Big Bend Again - It was Better than Ever.

andy29847

Adventurer
I have been to the Big Bend, Texas area several times. The first time, I din't like it that much. It was brown everywhere. I went the second time because it was somewhere to ride in the winter. I was able to look past the brown and see some things. I was hooked now. I went again, and again, and again. Now I want to live there. Is that crazy or what?

I have to admit that I did't take this picture. It doesn't matter. I love pictures of me. This one is from my first visit to Big Bend in 2010. My friend Big Don snapped the pic.
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I went back in 2012. Big Don was supposed to lead our ride, but he had to go home because of family issues. I'm not sure how I got to be leader, but it didn't go well for others.
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I went back in 2013, this time with my wifey. She loved it .
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2017 was different. We were retired. We stayed longer. We added a jeep.
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2018 was the bestest yet. It was all jeeping. I have lots of pics to share. Here is the first one. We went out to DOM rock on New Years Day. It was cold and the wind was blowing. We were still having fun.
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More to come.
 

andy29847

Adventurer
Our trip in 2018 was focused on Jeeping. We didn't do anything extreme. We toured the back roads and went sightseeing. We started the first day's ride by visiting DOM rock. I had never heard of DOM rock. It turns out that it is a location where a scene from the movie "Fandango" was filmed. DOM rock is on a ledge, overlooking the Rio Grande River, at the top of a hill, 13 miles west of Lajitas, on TX 170.

Here is a link to a magazine article about the movie: https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/lets-go-dig-up-dom/

And an excerpt from the article if you don't want to click the link: "The movie is set in 1971, and beneath the hijinks is a desperate awareness of lost love, lost innocence, and Vietnam. In the movie, the five groovers are on a mission to dig up a bottle of Dom Perignon they buried during a previous, less-freighted trip. They scramble down a steep hillside to a boulder with the word “Dom” chiseled into it. When they unearth the bottle, Costner grabs it, leaps up onto a rock that is vertiginously perched above the Rio Grande, and proclaims with the world-weariness of youth, “Here's to us and what we were.”

We visited friends on our way to DOM rock.
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I'm going to post lots of pictures of my Jeep because I can. :) Parked near DOM rock.
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Overlooking the Rio Grande River.
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The girls walked out towards the river a little. It was cold and very windy. They went back to the car.
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Confession time. I didn't go out to DOM rock. This was as close as I got. It was COLD and windy.
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After DOM rock, we went riding in the Terlingua Ranch area. The Terlingua Ranch is a real estate development and has some interesting history.

https://terlinguaranch.com/terlingua-ranch-texas-big-bend/

There are miles and miles of roads on the property, most of which is on private land. Sometimes, the individual property owners are sensitive to trespassers. We rode out to look at some property.
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Sawmill Mountain
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Honeymoners at the Terlingua Hilton.
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Wild animal sighting. What is that black furry animal in the road?
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Looking up Terlingua Creek.
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Bottomland for sale.
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andy29847

Adventurer
After the Santa Elena Canyon, we headed across the park on Old River Road. Old River Road runs along the Rio Grande River between Castolon and the Rio Grande Village. The road is dirt, sand, and gravel, through washes, up and down hills, surrounded by classic desert scenery.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/list/lets-go-wild/no-5-river-road/

One of the most interesting stops is the Johnson Ranch ruins, about half way across the desert. The US Army staged planes there in 1919.

https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/historyculture/johnsonsranch.htm

Missy helps us check out the ranch
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The graveyard.
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Everything bites, stings, or sticks out there.
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I had crossed on Old River Rd many times but had never noticed the old car in the ditch beside the road.
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One of the most prominent landmarks in the park is Mule Ears Mountain.
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Wide open spaces!
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We had a spectator. I tried for an interview. No habla.
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Oh yeah, the Rio Grande.
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andy29847

Adventurer
bigdon 55
Let's go back!

Next week? Can't go. March? Maybe if I can get my camper situation squared away. Got some things to do in April and May. After that it is too hot. I'd love to go back!



The Park Service description of Black Gap Rd: Black Gap Road: 8.5 miles (14km) - This road connects the Glenn Springs Road with the River Road. This road is not maintained, and 4-wheel drive is required at all times.

We turned off of Old River Rd on to Black Gap Rd. I had ridden Black Gap Rd on my motorcycle, but not in my Jeep. It seemed much easier in the Jeep. I made a couple of videos and loaded them on Facebook. Here is the URL. I would be interested to know if youse guys can view this.

https://www.facebook.com/andy.simons.712/videos/10215427167657455/

https://www.facebook.com/andy.simons.712/videos/10215423878935239/

Black Gap is not unlike the other roads in the National Park except for the gap, the wash, and the hill climb. The gap is easy going downhill. The ledge at the bottom is about 2 feet. The wash was easy peasy (this time). The hillclimb is long and gradual with a few steep spots. None of it was scary.

