Day 2

Rio Grande Village RV Park Big Bend National Park Big Bend, Texas

We took the River Road East into the backcountry of Big Bend National Park.  Big Bend is 800,000 acres.  This was another chance to really see the park.  This route took us across 50 miles of gravel road.  There were a couple of areas where we could drive down to the Rio Grande.

A hawk in flight.

The topography was constantly changing.

The Mariscal Mine harvested quicksilver until the 1940’s.

What a beautiful ride.

When we emerged we took the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.  This road passed through the Chisos Mountains.  The views were dramatic.  It was my turn to drive.  I saw two tarantulas crossing the road.

I liked this interesting sign at the visitor center.  “Only the curvature of the earth prevents us from seeing a maximum of 242 miles.”  On a day with good visibility, it is possible to see 112-136 miles.  A day with average visibility you can see 56-69 miles.  On a day when the air pollution and haze is greatest, the visibility is only 34-40 miles.

This evening we grilled bison burgers and then took our bikes out.   

We rode down to the nature trail and the beavers came out!

We saw two cottontails as we returned to the campground.  What a great day!

November Days of Thanksgiving Day #2:  Tim and I are thankful for our strong partnership.  We have always worked as a team.  Without our solid relationship none of the other good stuff would be possible.