Our younger son’s Big Bend 50 Ultra-Marathon Trail running (link) inspired us to travel there, to see and cheer him, then to congratulate him for his achievement. Because Big Bend is far from our home, so we decided to leave earlier, set up our base camp at Croesus Canyon RV (link), then explore and photograph in Big Bend National Park (link) and Big Bend Ranch State Park (link), then after the race, move to Davis Mountains State Park (link), hike and photograph in that area. My wife and I visited and photographed the Big Bend area a few times during the past 20 years, but when we return there, we always find there something peaceful which makes us happy. Enjoy my Diary!
Day 1, January 10, 2022, Monday: Left home around 10:30 AM and drove our trusted 4Runner Off-Road “Beast” pulling our A-Liner Titanium Off-Road pop-up camper trailer “Titan” to Caverns of Sonora (link), TX. We set up at the tent sites, hiked about a mile nearby, enjoyed the sunset, the countryside, and ate a good home-cooked dinner in our camper. Slept well.
Day 2, January 11, 2022, Tuesday: Up at 5:30 AM, enjoyed the farm animals, listened to the roosters’ crows, then after morning duties, we ate good breakfast, coffee then closed our tiny house and made it ready to go. Drove on I-10 to Fort Stockton, then on Hwy 67 to Alpine, then on Hwy 170 to Terlingua then on Longhorn Mine dirt road to Croesus Canyon RV, where we received a very warm welcome from the land and camp owner Brandon. Set up our base camp there for 6 nights then made our exploration trips from there. Hiked both hiking trails on his 200 Acre land, enjoyed the scenery and the play of light during sunset. Ate a good dinner, read books, and made plans for the next day. We were tired but happy. The clear starry night was fantastic.
Day 3, January 12, 2022, Wednesday: Slept well, up early, refreshing 39 oF during sunrise. After our hearty breakfast left our camp, checked out Big Bend Ranch State Park Visitor Center, and the nearby nature trails. Big Bend Ranch State Park TX was formerly private ranch land and its current untamed wilderness is very similar to its original landscape, it has over 300,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert wilderness, and adventurers will love this rugged terrain that is some of the most remote in the southwest. We were excited about it but decided to explore Big Bend National Park during the next two days. Drove to Panther Junction to get the permits then drove up to Chisos Basin, where we hiked the Window lookout trail then drove on Castolon road (Ross Maxwell scenic drive) to Sotol Vista viewpoint. Enjoyed the view from there, then drove back on Castolon Road. Stopped at milepost 2, and I exposed my first 4×5 sheet. Back on RM 170 from Study Butte, through Terlingua to our Croesus Canyon camp, where we enjoyed the sunset and afterglow. We had a starry night, the cold front will arrive during the night.
Day 4, January 13, 2022, Thursday: The temperature dropped to 34 oF during the night. Got up at 8 AM, washed in refreshing cold water, then after coffee, breakfast, we drove back to Big Bend National Park. Enjoyed the beautiful Chisos Mountain, passed Sotol Vista, and went to photograph at Burro Mesa Pour off area. Hiked around, then continued to Mule Ears, then to Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon. Hiked and photographed at the river trail and enjoyed the view of the canyon. Drove back to the West entrance area on Old Maverick dirt road, photographed the Ocotillo-filled landscape, then drove back to our base camp. Ate a good home-cooked dinner, read, and enjoyed the wilderness around us. We had a cold, but beautiful starry night. The Milky Way was above us and we said Thank you for everything.
