Flame and Pyro Adventures

Monday Feb. 3rd (cont.)

We pass thru the very poor border town of Presidio and head east on F.M. 170 toward Lajitas. This is called the "River Road" because it basically follows the twists and turns of the Rio Grande River, passing thru deep canyons and crossing mountains.

Our first stop is at Fort Leaton State Historic Site which lies just east of Presidio. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War, Ben Leaton and two partners purchased land on the north side of the Rio Grande in what had just become part of the United States. He built a large heavily fortified adobe ranch house to protect against Apache and Comanche raids. It was the first Anglo settlement in the area. Leaton operated a mercantile business with Mexicans, Americans, and Indians. The state maintains the thick-walled building as part of the state park system.

Check out the intricate woodwork in the ceiling!

Foot-thick walls surrounded the entire home.

I am so thankful for all the modern-day conveniences in our kitchens today.

I am not sure what this large cart was used for.

All the rooms in the home surrounded this large courtyard.

A cemetery outside the wall of the compound.

We are back on F.M. 170 eastbound and amazed at all the colorful layers of rock in the surrounding hillsides.

There it is...our international border between the U.S. and Mexico, quite benign looking, just the Rio Grande winding its way to the Gulf of Mexico, no fences/walls, just spectacular rugged scenery.

A church at the tiny settlement of Redford, just before we reach Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Beehives near the river.

Big Bend Ranch State Park covers 400 square miles (300,000 acres) of mountains and desert and has many miles of hiking/biking/equestrian trails and only a few gravel roads within.

We continued on toward Lajitas.....

Pretty sure this a type of bluebonnet growing beside the road.

The Rio Grande continues to wind along, many twists and turns.

As you can see by that thermometer it is still quite cool, 44 degrees.

We passed this cool picnic/rest area.

The remains of the Contrabando movie set lie between the highway and the river, looking like an abandoned adobe village.

We're having fun now!!

Shortly we arrived in Lajitas and continued on eastward to Terlingua, and then to Study Butte, where we have hotel reservations for the next two nights. We stopped for lunch at the Chili Pepper Café and then went across the road and checked into our hotel. After chilling out for an hour we decided to drive on into Big Bend National Park and go for a short hike on the Santa Elena Canyon Trail.
Right after entering at the west entrance of the Park, we turned right onto Old Maverick Road, a gravel road (9 miles) to the Trailhead.

It is truly amazing to stand at the base of these enormous canyon walls where the Rio Grande cuts a path right thru them.

Even BooBoo is in awe of the majestic scenery that abounds within Big Bend National Park!

After a short walk along the banks of the River, we begin the steep climb going further into Santa Elena Canyon.

Careful! Thorny plants!

Going ever higher, we look back to where we began and those folks down by the river look so tiny!

Sheer high walls line both sides of the Rio Grande here.

Lots of green plant life along the River...

What an awesome view and how lucky we are to be here to enjoy it.

We have run out of path, nothing but sheer rock face and river ahead thru Santa Elena Canyon. We turn around and head back down to the Trailhead/parking area. A great way to end our day today--a 3.4 mile hike!

We decide to forego the 9 mile gravel road and drive back on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive which is a nice paved road within the Park, admiring the amazing beauty of this rugged uninhabited land within Big Bend National Park.

We arrive back at Study Butte, go to the Big Bend Café (next to our hotel) to grab something to eat. Just as we are finishing our dinner, we catch this amazing sunset!

Truly God's handiwork at its finest!

Our home for the next two nights, the Big Bend Motor Inn...

Tomorrow we go on a canoe trip down the Rio Grande River!

Monday Feb. 3rd

We awoke here in Presidio to another cold morning, however the air is very dry, as we head next door to get some breakfast. Right in the middle of enjoying an authentic Mexican breakfast, I glanced out the narrow window and saw a brilliant sunrise. Grabbing my camera, I jumped up from the table and ran outside to capture it on film!

We have a book named "Scenic Driving Texas" that we brought with us on this trip since several of the scenic drives listed in the book are right down here in this area of Texas. The drive along F.M. 170 between Presidio and Lajitas, The River Road, is right on our way to Big Bend National Park. Looking at our Roads of Texas Atlas this morning we see that F.M. 170 also leads west out of Presidio to Ruidosa, so we decided to check it out since we may never be in this area again. The road is a paved two-lane with no shoulders and several cattle-guards. There is absolutely no traffic! (We only meet one vehicle all the way to Ruidosa.)

The Rio Grande is on our left and the Chinati Mountains are on our right.

We pass several small cemeteries along the way.

Loose livestock ahead!

I took photos of lots of gates, but looking past each gate we see no house, only low-growing scrub, not much for livestock to eat.

Another cattle guard!

We have arrived in Ruidosa!

We did not see any movement, human or livestock, only a few forlorn buildings. A sign mentioning Hot Springs off to our right, however to reach it is 2-3 miles down a gravel road. So instead, we turn around and head back toward Presidio. It is a really nice morning for a drive though!

These plants stand out as the tallest thing in a vast barren land.

Another gate hidden in the low-growing plant life.

The Rio Grande lies in that valley and those mountains are on the other side in Mexico. Out here we have not seen that high fence on the border that we have heard about in the news.