Big Bend State and National Parks (March 2019)

Jen's Account of the day: April 3rd

We had leftover potatoes with bacon for breakfast, then headed for the east side of Big Bend National Park, which we hadn’t seen much of. Our first stop after a lengthy drive (paved & gravel) was the Hot Springs. The parking lot was busy despite it the somewhat rough road in and we enjoyed a brief hike around the hot spring itself, surrounding spa ruins and the cliffs above them. It was just starting to get hot (and really busy) when we got back to the car.

Next we headed over to Boquillos Canyon Overlook, on the far east side of the park. We didn’t stay long; it was a bit of a hike to the canyon itself and I wasn’t up for it in sandals (my boots are still wet). So we took the (long) road back to the other side of the park to see Tuff Canyon. It was well after 1 by the time we got over there so we headed past the trailhead to Castolon for a quick lunch of almond butter and jelly sandwiches.

By the time we made it to the trailhead it was hot and quite crowded. I didn’t want to hike down to the canyon floor in sandals, so we settled for the overlooks. Children were on the canyon floor yelling so they could hear the echo. I’m not as upset about missing out on this as I could be.

Matt wanted to see Ft. Davis, so off we went. It was quite a drive and even with an uneventful Border Patrol stop this time it was after 4 when we got there and they closed at 5. Still, we got to quickly go through the museum and some of the grounds before they shooed us off the premises.

We put a lot of miles on Hildegard today and had to stop in Alpine for gas. Matt inexplicably got Mtn. Dew and pork rinds for a snack. Still, he ate all of this dinner: pork chops, pineapple, and broccoli.

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Day 4 of the Trip