Day 5, January 14, 2022, Friday: Got up at 6 AM, 37 oF outside, washed in cold water, ate good breakfast and we were happy when we watched the sunrise in Croesus Canyon camp. Left our camp around 10 AM, drove on RM 170 River Road, stopped all of the nice lookouts, trailheads, and enjoyed the untouched wilderness of both sides of the Rio Grande, which is the natural border of USA/Mexico. Touched the Rio Grande many places, looked to Closed Canyon and Hoodoos area then drove to Presidio for gas, then back to the remote wilderness on dirt road Casa Piedra then continued on challenging hilly and steep, washboard like Main Park dirt road to Cinco Tinajas trailhead. Hiked, but the time was flying and we had to turn back and drive 27 miles on the slow 4×4 roads, down to RM 170, then back to Croesus Canyon. We enjoyed every minute of the challenging but beautiful trip. During the day we had strong wind but looked everything fine. Chat with our friendly camp host, ate good, camp-style dinner, read books enjoyed nature’s beauty and we were relaxed without listening to any news or having phone communication.
Day 6, January 15, 2022, Saturday: We slept well until around 1 AM when our trailer started to shake in 45 miles per hour N-NE gusty wind, a dust storm hit us during the night… slowly slept again even our trailer was shaking… Woke up at 7:30 AM, then after a strong espresso and good breakfast we left to explore Big Bend Ranch State park’s beautiful closed Canyon trail. Closed Canyon is interesting water pour off, drains into the Rio Grande, and divides Colorado Mesa to Mesa de la Cuchilla and to Mesa de la Nueve. After our 1.4 mile hike there, we went to the Colorado Canyon Rio Grande River access area, where I liked the big smooth rocks covered flood area and took a few large-format photographs. Tried to fly fishing there too, but no catch, and I thought the fish just laughed on my trial. We liked the River Road very much, so we drove on it again to the West Entrance then back, on it to refresh all of our memories. Hiked more on Croesus Canyon trails, chat with our hosts Brandon and his very kind wife. Brandon surprised us with his fantastic BBQ brisket. His brisket was the best we ever ate. The weather was cold (23 oF) outside all night.
Day 7, January 16, 2022, Sunday: Got up at 5:15 AM, freezing cold outside, bathroom duties, coffee, hot tea, then left our camp and drove to Big Bend Ranch State Park Visitor Center, where the Big Bend 50 Ultra-Marathon race start and finish took place. Found our younger son Gergo, then enjoyed his 50 km Ultra-Marathon trail running start at 7:30 AM. He told us he will be at the finish around 1 PM, then he disappeared fast on the hilly rough terrain in challenging 23 oF cold. We went back to Croesus Canyon camp, enjoyed the sunrise, ate a good breakfast then drove to the nearby abundant Contrabando Movie Set area, where we hiked, found nice rapids of the River, and photographed there. Around noon we drove back to the Finish area, where we found our son, who already finished his trail run with a record time, (4:13:50)(link)… and unfortunately, we missed his arrival to the Finish… Anyway, he finished the 50 km race in 2nd place (link)! We were so proud of him! After big congratulations, he left and because he is a tuff guy, safely arrived home in Austin at night. This was our last day here, so we decided to go back to Big Bend National Park and hike the Boquillas Canyon trail. Passing Panther Junction, drove to Dugout Wells, then to Rio Grande Village, where the yellow leaves filled trees reflected in the floodwater. Walked around, then drove to Boquillas Canyon trailhead. Hiked the 1.5 miles up and down terrain moderate trail, and we enjoyed the natural beauty of the Canyon. Hiked back to the trailhead parking, then drove through the National Park to Study Butte, then back to our Croesus Canyon camp. We were tired after this busy day but were happy for our son’s great achievement and the nearby explorations.
Day 8, January 17, 2022, Monday: Started to be freezing cold again, we had a clear starry night, almost full moon, and we slept well in our tiny house on the last day at Croesus Canyon camp. Woke up at 7:30 AM, then after our morning duties started to pack, ate a good breakfast, and said goodbye to Croesus Canyon Camp and to the Big Bend area. Drove to Study Butte, then on FM 183 to Alpine, then to Davis Mountains State Park., where we found our challenging backing position #35 campsite…, but after a few tricky maneuvering, finally I was able to place our trailer perfectly to the right spot. Set up our camp, then drove up on Skyline Drive, to the mountain top viewpoint where we got a very nice view of the Davis Mountains in afterglow light. Drove back to the camp on the steep and curvy road, ate a good dinner, and slept well. We had 39 oF during the night.
