So it's been a while since my last trip...Ana and I were thinking about Big Bend National Park (BBNP) thanks to RockMidget's superb photo skills(!) but to be honest, I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it. 3 days prior to trip date, my radiator sprung a leak about 3 miles from home. I'm just glad it happened near home as BBNP is about 1500 miles from Tampa.
Luckily, I was able to get a new one at Toyota of Tampa Bay and was able to do the install along with fresh hoses and thermostat in time.
Since I would only have 2 days to explore, I opted to check out the blue road on day 1 and green for day 2. As the map below shows, BBNP is kind of oriented like a sombrero. The peaks are located near the center of the park (Chisos Basin) while the surrounding areas are much lower. One can nearly drive around the entire mountain range using a combination of paved and dirt roads (and adequate time).
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obligatory first pic.
As Old Ore Road is semi maintained, I was able to run nearly all of it in 2wd except for a few steep spots which I used 4lo to prevent bouncing around so much. (manual trans) The roads look more or less like this:
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I recently upgraded to Icon 2.5 reservoir shocks F+R so these roads actually gave me a good opportunity to drive a little faster than I otherwise could/would have with more standard equipment.
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Given how hot it was over the weekend, I was surprised to see as many animals and such.
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Since I was unable to secure a reservation until 3PM, all the 'good' primitive campsites were booked- I had picked up back country permit earlier in hopes of finding a site but it seemed as others had already staked their claim to their piece of paradise... I passed both primitive campsites on Glenn Spring Road and just when I was going to give up, I reached the trailhead and lo and behold- nobody was there!
So Ana and I spent our first night at the trailhead (orange "1" on map). Actually, it worked out pretty good since we had a better view than quite a few of the primitive sites we had passed earlier in the day.
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Part 2 next...
Luckily, I was able to get a new one at Toyota of Tampa Bay and was able to do the install along with fresh hoses and thermostat in time.
Since I would only have 2 days to explore, I opted to check out the blue road on day 1 and green for day 2. As the map below shows, BBNP is kind of oriented like a sombrero. The peaks are located near the center of the park (Chisos Basin) while the surrounding areas are much lower. One can nearly drive around the entire mountain range using a combination of paved and dirt roads (and adequate time).
[URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/20160601_2254271_zps7t7i6gxz.jpg.html]
[/URL][URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC09318_zps6hysdldv.jpg.html]
[/URL]obligatory first pic.
As Old Ore Road is semi maintained, I was able to run nearly all of it in 2wd except for a few steep spots which I used 4lo to prevent bouncing around so much. (manual trans) The roads look more or less like this:
[URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC09234_zps856auots.jpg.html]
[/URL]I recently upgraded to Icon 2.5 reservoir shocks F+R so these roads actually gave me a good opportunity to drive a little faster than I otherwise could/would have with more standard equipment.
[URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC09051_zpsn2u4fxvj.jpg.html]
[/URL]Given how hot it was over the weekend, I was surprised to see as many animals and such.
[URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC08958_zpsnspugznd.jpg.html]
[/URL][URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC08912_zps9ut18umg.jpg.html]
[/URL][URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC09045_zpsgrzpnaet.jpg.html]
[/URL]Since I was unable to secure a reservation until 3PM, all the 'good' primitive campsites were booked- I had picked up back country permit earlier in hopes of finding a site but it seemed as others had already staked their claim to their piece of paradise... I passed both primitive campsites on Glenn Spring Road and just when I was going to give up, I reached the trailhead and lo and behold- nobody was there!
So Ana and I spent our first night at the trailhead (orange "1" on map). Actually, it worked out pretty good since we had a better view than quite a few of the primitive sites we had passed earlier in the day.
[URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC09087_zpsc6zi70lw.jpg.html]
[/URL][URL=http://s666.photobucket.com/user/99_yota/media/DSC09095_zpsfey0qrem.jpg.html]
[/URL]Part 2 next...