Big Bend 2020

There's a little roadside picnic area off of US Highway 67 just south of I-10 that I love. There isn't much there, a semi-covered picnic table, a trash can full of broken beer bottles, and a road sign at the curve in the highway telling you that you're 40 miles from Alpine and 66 miles from Marfa.

Time permitting, I pull off to this picnic area every time I head out to West Texas. After driving for upwards of six hours at that point, stopping in little towns along I-10 like Junction and Ozona to gas up, it's the perfect place to get out and stretch my legs. Surrounding that picnic area are enormous desert expanses. Occasionally another car will drive by, or a pickup truck pulling an airstream, but otherwise the only sound is the wind whistling far out across the plains. My ears ring from the silence, the sun is warm, and I feel my blood pressure drop down to the dirt.

There isn't much there, and that's the point.

Far West Texas holds a special place in my heart. It seemed like every year for Thanksgiving or Spring break, my family would pile into my Mom's old Nissan Pathfinder, packing every inch of that car with tents, coolers, hammocks, and road trip snacks, and strike out west from San Antonio to camp in Big Bend or the Davis Mountains.

As one of the last mythic corners of America, West Texas is barren and hostile. Its plants will injure you if you get too close. Its creatures will come in the night if you're not careful with your food. But it's also full of love and soul. Memories with my family. Sunsets that stretch into forever. It's a long drive from anywhere, but it's captured my heart, and I go out there every chance I get.

What follows is a log of a trip that we took out there between October 30 and November 5, 2020.

Terlingua Ranch Lodge - October 30 to November 3

We checked into Terlingua Ranch Lodge a little before 5:00, and the cabin there would be our home base for the first half of this trip. Terlingua Ranch is a former ranch that was split into a bunch of privately-owned tracts of land, but the lodge itself is a place where visitors can stay. There are spots for RVs to pull up and plug in, a restaurant (The Bad Rabbit Cafe), laundry facilities, a pool, and a set of cabins, one of which we booked for four nights.

The cabins themselves are nice, if a bit spartan. They don't have kitchen facilities or food (outside of what's sold at the Bad Rabbit), so we brought along a packed cooler and my Coleman camping stove. But the views just cannot be beat. The cabins nestle along the foot of a small mountain and look out over the vast ranch property.

It felt great to be able to rest in our cabin after being on the road for so long. On the first night of our trip we had dinner at the Bad Rabbit with my parents, who had been out at Terlingua Ranch for the week prior to our arrival. They were taking off the following day, so it was nice to have an evening of overlap.

I guess I should point out that this trip occurred in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. We had been cooped up working from home since March, and booked this trip as an escape from our apartment.

We took every precaution we could possibly think of. We stayed outdoors as much as humanly possible, and wore masks inside when we needed to go into a space shared with other people. We had hand sanitizer strapped to us at all times, and used it profusely when touching surfaces like door handles or gas pumps. We avoided crowded areas as much as possible.

That first night the Bad Rabbit had a special dinner menu - reverse seared lamb ribs with roasted potatoes, arugula, and a sprig of rosemary.

Hiking the Christmas Mountains - October 31

The following morning we woke up to no plan and nowhere we needed to be. A look through the guide book in our cabin told us that there was a place to hike on the ranch property up into the Christmas Mountains. We decided to go for it.

It was a short drive, but it went up some sketchy dirt roads. We couldn't make it all the way to the trailhead in my little Corolla, so we found a little fork in the road where I could safely pull off to the side (and not on anyone's private property), and started the hike a little early.

It was about an hour hike -- roughly 30 minutes in each direction, although we didn't hike the full trail. It was up some switchbacks on a mountain, and with every little bit of elevation gain the views just got more and more amazing. We even saw some of the local wildlife -- a tarantula also making the climb, and some kind of big predator bird flying in huge circles overhead. And on the way back I took some glamor shots of my little Corolla.

That evening we cooked our dinner outside, salmon we had made back home and frozen, with a side of rice. A fox ran by us, as well as a couple of loose dogs roaming around the property. The full moon came up bright over the mountains. Not much for stargazing, but no less beautiful. We were warm and fed and all settled in for the rest of our West Texas adventures.

Big Bend Ranch State Park - November 1

Not content to hang out at the Terlingua Ranch Lodge, we packed up our car with the camping gear with brought and headed out to Big Bend Ranch State Park to camp for a night.