Day 9, January 18, 2022, Tuesday: Woke up at 6:30 AM, strong, puffy, West wind hit the basin where our camp located. Enjoyed my morning shower in warm water, drank a strong espresso, and ate a good breakfast. What a nice start to the day! Checked the Nature Center’s nice bird blinds and watched the birds. We planned to hike the headquarters trail, but because of the strong wind, we decided to make the highly recommended 75-mile scenic auto tour loop. Stopped many nice viewpoints and enjoyed the Davis Mountains. We were impressed with the Madera Canyon trail area and decided to return there the next day, hoping for less wind. The scenic auto tour loop ended at Fort Davis, where we were able to use our phone and had a Wi-Fi connection in the Public Library. We heard about the Bastrop area wildfire and we were anxious about it, so we relaxed when we read the available online information and talked to our neighbor by phone. The other exciting news was the coming soon 2nd cold front, which will cause freezing conditions again. Drove back to Davis Mountains State Park, then up to the mountain top, where the sunset’s afterglow light was colorful and special again.
Day 10, January 19, 2022, Wednesday: We had 50 oF during the night, early morning clouds, and spooky moonset. Sunrise was behind the mountain, but when the sun was up, a nice rim light appeared on the edges of the mountain. Woke up at 6:30 AM, showered, had coffee and breakfast, then watched the birds at the Nature Center’s bird blinds. Drove to Madera Canyon trail, where I was able to photograph several previewed areas at this time. After our lunch sandwiches, we drove to Mc Donald Observatory (link), where we were impressed with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope on Mount Fowlkes, and the Very Long Baseline Array radio telescope. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the 107-inch Harlan J. Smith Telescope on Mount Locke but enjoyed all of the information that we received and learned. Drove back to Davis Mountains State Park, watched the sunset and afterglow on the mountain top viewpoint. We enjoyed the day, prepared for the cold weather, and were excited about our next day’s morning leave.
Day 11, January 20, 2022, Thursday: The cold front arrived during the night, the temperature dropped to 21 oF, snow-ice started in the morning, then continued with snow. We got about 2 inches of snow during the morning. Because the weather caused unknown challenging road conditions around the Fort Stockton area and ice formation on I-10, we decided to stay one more night at Davis Mountains State Park. Luckily we were able to get to the same campsite. Snowed until 11 AM, then stopped, then a few hours later the snow started to melt. We hiked in the snow on nearby trails, enjoyed and photographed the snow-covered beauty of nature. After lunch, we drove to Fort Davis Public Library again, where we got information about the road conditions. When we came back to the State Park in cold, we found a nice scenic roadside viewing area and I photographed it on 4×5. My wife cooked a fine dinner, chat about our snowy morning memories, read our books, started to organize and pack.
Day 12, January 21, 2022, Friday: Woke up at 6:30 AM, 25 oF, then slowly started to warm up to 37 oF around 9 AM. Packed, and left Davis Mountains State Park at 10:30 AM. Drove on the scenic FM 17 to Balmorhea, then on I-10 to Caverns of Sonora. The weather was cold but dry, only a few areas had remnants of ice. Arrived around 3:30 PM, got gas, and set up our camper for the last night. We had a cold (27 oF), but beautiful clear starry night, the Milky way was intense and all of the stars and planets, constellations were well visible, giving us a special gift on the last day of our trip.
Day 13, January 22, 2022, Saturday: Got up at 6:30 AM, 36 oF, took a shower in refreshing cold water, then drank my strong espresso. After our good breakfast, packed and left Caverns of Sonora at 9:45 AM. Drove on I-10, then on Hwy 290 and Hwy 71. Stopped a few rest areas then arrived at our beloved home in the pine forest safely at 2:30 PM. The weather turned a little bit warmer here in Central Texas, and we just remembered to a few days ago freezing conditions. We had a great trip, enjoyed our close encounters with Nature, and we were happy.
