Following a couple nights traveling through beautiful Texas we arrived at Big Bend National Park on Friday morning. We took the time to stop and explore the Fossil Discovery Exhibit, which was quite fascinating. The history of the area is quite unique, especially for Texas, as what is now the Chisos Mountains was a large volcano that supported dinosaur life millions of years ago. The exhibit hosts several dinosaur bone replicas including some truly massive skeletons of the prehistoric kings.
After driving a bit further we reached the Panther Junction Headquarters, which is one of a few visitors centers within the park. A couple books were purchased from the shop, waters were refilled, and we received an interesting response from the park ranger when we asked for advice on trails. All he had to say was "don't die" in a completely serious tone. While the weather for "Big Bend National Park" was showing highs of 86 degrees when we looked it up the park was actually reaching temperatures of 105 degrees. For travels there be sure to check the weather in Terlingua for a more accurate read for temperatures on the desert floor.
With that info in mind, we started our drive through the outer loop of the park by heading west on Gano Springs and figured we would make some random stops along the way. After a little bit of taking in the gorgeous scenery we arrived at the turn off for the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. a few minutes later and we arrived at the Sam Nail Ranch. With a couple of windmills and a large group of trees that are somewhat out of place this is a relaxing spot to stretch the legs and was our first "hike" of the day.
The road becomes steep and winding shortly after the ranch and there was some construction for the next several miles. Our next stop was the Homer Wilson Ranch and we decided not to walk down as the view from the lookout was pretty good, especially with the new Vortex Diamondback HD 10x24 Binoculars we purchased for the trip. After a steep decent and switchback turns the Goat Mountain Observation Point was the next stop on the scenic Drive. There was plenty of info about the volcanic history of the area and how the incredible surroundings had developed millennia before.
Just done the round from that observation point is the Mule Ears overlook and trailhead for Mule Ears Springs. We decided to go for it and attempt the nearly four mile roundtrip hike. While were were successful it was certainly a scorcher with the temperature showing 95 degrees when we got back to the 4Runner. This is a beautiful trail with a few surprises at the springs that can be read about in our post Mule Ears Spring Hike.
To say we felt like sun dried tomatoes after that hike is an understatement and while it was enjoyable the heat is obviously not something to mess around with. Even in April the temperature becomes extreme and proper precautions should be taken. The Tuff Canyon Overlook is just off the road and we definitely were not going to be hiking into the canyon after what we had just done. The canyon provides an interesting view and is worth a quick stop.
Down the road from Tuff Canyon is the Castolon Visitor Center and it was the best surprise we could have asked for. The store there had Klondike Bars that we enjoyed in near silence and pure bliss as it felt like our body temperatures finally returned to a somewhat normal level.
The remainder of the drive was truly incredible with massive cliffs towering above us to the south and an incredible view of the vast desert and mountains we had just driven through to the north. After several hours driving through the park we finally reached the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook and the end of our scenic drive on paved roads.
After enjoying the marvelous views of the Santa Elena Canyon it was time to put the 4runner in four wheel drive and cruise north on the Old Maverick Road towards Terlingua where we would spend the rest of the afternoon before heading to Lajitas for even more surprises.
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