We're heading to the other Big Bend--Big Bend Ranch State Park

While Big Bend National Park is quite well known, it seems that few people realize that just to the west is another Big Bend park. The largest state park in the very large state of Texas is Big Bend Ranch State Park. We drove about an hour west to our next campground, and most of that drive was through and beside this massive state park. We stopped in at the Barton Warnock Visitor Center, that welcomed us to the eastern edge of the state park. While we haven't seen a lot of bluebonnets this spring, we were glad to find a patch near the visitor's center.

We've talked about the desert ocotillo plants, and we saw that they make pretty good fencing material around the gardens at the visitor center.

It's so dry here that these long ocotillo stems are usually without leaves. But it looks like an air-conditioner is draining enough water into the garden to cause this one to sprout temporary leaves. After a good general rain, all the ocotillo stems will turn green for a while.

We also saw a new-to-us desert plant here at the nature garden. This is candellila, and a waxy coating around these straw-like stems protects them from the brutal heat. Just a few miles from here was a wax factory that harvested the coating from these plants.

This is a handsome prickly pear plant in the nature garden.

It's another one of those handsome Engelmanns. We noticed that they misspelled the name on the sign in capital letters, but got it right in the italicized scientific name. When your last name is Engelman, you are used to people spelling it incorrectly.

After a nice stop at the visitor center, we headed west on Highway 170. Some sources call this the most scenic drive in Texas with its mountain and river views.

Based on the map we picked up at the visitor center, we knew we were approaching "The Big Hill." It gave our diesel engine a run for its money to get us all the way up this short but very steep grade. Then we parked at the summit of the hill.

This is the tallest hill along this stretch of the Rio Grande River. Mark climbed to the top of the hill, to see the views of the river and the mountains of Mexico right across from us.

Then we piled back into the motor home to start the 15% grade down to get off this Big Hill.

It's times like this that we appreciate the exhaust brake on that diesel engine.

At the bottom of the hill we got a closer view of the Rio Grande River. Mark had researched the possibility of kayaking this section of the river. We have two vehicles on this trip today--the motor home and the pickup. That gives us the unique opportunity to leave one at a kayaking take-out spot, and drive the other to a put-in spot, and then float between the two.

But all the reports are that the water in the river is just too low for a long trip on the water. We did spy two kayaks on the river, trying it this afternoon.

We knew about this road and this hill when we visited here on our first year of full-timing. But we were newbies that were a little afraid of this narrow winding road with steep grades. Eight years later Mark has driven much worse roads, and is a very confident motor home driver. You can see that the road continues, twisting like a ribbon across the desert in front of us.

The worst part of the drive was temporary bridge work that entailed one-way traffic through a narrow section with cement barricades on both sides. We didn't even know about this construction that took us over two different bridges like this. Those temporary cement rails were just inches away from both sides of our wide motor home.

To avoid the spring break crowds of the national park, we camped at a private park near the town of Presidio, Texas. We enjoyed the quiet of the "other Big Bend Park" during the hectic school break. After visiting the state park visitor center on the east edge of the park, we also stopped at the visitor center on the west edge. This is the Fort Leaton State Historic Site and visitor center, housed in an adobe building on the prairie.

This adobe fort was never used as a military outpost. It was actually built in the 1830s by a pubic citizen, to protect his home and family from the Indians. It became a trading post between the Indians and the settlers, and a good stopping place for people moving west across this barren landscape.

The fort was in ruins when the state of Texas restored it back to the way it looked when the Leaton family lived in it. The ceilings of the formal parlor were tall, and the adobe walls help to keep it cool even in the hot temperatures of summer.

Visitors can take a self-guided tour through the family living quarters, as well as the less opulent servants' quarters. At one time, this adobe fort had 40 rooms.

This is one of the largest adobe structures in Texas, and this must be one of the largest wooden two-wheel wagons in Texas as well.

We talked to the ranger, and then walked the nature trail of this most westerly visitor center of the state park. We found this bird posing for a picture among the thorns that seem to be found on every plant here in the desert. After six days at Big Bend National Park, today we made the drive to the other Big Bend--Big Bend Ranch State Park.