Graves and Ruins

Graves and ruins in Big Bend National Park. These old ruins are at Terlingua Abaja on the western edge of Big Bend NP.

The big cliff wall is the 1500 ft Mesa de Anguila through which the Rio Grande has carved Santa Elena Canyon.

Terlingua Abaja is a few miles upstream from where the Terlingua Creek flows into the Rio.

This is a tough land but the view is fantastic.

Hoodoos

Hoodoos along the River Road in Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Hoodoos are normally associated with Utah and a place like Bryce Canyon, but here are some found in the Big Bend country.

As I posted in some images a few weeks ago BBRSP also has some Utah like canyons so I guess you can find a little bit of Utah style adventure right in your own Texas backyard. It's a whole lot closer and a whole lot less crowded too.

The Big Bend Country in Wide Screen

The Big Bend country is wide screen country. It is the perfect place to truly make a big image. It is also the kind of place John Ford would have loved to use as a movie set.

Here is a big wide view. It is taken just off the road between Lajitas and Terlingua and takes in the western side of Big Bend National Park. You can see the Chisos in the middle left distance. You can see the volcanic activity that left Cerro Castolon. You can see the Sierra Ponce in which Santa Elena Canyon is carved where the Rio Grande has cut through the Ponce wall.

Be sure to click for the full sized image so you can take in the big country.

Terlingua Creek

Looking south along Terlingua Creek in Big Bend National Park. The Sierra Ponce wall is visible in the distance.

The shallow clear waters of Terlingua Creek flow south bound along the western edge of Big Bend NP joining up with the Rio Grande at the moth of Santa Elena Canyon.

For the most part the creek meanders as a small braided waterway over gravel and mud banks. At times the creek can fill and roar through here during the wet season, but it is normally just a small stream.

Chisos at Dawn

The eastern side of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park at dawn.

Look at this image with the flowers and blooms and you would think it would have to be a springtime image. But that would be very wrong. This was taken at Thanksgiving. The Big Bend country has it's rainy season from mid summer through fall. This was at the tail end of that rainy season and there were not only blooms but also fall color in the mountains. It is quite a feast for the eyes to see fall color and fresh flower blooms.

It is not to bad as a photographer either.

Cactus in Santa Elena Canyon

I was photographing in Santa Elena Canyon on a trip to Big Bend National Park when I looked at the rock above me and saw this cactus sticking out of the side of it.

I thought it might make a nice image framed against the "V" of the canyon.

I am constantly amazed at how many different things in the park can make a great photograph, even a single cactus.

Old Ruins

The old adobe and stone ruins are in Big Bend National Park. It is a partially standing adobe house with a stone fireplace in the center.

The ruin sits on a hill overlooking the Rio and the Sierra del Ponce in Mexico. There are also views to the Chisos Mountains and Santa Elena Canyon. It must have been quite a place to live.

The walls of the ruin have some nicely framed windows and this door. The double frame of it really sturck me as a neat feature. I also greatly admire the stone fireplace that was once the centerpiece of this home.

I framed up the fireplace through the door with just a hint of the Ponce wall beyond.

Ghost Mountains

The Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park actually mean ghost mountains. It is an apt term. When viewed on a foggy or cloudy morning the ridges, and peaks take on a hazy view of stacked layers. Even on a sunny morning they can take on a great backlit view as the sun rises.

Ghostly indeed.

This image was made from a hilltop near Santa Elena Canyon looking back east one morning in soft colorful light. The highpoint on sees on the left is Emory Peak, the highest point in the park and one of the tallest in Texas.

Cactus

Cactus and volcanic rock in Big Bend National Park. The western side of the park is full of volcanic activity and has left red rock across the landscape.

This view is off the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

Moonrise Over the Sierra Del Carmen

The Sierra Del Carmen range is visible all across the eastern part of Big Bend National Park. By the time one gets to Rio Grande Village, the Carmens are the major visible landmark that tower to the east.

These mountains are actually in Mexico. They are part of a range that is called the Dead Horse Mountains in the United States after crossing the Rio at Boquillas Canyon the range rises to new heights in Mexico and takes on a new name.

This is the view from near Rio Grande Village.

Sunrise in West Texas

Sunrise across the open range of west Texas.

I was on a trip to the Guadalupe Mountains in far west Texas and watched this sunrise one morning.

You get one every day. No two ever look the same and you never get a second chance at it.

Ripples

This rippled sand is from the dunes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

The dunes are pure white gypsum sand, just like at White Sands, New Mexico but not as well known. As such I have never seen another person here at the same time I was. The fact they they are 45 miles from park HQ and that they are not really advertised helps keep them that way. Still if you ask the rangers at HQ, they will give you a map and a gate key to get to them.

Be prepared for an hour drive, a mile and a half walk. Hope for dry conditions or the road there will be slop and impassable. Finally, hope for calm wind or the blowing sand will chase you back to your car. But if it all works out you can walk alone across the sand.

Stay for the sunset, bring a headlamp, and hike out in the dark.

Winding Road to the Christmas Mountains

This is a view of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive in Big Bend National Park with the Christmas Mountains in the distance.

I thought was an appropriate entry for today as this is the day the State Land Commission will decide their fate.

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, the Christmas Mountains (about 9,000 acres in size) were donated to the state for inclusion in a park. I think the idea was either a state park or to be added to neighboring Big Bend National Park.

Our esteemed public officials decided the state parks cannot manage it (no money) and that they would sell it to the highest bidder. The whole thing is just a mess. The NPS will take it but the Land Commissioner will not give it to them. The newspaper has reported that the group who originally gave the donation may rebuy it and give it to the NPS.

This is such a unique opportunity to add land to a major park that I hope the Land Commission comes to their senses and makes this part of BBNP.

Dunefield

Another image of the white gypsum sand dunes on the westeren side of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

The view here is westerly and the mountains you see in the distance are the Cornudas Range.

I greatly enjoy a trip out to these dunes. They are not well known (except by photographers) and are a long way from anywhere.

If one looks close you can find the two other photographers I am with in the image.