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Don and Pansy were having fun!
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andy29847

Adventurer
Our next bit of adventure was on Old Ore Rd. Old Ore Rd is my favorite MC road in the park. Old Ore Rd was once used to transport ore from mining from Mexico to the train Marathon. The road is ~ 25 mile long. The best parts for me are where the road goes in and out of the washes found along the way.

http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/4116-old-ore-road.html

Rootie the Rubicon is ready to go.
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It's heavyweight day on the trail.
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la vista!
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We stopped to look at rocks.
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Near telephone canyon.
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Ernst Tinaja (tin-a-ha)

The Geology: http://prism-redfern.org/bbvirtualtrip/tornillo/tornillo.html

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Ever played Whack-a-Mole?
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Wild animals come to the tinajas to drink
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Fat and old hiker.
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andy29847

Adventurer
Something new for this trip was a ride to the top of Christmas Mountain. Access to Christmas Mountain is controlled by the managers at the at the Terlingua Ranch Lodge.

https://terlinguaranch.com/christmas-mountains/

Christmas Mountain was part of the original Terlingua Ranch Properties. It borders the National Park and there has been some efforts ad the mountain to the park property. Some history here: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/.../behind-the-story-of-the-christmas-mountains/

Gate Guard
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Doris and Brandon and Max
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Lewis and Clark and Boob
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We were not the first.
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View from the top (Facebook movie) - https://www.facebook.com/andy.simons.712/videos/10215440036779175/

Topping out on Christmas Mountain - https://www.facebook.com/andy.simons.712/videos/10215454043089324/
 

mnwanders

Member
Great post. I'm taking my family there the end of March. Really looking forward to it, and your pictures get me even more excited! I wanted to drive Black Gap Rd with my family but your post has me a little nervous now. I'm driving an unmodified Toyota Sequoia, clearance is great but I'm nervous about width and approach/departure angles looking at the pictures of the gap. What do you mean by "the ledge at the bottom is about 2 feet"? I'm pretty much a off road rookie and I don't want to get stuck out there and ruin it for everyone who wants to use the road.
 

andy29847

Adventurer
Next up was the Valley of the Moon. I heard about this from a friend earlier in this trip. I had never heard of it before. There is not much info about the valley on the web. I understand some of the commercial tours like to take people there. It is on Terlingua Ranch property, so, if you go, be nice and tread lightly.

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The Valley of the Moon is other worldly. My understanding is that NASA came here with astronauts (Neil Armstrong for one) and equipment to train for their Moon mission. I had some trouble finding it. A lot of the desert around Big Bend looks other worldly. :) When I finally found the turn, and drove into the valley, I could understand the uniqueness of the property.

We took this picture of Christmas Mountain from the Valley of the Moon. The arrow shows where we were when we drove to the top of the mountain.
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Looking down from Christmas Mountain, you can see the Valley of the Moon.
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On the way we passed Kissing Rocks.
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Into the Valley of the Moon drove the intrepid Jeepers.
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This fence is the border of the National Park. The Chisos Mountains are in the background.
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The Valley of the Moon
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andy29847

Adventurer
Miscellaneous pictures

Emory Peak Sundae - Chisos Basin Lodge - Ummmmmm good.
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From I-10
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Study Butte church sign.
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Roadrunner pics
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Roadrunner after a hard night.
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Memorial
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Things are rocking on Friday night at the Starlight
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Grave marker
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andy29847

Adventurer
I'll close this report with a few random pics.

This is Big Don at Ernst Tinaja. We had been told that a Mountain Lion had fallen into the Tinaja and that you could see the scratchs on the rocks where he tried to get out. Don is looking for the scratches. The reflection of the canyon walls is near perfect in this picture.
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Souvenirs on the rock near Boquillas del Carmen. The villagers bring them over to the American side. Payment is on the honor system.
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The main park road headed toward Rio Grande Village.
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Texas 170 headed for Big Bend National Park.
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I love that western sky!
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Rio Grande River crossing - Boquillas is on the other side.
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Bedroom at the Terlingua Hilton. The other room had a screen window. :)
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This is how we camp.
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This is how we roll.
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andy29847

Adventurer
Great post. I'm taking my family there the end of March. Really looking forward to it, and your pictures get me even more excited! I wanted to drive Black Gap Rd with my family but your post has me a little nervous now. I'm driving an unmodified Toyota Sequoia, clearance is great but I'm nervous about width and approach/departure angles looking at the pictures of the gap. What do you mean by "the ledge at the bottom is about 2 feet"? I'm pretty much a off road rookie and I don't want to get stuck out there and ruin it for everyone who wants to use the road.

Thanks for the feedback. I had another reply posted and I deleted it by error trying to make a correction with my IPAD. Here we go again.

I am a newby Jeeper my self. I have been on several rides with a large variety of vehicles and everybody always makes it. With that in mind, you could get through black Gap with your Sequoia. I don't think I would do it if it was my SUV. You would probably drag the bottom in some places. You might scratch the sides going through Glen Springs. If you go, you should go in a group. It's possible to get WAY out there in Big Bend. Think 25 mile walks, no cell service, no shade, no water, etc.

There are 4 on the trip through Black Gap. Traveling from South - to - North, the gap is the first one. There is a bumpy downward decent to the bottom where there is a drop-ff at the end. The drop-off is where you could drop some parts. Thsi movie shows this section: https://www.facebook.com/groups/293131404384213/permalink/546608795703138/

The decent takes you into the drainage of a large wash. I have been through the wash (on my motorcycle) when the riding was difficult. It was not hard in January. This screenshot from Google Earth shows the wash.
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The third obstacle is the climb out of the wash. The road is cut into the bank and is one vehicle wide. It is steepish in some spot. It was rough when we last went up it. This move show part of the climb: https://www.facebook.com/groups/293131404384213/permalink/546385515725466/

Finally, you have to get through Glen Springs. The springs had a good bit of water in it in January. It looked like a mudhole. However, the bottom was solid and it was easy to get through. The brush in the spring is heavy on both sides of the road. You might get some desert pinstriping here.
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The other roads in and around the park are in easier than Black Gap Road. The Overland tour Company has a handout that shows dirt roading in the park. I got mine in the lobby at of the Big Bend Adventure Resort Motel in Study Butte.
 
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