Big Bend Ranch State Park

After three days of hiking and kayaking in Big Bend National Park, we decided it was time to rest our bodies and take a road trip.  The motorhome is parked about 20 miles from the entrance of the Big Bend Ranch state park.  So we stopped by the visitor center to get information about the must-see things in the state park at its east entrance.  We found out that you can't even get to most of the state park from here.  The terrain is so rugged that the only way to get to most of the hiking trails is via the west entrance (some 60 miles away) and a very long gravel road.  So we settled for the sites and hikes along hiway 170 and the eastern entrance. 

The first stop was the Contrabando Movie Set.  These buildings were built in 1985 for the filming of the movie "Uphill All the Way" starring Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, and Burl Ives.  Since then, 9 different movies have been filmed here such as "Rio Dablos" in 1993, "Streets of Laredo" in 1995, "My Maria" in 1995, "Dead Man's Walk" in 1996, and "The Journeyman" in 2000.  We list most of the movies here because we might rent one just to see if the landscape in them looks familiar to us.

If you don't recognize the dashing cowboy actor in the picture above, we're sure you won't recognize his co-star in the next picture.

Denisa is obviously enamored with the blooming wildflowers, so you will have to bear through occasional flower pictures on this tour of the state park.  Some of the wildflowers were so thick that the side of the mountains turned blue with blue bonnets.

Mark thought the tiny purple flowers were pretty awesome as well, and they were every where!

When you look at a map of Hiway 170, you can see the "hill" notated.  The locals call this "the big hill."  Supposedly the largest incline allowed on Texas hiways is 15%, but this one was grandfathered in at 18%.  We decided that we didn't want to take the motorhome down this stretch of road any time soon.

Oh look, it seems that Denisa has stuck in more wild flower pictures.  They were so incredibly thick in the grass lands that it was unbelievable!  The yellow and blue combinations were beautiful!

 

We had read about a really good hike on this stretch of the state park, so we stopped at the Closed Canyon trailhead.  After a short hike through the open desert, we reached the mouth of a slot canyon.













The trail got quite narrow in  places as the walls grew higher and higher.
















 


Our hike included some scrambling over boulders that blocked our path.  Denisa was glad to have Mark there to boost and pull her over some of the boulders.  And Mark was glad to have Denisa there for moral support.

 








At one point the boulders were joined with pools of water to block our path.  Mark (being the adventurous explorer that he is) went barefoot through the water to see what was around the next corner--and the next corner.





 






It was a great hike, and we would certainly recommend the Lost Canyon to anyone in the Big Bend area.  This picture is a reminder that there is always light at the end of the tunnel!









 It appears that Denisa has the audacity to include yet more wildflower pictures--and this time she is even in them too!













Next stop of the state park tour is the Hoodoos Trail.  We discovered these odd-shaped formations on a 1.5 mile trail.  Denisa is standing next to the mushroom-shaped hoodoos, just to show how big these formations are.  We also discovered that when the temperature gets over 80 degrees, hiking isn't nearly as fun.  We are glad to be in Big Bend in mid-March when we have enjoyed days mostly in the 60's until today.

It appears that Denisa has found one more picture of a mountainside covered with wildflowers.  She obviously loves wildflowers and mountains, and when you put the two together she can't control herself!

We have heard this is the best year for wildflowers in Big Bend since the spring of 1984.  That has to do with the abundant spring rains they have had.  We have seen the Rio Grande clear and blue earlier this week, then chocolate milk brown yesterday.  We would describe the color today as "pea soup green."  The current appears to be picking up, and we're glad we did our boomerang kayak trips earlier this week.

While we are out wandering His wonders, we must agree that these wildflowers are one of God's wonders!  One last picture of a mountainside that has turned yellow because the wildflowers are so thick!

Our final stop in our road trip was at the Village of Lajitas.  We found out that the mayor of the town is named Clay Henry, and there is a pen on the main road close to the town hall where he "offices."  The pen was empty when we drove past, but we saw that the mayor was going for a walk near the dumpster--obviously viewing the town's utilities and infrastructure first hand.  We have also heard that the goat mayor enjoys drinking beer, as proclaimed by several tshirts we have seen in the area.