Big Bend

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Ian and Sue

Love Chisos and would go back there in a heartbeat. Sunsets through the window are magical.

That's an apt description. An oddly beautiful place. If you're looking for lush vegetation, you won't find it here, but you will find rugged mountains that look almost primordial. For those of you who aren't familiar, there's a gap in the mountains at Chisos as you look west. The gap is called "the window". That's it on the left in this photo.
EDIT: Just noticed that Barton has a better shot of the window in his 3rd photo in post #1.

[Ron in BC]

What's the nearest campground to the river shown in Post # 1 ?

We might swing down that way after Quartzsite because Mex 5 still isn't fully paved and we're not going back to Baja until it is.

Ron

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

What's the nearest campground to the river shown in Post # 1 ?

We might swing down that way after Quartzsite because Mex 5 still isn't fully paved and we're not going back to Baja until it is.

Ron

The river in post #1 is the Rio Grande at Santa Elena Canyon. The closest campground is Cottonwood. There's also Rio Grande Village near the river, but it's much further east - about 57 miles by vehicle.

By the way, in the river photo, Mexico is to the left and the US to the right.

Jon Vermilye also has some good info and photos of Big Bend on his blog, and also on his website, if you want to check it out: http://vermilye.blogspot.com
http://www.lakeshoreimages.com/bend.html

[Viajante]

Originally Posted by John G.

My wife and I plan to camp Big Bend in Feb and she has us staying at Chisos basin campground. We have a 21. Has anyone camped there in a 21? I'm wondering if the road will be too curvy for our rig.

John

Chisos Basin is about 5 miles from the main road. Shortly after the turnoff onto the Chisos Basin access road there is a nice wayside parking area on the right. If you are concerned about getting to the Basin or securing a campsite that accommodates your trailer, you could drop your trailer there for a little while and drive to the campground to get the site you want. Your rig can make the curves, but as others have noted, many sites will not fit the trailer. Also, I saw a 28 foot camp host trailer make it up the access road but it had an escort.

[padlin]

Thanks folks, I've been looking at BB for a month or so next winter before spring break.

[Mike Lewis]

I was able to take my 21 to Chisos Basin a couple of years ago without any problems. I was careful driving up. I ended up with one of those roadside "pull-thru" campsites. On the way down, I had to stop in the road to let a big tour bus negotiate that one hairpin turn. Four big tour buses came up that road; each must have been forty feet long.

[Mike Lewis]

Setting up the big camera to photograph Casa Grande at sunset. Big Bend National Park.

[hmontgo]

A few photos.

Sunrise near Terlingua.
Frost on the way up to the Basin.
It never rains in the desert - Terlingua.
Moonrise by Casa Grande.

[Ron in BC]

Thanks for the info. I'll start doing some homework and get acquainted with the area. Hopefully there's some places where some kayaking can be done. Always feel a little silly when we show up in the desert with kayaks on the truck.

Ron

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Thanks for the info. I'll start doing some homework and get acquainted with the area. Hopefully there's some places where some kayaking can be done. Always feel a little silly when we show up in the desert with kayaks on the truck.

Ron

Ron, a paddle through the Santa Elena Canyon is a unique experience. At certain points the canyon walls are basically straight up for over 1000 feet, and in the narrowest places only about 10 feet apart.

[Ron in BC]

Sounds perfect. OK, I think the die is cast. Big Bend after Quartzsite.

Ron

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Sounds perfect. OK, I think the die is cast. Big Bend after Quartzsite.

Ron

Parts of Amistad Lake might be worth a paddle too.

[Greg A]

Ron,
Big Bend will be almost like you are in Mexico. Seems like there was a good restaurant that you took a small barge across to small town in Mexico to shop and eat when in that area, but may be confusing it with somewhere else in that area.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Ian and Sue

Parts of Amistad Lake might be worth a paddle too.

Yes, Amistad does have lots of deep water canyons that make for good paddling. The NPS has a bunch of suggested routes as well.

I would caution you however to stay on the US side of the reservoir, closer to shore. US park rangers cannot help you if you get into trouble on the mexican side, and there have been incidents - including drug cartel members murdering an American on a jet ski. It's a bit safer now than it was a few years ago however.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Ron,
Big Bend will be almost like you are in Mexico. Seems like there was a good restaurant that you took a small barge across to small town in Mexico

As much as I love Baja it might seem strange to say that I wouldn't cross the street, or a river, to eat in a Mexican restaurant. It's never appealed to me. The only time I eat it is when I'm visiting my family in WA state. Every dinner out is Tex-Mex.

