Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park has been on our “must visit” list for quite a while, and we were finally able to cross it off our list. The day we arrived, we had long drive on two lane roads, so we mostly just relaxed at Paisano RV Park. We did take a short trip to see the nearby Ghost Town and Trading company in Terlingua. It was a little underwhelming, however, still interesting. The next couple of mornings we got up at 5:30 and hit the road so we could watch the sunrise in the park and get to trail parking before they filled up. The Ross Maxwell scenic drive was gorgeous and had lots of exhibits to stop at along the way for some amazing views. The Santa Elena Canyon trail was our fist hike, and we could see why it is one of the most popular trails. We stopped by the Cottownwood Campground for some birding, and found a group of birders, which Mike really enjoyed walking with. The Lost Mile trail was probably our favorite hike, with spectacular views of the Chisos Mountains. The Window trail was short and sweet with more stunning views. The Boquillas Canyon trail was the closest to the Mexican border. We saw a lot of Mexican wares for sale and offers for Mexican food and tequilla to be brought across the Rio Grande to us. Burros were wandering around throughout the area and they were very friendly with Mike, hoping for some food. We also saw of group of javalinas on the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail, which is always a treat. The Chihuahan Desert Nature Trail and Sam Nail Ranch were shorter hikes with lots of birds. We hoped to see another painted bunting and instead saw our first common black hawk (which is actually not the common). Last, but not least I took a trip to Big Bend Ranch State park to go mountain biking on the Contrabando trail, which was really fun. We will definitely go back to Big Bed again so we can visit the hot springs and cross the border, which were both closed due to COVID-19.