Big Bend

The final park we visited during our travels around West Texas was Big Bend National Park. The Big Bend is named for the vast curve of the Rio Grande River that forms the border between the United States and Mexico.

The park is a massive area of over 800,000 acres and more than 150 miles of trails for all skill levels. As remote as it is, Big Bend does seem to have it all: towering mountains, breathtaking canyons, sprawling deserts, and (of course) the winding Rio Grande River.

The park is also known for its dark skies. This National Park is supposed to be one of the best places to view stars because of the remote location and limited light pollution. We did not have the opportunity to stay for the dark skies, nor much time to hike, but it was still worth a visit to this amazing park!

This was the last of the National Park visits that we made for David's 50th birthday and we were so happy to share this opportunity with Julia (and Frodo) too!

Of course as with any park, Big Bend is home to elk, mountain lions, black bears, coyotes, javelinas, and various other animals. There are signs posted throughout the park as a gentle reminder!

As I said earlier, we didn't get to do as much exploring as I would have liked, but we did get to experience the Ross Maxwell Scenic Deive and see a few other spots including Tuff Canyon and the Sotol Vista Overlook.

I hope we get to come back one day- if nothing else to see the dark sky aspect of the park. Either way, I'm so glad we got to have this experience!