Ron

[Greg A]

Ah well I did find the link in Jon's blog.
https://lakeshoreimages.com/15-16trip/day149.html

[alanmalk]

A couple of short notes:

There will be an Escape 21 in the Chisos Basin GC from Feb 1 thru April 30. Come by the Campground Host sites and say "hello". Trailer tours available if not too busy and plenty of advice on where to visit, although I have to say that the visitor center volunteers usually know the area pretty well also (although they don't tell you where the best fossils are.)

All campgrounds will be full to overflowing early March thru early April due to spring break. If you are lucky enough to find a reservation on Rec.Gov then grab it. Otherwise it is first-come, first-served. And there will be plenty of folks in line early. I will also say that the spring break clients have been known to party late, much to the annoyance of the CG hosts.

A few, 2 to 4?, depending on road maintenance, of the primitive backcountry drive-up sites will be suitable for trailers. Visitor centers know which ones. Boondocking at its best! Out in the middle of nowhere, dark and quiet. I love them, if I can snag one.

Rio Grande Village Campground is run by the Park. Rio Grande Village RV Park, right next door, is run by Forever Resorts. The RV park will give you full hookups and a tiny bit of asphalt to call your own. The RGV Campground has water and flush toilets and there is a dump station, laundry, gas station and showers near by. No other Park campgrounds have these facilities except for water spigots.

Both RGV CG and Cottonwood CG have poor quality water. Bring bottled water for general drinking unless you are use to the West Texas/Eastern New Mexico stuff.
The Chisos Basin CG has spring water, which I consider the best in the Park.

Cottonwood is the smallest, and the most remote of the paved road drive-up campgrounds, and therefore the most quiet. No, the sites aren't terribly large or private, but you will have the best neighbors in the Park. Perhaps even us before Feb 1.

--
Alan

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I was able to take my 21 to Chisos Basin a couple of years ago without any problems. I was careful driving up. I ended up with one of those roadside "pull-thru" campsites. On the way down, I had to stop in the road to let a big tour bus negotiate that one hairpin turn. Four big tour buses came up that road; each must have been forty feet long.

Chisos Basin CG is tiny with small sites. Originally designed for tents so your trailer parking spot will likely be less than ideal. But worth it. Just bring plenty of leveling blocks and become friends with your neighbors. The Chisos Basin is the "center of the action". But you will still have to go to RGV CG for a shower or laundry.

Those tour bus drivers usually have about 20 years of experience driving up that mountainous road. Consider driving it once without your trailer if this is your first time, especially if not used to steep and narrow.

--
Alan

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Ah well I did find the link in Jon's blog.
https://lakeshoreimages.com/15-16trip/day149.html

This link is to one of the day's I visited. There are more daily journals that you can find using the Google search that is on my website homepage.

First day of the 15-16 stay: http://lakeshoreimages.com/15-16trip/day148.html
First day of the 16 - 17 Trip: http://www.lakeshoreimages.com/17trip/day037.html

Big Bend National Park, TX This link is a collection of most of the photos on the individual journal pages.

I've stayed in all the park's campgrounds (except the parking lot with hookups) towing my 17. I'm pretty sure I could haul the 21 to Chisos Basin. Remember, most travel trailers are measured from the back to the front of the body, and unlike fiberglass trailers, don't include the hitch. Knock off the 3' of hitch and you are within the listed limits. You will find steep hills & tight switchbacks, but the campground is well worth a visit.

One more thing - since sites at Chisos Basin are reservable, be sure to make sure your 21 (or for that matter, even a 17) will fit. The cut out in the road I parked the 17 in was tight enough that two vehicles could not pass the trailer together.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have the time going back East this year to make a stop...

[hmontgo]

Alan - I would be happy to take CG hosts on a hike or two to see some interesting fossils that include dinosaur and marine reptile remains. There is also a crocodile site that exhibits the remains of animals as long as a bus. This would not be a tour of active sites, and the bones are not of research quality, but they are of rather great interest for those who relish this kind of experience. We do not reveal locations in Big Bend National Park, even the closed one from our sauropod airlift. Most of these sites are located just west of the Park. I would also be happy to give a couple of presentations. It was a crazy world 67 million years ago.