Big Bend National Park!

After two months on the road as full-time RVers, we are finally going to new territories that we have never explored before.  We've had a great time in Kerrville, Mission, San Antonio, etc.  But we have been to all those areas before.  As we rolled down the road towards Big Bend National Park, Denisa was almost giddy at the idea of going somewhere that she had never been before.  As we got closer to our new destination, we were even welcomed by the bluebonnets that are blooming here!

We got settled into our RV site at Big Bend Resort in Study Butte, just west of the entrance of the national park.  We had hoped to stay in the national park, but found out that Texas celebrates three different weeks of spring break, and this is one of them.  So the only campground big enough for motorhomes that is inside the park has been booked for many months.  Now that we are here, we see that our spot just outside the park is actually closer to most of the trails that we want to hike.  So we are happy to be in the Terlingua/Study Butte area, just three miles west of the national park entrance.  That means we are between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park, so we can do both parks without moving the motorhome.

The drive from Fort Stockton goes from flat and desolate . . .

to mountainous and beautiful as you pass three different mountain groups.  It's a good thing that Mark was driving, because Denisa was snapping pictures through the windshield of this new territory like crazy!  After driving by the Del Norte Mountains, and the Chalk Mountains, we came to the Christmas Mountains just north of our destination.

We got the motorhome parked at its new home for a week, and headed into the national park.  With speed limits of 45 mph, it takes a while to get from one end of this park to the other.  We got introduced to the mountains inside the Big Bend National Park--the Chisos Mountains.

We got the basic lay of the park--it's about 45 miles from east to west. So it will take an hour to drive to the things on the opposite edge, and a half hour to get to the park headquarters in the center.  We headed to Panther Junction headquarters to get the back country permits we will need for kayaking, and to get advice.  We also took our first hike in the mountainous area of the park called Chisos Basin. 

I don't think we will ever get tired of so many wonderful landscapes, but we want to stay here long enough to find out.  Here's looking out "God's Window" in the Chisos Basin.

We paid for the first seven days at the RV park in order to get the cheaper weekly rate, but it's nice to know our schedule is flexible and we can certainly stay longer.  We love our retirement!