A Return to Big Bend National Park: Lodge Edition

My husband’s favorite place to visit is Big Bend National Park in West Texas.  Following a Jeep upgrade to the current year’s model (2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited JK Willys Wheeler), he wanted to christen it in the park.  So earlier this month (January), we drove the 12 hours (yeah) from Houston to Big Bend for the weekend.  We had visited many times before – camping, glamping, hiking, driving, and flower hunting…but this time we stayed in Chisos Mountain Lodge.

 

 

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Not needing to pack a bunch of gear or cook our own meals, and being able to sleep more restfully, we were able to spend more time driving the Jeep around the park.  Sure we did some short hikes, but we mostly drove to/from points of interest (see map above).

 

 

The rooms were conveniently located near the restaurant, park store, and visitor center, so we rather enjoyed walking to breakfast and shopping in the store.  We picked up some souvenirs, a couple plushies for the dogs, and a visual aid for identifying animal scat (not kidding: Wildlife of Texas Tracks, Scats and Signs A Guide to Interpreting Common Wildlife Trails).  Packing light also meant forgetting to bring some essentials (corkscrew, wine glasses, and espresso glasses for the machine that we DID bring), but we found the items we needed in the store.

 

 

The longest hike we did (4 mi) was Pine Canyon Trail near Chisos Basin and Panther Junction, which starts in the desert grasslands and ascends into Pine Canyon ending at a 200 foot cliff that becomes a waterfall after heavy rains.  We also hiked Tuff Canyon (about 1 mi) where I changed into a costume for pictures in front of some beautiful white tuff walls (see Costuming Wonder Woman Fan Art here).  Another short hike was Hot Springs Historic Trail  (about 1 mi) where we visited the historic buildings, spotted pictographs, and were surprised to see the hot springs on the Rio Grande river unoccupied and crystal clear.  We soaked our feet for probably a half hour because I didn’t want to get out…it was bliss!  We also hiked Boquillas Canyon (1.5 mi), Rio Grande Village Nature Trail (about 1 mi), and Santa Elena Canyon (over 1 mi), all with gorgeous scenery on the Rio Grande River.  More information on these trails can be found on National Park Service’s website here).

 

 

During prior visits (my trip report links at the end of this blog post), the desert was blooming, and I got VERY distracted during our drives and demanded we stop the car so I could take photos.  Since we visited in January, absolutely nothing was in bloom, so we were able to just keep driving with little interruptions by me.  The desert is still beautiful, just not as vibrant.  We drove Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, several dirt roads (Pine Canyon Road, Glenn Spring Road, Old Maverick Road), and stopped at several overlooks and points of interest (Sotol Vista Overlook, Castolon, Cottonwood Campground, Alamo Creek aka “The Crater”).  I took a few short videos of our Jeeping around and have included the YouTube links below.

 

 

A new (to us) exhibit in the park is the Fossil Bone Exhibit in the north part of the park.  We watched the sunrise there one morning and enjoyed the interactive displays and huge fossil reproductions.

 

 

A trip to Big Bend National Park would not be complete without a drive along River Road (FM 170) and dinner at Starlight Theatre in Terlingua.  The next day we also stopped in Lajitas to shared happy hour with Mayor Clay Henry III (turns out the old goat likes beer and prosecco), had a glass of wine at Tee Pee Picnic Area, and dinner at Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa (truth be told, I’d like to stay there rather than camp or lodge next time).

 

 

On the way to/from the park, we stopped at the Gage Hotel in Marathon for happy hour (White Buffalo Bar) and breakfast (V6 Coffee Bar), respectively.  I liked the Prickly Pear Margarita but LOVED the Gage Ghost.  I’d love to stay at this hotel as well…sleeping on the ground is kind of losing it’s appeal, and Gage Hotel is a lovely desert gem.  Wow…did we really do ALL THAT in one weekend?  Yes.  Yes we did!

 

 

As promised, here are the short videos I took while driving around Big Bend National Park and Lajitas (and one video of us driving through Sierra Madera Astrobleme, which will interest no one but geology/astronomy enthusiasts):

Jeep Driving in Big Bend NP Off-road on Glenn Spring Road

Jeep Driving in Big Bend NP Off-road on Pine Canyon Road

Jeep Driving near Lajitas/Big Bend SP along River Road FM 170 (1)

Jeep Driving near Lajitas/Big Bend SP along River Road FM 170 (2)

Jeep Driving through Sierra Madera Astrobleme between Fort Stockton and Marathon

 

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more (pretty please)!  Coming soon are videos from cruise excursions (helicopter tours in Alaska and Bahamas, canoeing in Alaska, zip-lining in Mexico, etc.), T. Rex shenanigans, and many more.

 

 

Past Big Bend trip reports:

Big Bend National Park: Something for Everyone

• Visiting Big Bend National Park (Part 1: Camping/Hiking/Driving)
  • Campside Chicken Arrabbiata
• Visiting Big Bend National Park (Part 2: Fauna)
• Visiting Big Bend National Park (Part 3: Flora)
• Visiting Big Bend National Park (Part 4: Outside the Park)

Big Bend National Park in Full Bloom (Part 1: Succulents)

Big Bend National Park in Full Bloom (Part 2: Wildflowers and Shrubs)