Formerly ranch land that traded hands through the 20th century and the Great Depression, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department purchased the land that would become the park in 1988, opened on a limited basis in 1991, and then fully to the public in 2007. As such it's one of the state's newest parks. It's also the largest park in the state park system. At 311,000 acres it's over half the size of Rhode Island.

Even before the ranches though, people have been coming to the area for over 10,000 years. Hundreds of prehistoric campsites, cooking areas, and other evidence of human habitation have been found in throughout the park lands. Over the centuries native populations, missionaries, explorers, and military groups moved through and occupied this rugged area. Read more about the park land's rich history here.

This was our first time visiting Big Bend Ranch State Park but it definitely won't be the last. The park is absolutely gorgeous. The stretch of Highway 170 heading from Study Butte/Terlingua through the park was such a blast to drive. Check-in was through a window at the Barton Warnock Visitor Center. We picked up a map and a koozie and we were on our way.

We got a spot at the Arenosa campground, which sits right next to the Rio Grande River. Mexico was right on the other shore. There was a little pasture with cattle grazing over there. Later in the night we heard those cattle mooing loudly at the moon.

The campsite itself was super cute, and one of under a dozen at the whole Arenosa camping area. It had a little overhead hook for a lantern, a picnic table, trash can (with a nice, heavy lid), and a fire pit with a grill grate on top. We got the tent set up in no time at all.

All of the other campsites around us were occupied and outfitted, but there was plenty of space and we didn't come close to running into anyone else.

After getting our site set up, we decided to do a little hike. We drove over to the Hoodoos Trail Head, which was maybe a 10 minute drive from Arenosa. The trail was pretty short, maybe about a mile for the full loop and scenic overlook. It also went right along the river, but its main feature was a series of distinct rock formations. We also goofed around and took pics in the parking lot because the views were so good.

After hiking around, we went back to camp, set up a fire, and heated up our dinner. We had some saag paneer and pita bread that we had cooked back home in Austin, frozen, and then let thaw out to cook. Super delicious. Then in the morning we packed up and hiked the Closed Canyon Trail on the way back to Terlingua Ranch.

Día de los Muertos and Big Bend National Park - November 2

That evening was Día de los Muertos. We stopped into the Terlingua ghost town cemetery to light some candles and pay respect to those lost this year. But the town was just full to the brim with people so we dipped in and out when we realized there was no easy or safe way to get dinner.

Quick Trip through Big Bend National Park

After our last night at Terlingua Ranch Lodge it was time to head off to Marathon to check into the Gage Hotel. We made a last minute decision to go to Big Bend National Park to drive through and do the Santa Elena Canyon Hike. This was a bit of a mistake.

By the time we got there it was mid-day, and the temperature was creeping up. There was hardly any shade and because it's a popular hike there were people everywhere. Not to mention that after days of hiking and driving and climbing all over creation we were just exhausting ourselves. We probably should have gone to the river for pictures and back, but we pushed through and scrambled over some difficult rock sections. Not our best moment, and we both wound up super dehydrated and not feeling our greatest, but we made it through.

We left Big Bend and then drove on to Marathon, stopping to gas up in Alpine. Just outside of Alpine is a Border Patrol station, where they stop all traffic heading North. It's a song and dance we have to deal with every time we make this trip. The vehicle gets inspected, and the ICE agents question the driver -- where are you coming from, where are you heading, do you know anyone who lives in the area, is there anyone else in the vehicle with you. The barbed wire fence across the street from the check point was adorned with flags exclaiming "Get on the Trump Train!" We passed the inspection and were on our way.

Marathon and the Gage Hotel - November 3 to 5

In Marathon we stayed at the lovely Gage Hotel. It was the life of luxury after half a week of playing around in the dirt and dust. The Gage is the main installation in the town of Marathon, and it seems most of the restaurants and other businesses there are tied to it. There's a coffee shop where we got breakfast and lunch, and then at night we ate at the 12 Gage, the really fancy restaurant operated by the hotel. I ate (among other things) a chicken fried steak the size of the sun. Tessa had a salad with some delicious chicken one night, and the next night quail. Everything that came out of that kitchen was spectacular.

We hung out by the pool and had a spa/massage day. Walked around the town and checked out the art and tourist shops. The weather was just beautiful. The last thing we did before heading home was check out the Gage Gardens, manicured gardens maintained by the hotel, I assume for the purpose of holding weddings.

We headed home after those lazy couple of days in Marathon. It was such a beautiful, magical, and memorable trip, just the thing I think both of us needed to reset. I can't wait to get back out there. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next adventure in the Parks of Texas.