CHONGO'S BIG BEND

The clickable park map

1.  Panther Junction is headquarters for Big Bend National Park.  All permits are         secured here, although during the busy season entry permits are sold at the        small pavilions at the Hwy 385 and Hwy 170 entries.  This is the place to go        for information, a clean bathroom, and the best drinking water in Texas.

2.  Rio Grande Village, like a lot of the campgrounds in the U.S., has evolved into        a trailer park, but it's still the best cool season campground close to a beer-        store and a shower you'll find, and one of the best birding spots around.

3.  Boquillas Canyon is the downstream of the three major river canyons in the        park.  The entrance to the canyon is an easy walk  but you need to lock every-        up tight when using this parking area.  Lot's of people cross the river near        the canyon to have lunch in the painfully poor and dusty town of Boquillas,        Coahuila.

4.  Ernst Tinaja is a small pool of water in a canyon of wildly twisted and        fractured rock along the rough and sometimes spectacular Old Ore Road.

5.  Langford Hot Spring is an old resort along the banks of the Rio Grande.  We've        met people from all over the world bathing in the ruins of the bath house.

6.  The River Road travels from near Rio Grande Village Trailer park to        Castolon, following the river but seldom coming within sight of it.  This         is a beautiful road for the 4X4 who wants to get away from it all.

7. Mariscal Mine operated off and on in the first half of the 20th century.         The ruins are located about halfway between Rio Grande Village and         Castolon, making this a very scenic spot to break for lunch when driving         the River Road in a day.

8.  Castolon was built as a military post but was little used for that purpose,         becoming instead the commercial center for what at one time were         extensive farms in the river flood plain.  They even ginned cotton here.  It's         now home to La Harmonia Store and the cleanest bathrooms west of         Panther Junction.  Nearby Cottonwood Campground is a great cool weather         tent ground that is often trailer free.

9.  Santa Elena Canyon is the upper canyon in the park.  Like Boquillas it         is accessible by a short walk from the pavement.  The middle canyon,         Mariscal, is only entered from the river.

10.  The Old Maverick Road is a  pretty dirt road running from near Santa Elena         Canyon to the Hwy 170 park entry.  Driven at sunset, under a full moon,         or late on a moonless night Old Maverick is unforgettable.

11.  The Grapevine Hills Road is accessible to most vehicles of reasonable         clearance.  The primitive camp in the desert is one of the better ones in         the park.  Farther down the road is the walk up into the hills that follows         a sandy arroyo featuring a broad selection of  Chihuahuan  desert flora.         The road ends at Grapevine Spring and the sparse ruins of the Rice Home-         stead.

12.  The Chisos Mountains are the center of the park, and its most visited area.         Lodging is available here, but only rarely without reservations.  There is a         nice campground, too, but it tends to fill up with obnoxious motor homes.         The trails into the upper  Chisos are great but get crowded when it's busy.         The Chisos Lodge serves industrial tourist campground dinner nightly.

13.  Study Butte is the closest lodging outside of the park and has some nice         cafes, a couple of stores, and plenty of characters.  This pretty much         describes Terlingua, too.  Lajitas is another town.  The drive along Hwy          170 from Study Butte to the Big Bend Ranch entry is one of the prettiest         in the U.S.A.

14. Indian Head is an area of prehistoric rock dwellings in the park behind         Study Butte.

15. Plants.  Here you will find pictures of some common desert plants.

16. Critters.  And here a few shots of the local animals.

17.  The big picture.   Higher resolution pictures.

18.  Visitor's submitted photos.  Send us a pic!