CHONGO'S BIG BEND

1.  Panther Junction is headquarters for Big Bend National Park.  All permits are secured here, although during busy seasons 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. Plants.  Here you will find pictures of some common desert plants.
 

3. Critters.  And here a few shots of the local animals. 
  
   
    
4.  Ernst Tinaja is a small pool of water in a canyon of wildly twisted and fractured rock along the rough and often 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 bathhouse, but it's often under water with all the recent rain.  Still a great walk.
    
6.  The River Road travels from near Rio Grande Village Trailer park to Castolon, following the river but seldom coming in sight of it.  This is a beautiful road for high clearance vehicles that is sometimes restricted to four wheel drive only.
    
 

 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 single day.
      
  
 

8.  Castolon was built as a military post but was little used for that purpose, becoming instead the supply center for what at one time were extensive farms in the river floodplain.  They even ginned cotton here.  It's now home to La Harmonia Store which sells food, film, and campning items and has the cleanest bathrooms west of Panther Juction.  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.
       
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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 wash featuring a broad selection of Chihuahuan desert flora.  Past the trailhead the road ends at Grapevine spring and the sparse ruins of the Rice homestead.
       

 
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 get overwhelmed by motor homes.  The best warm weather camping here is in the high Chisos primitive camps, but don't expect to be alone unless the weather is bad.  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.  Lodging, restaurants, and supplies are available both places.  The drive along Hwy 170 from Study Butte to the Big Bend Ranch is one of the prettiest in the country.
       
14. Indian Head is an area of prehistoric rock dwellings in the park behind Study Butte.
  
15.  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 beerstore and a shower you'll find, and one of the best birding spots around.
16.  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 up tight when using this parking area.  The border is closed for national security reasons, but only to law abiding people.
17. The big picture.  I tried to make all the pages fast loading.  Here are some bigger pictures.