on display throughout the hotel. There was also a Giant road side tribute on the ranch where it was filmed located a few miles west of Marfa on US 90.

Marfa is also known for it’s art scene, however, we were only able to visit a couple of galleries in town. Ballroom Marfa had an exhibit of sculptures made of feathers and human hair. The Chinati Foundation was closed and a lot of its collection was only available by guided tour. Most galleries are open by appointment or on weekends so we were disappointed and headed back Alpine to play disc golf and have drinks at Harry’s Tinaja. Best drinks in town! For $15 we had four beers and two shots of Bailey’s. We felt more at home there as we talked with the owner Harry and enjoyed the fun bar decor. For dinner we went to the Reata restaurant. In Texas, where you would expect really good meat dishes, Martha’s Vegetable Plate that Bob ordered, was the best meal among us.

On January 16, we went to the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute to walk through the botanical gardens and see the cactus greenhouse which contained hundreds of cactus varieties. Afterwards, we went into Fort Davis to see the town shops and buy some fresh pecans from the Davis Mountains Nut Company.

We had a fabulous time in the Big Bend area and especially because we shared it with Anne and Neil … memories we will treasure forever. Our next stop is Carlsbad Caverns.