Around the Bend in Texas

Driving into Texas from New Mexico there was an immediate shift. Straight away it was nodding donkeys, oil tankers and gas flares. No sign of an electric vehicle charging point for miles! We did say we’d stay open minded though about the state and explore it, and put aside our media fed unconscious bias that we suspect we may have. (does that mean its actually conscious??!)

We headed towards a town called Marfa, a name that sounds like it’s out of some sci fi film. It was an little known small town until artist Donald Judd decided to base himself there and thus, the cyclical evolution of artists and art lovers to the area. Before that, it was known for being the filming location of the film Giant, James Dean’s last. Hence the ‘giant’ painted plywood cut outs roadside… wasn’t she just gorgeous, our Liz? These days it’s the Prada Marfa store in the desert that it is known for, its not real but draws people who then say, “I knew it was dumb but I went there anyway”. For a small town, its architecture is grand and there’s a fair few arty shops and galleries and some overpriced shops for the discerning visitor. We thought it fun to park our palace in front of the palace! To be honest we weren’t quite feeling it, (we keep hearing that phrase!) and aside, we weren’t in the customary boho attire of designer cut off jeans and ankle boots. We’re more hick than hip!

We much preferred another town called Alpine, it had much more about it we thought, and we ‘felt it’ a lot more! 🙂 Home of the first ever Rodeo University, Sul Ross, we knew we were in for a ride! You’ll know by now we are fans of the street art and Alpine has it in abundance and some real quality to it. We stood in awe at the faux Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Cover with local Texas artists images. Lots of great buildings to see reflecting the history. It was one of those ‘wrong side of the tracks’ towns once upon a time, when Hispanics couldn’t go North side after dark, segregation rules. Naturally, the South side was thus the more vibrant side of the railway. The area is now regenerated, Murphy Street and even has a cat hotel.

Alpine was also a great overnight spot; we camped with 3 kangaroo, 3 alpaca, 1 llama, numerous donkeys, a camel and a partridge in a pear tree. Jigsaw had a different opinion… fantastic boondock hosts! The following day we took a hike as we needed to do a bit of admin, we found an empty desk atop a mountain and thankfully there were some bikes we could ride down on. Seriously, there is a desk at the top and bikes hanging from a tree. The desk put their by Sul Ross students in 1981 who wanted a quiet place to study.

The last big event of the year was however, getting the tall one on a horse for the first time. We stayed at a place called Historic Prude Ranch which has evolved since 1897, the Prudes arrived in a covered wagon, apparently protected by soldiers from nearby Fort Davis, from the ‘Indians’ (not my words). It was a super spot to stay although -13 degrees overnight was a shock. We rode out on a trail through the mountains on some very odd saddles and riding with one hand, enjoying the clean air and the scenery without falling off. The ranch was started as a cattle ranch, no surprise there eh, but it now does all sorts, kids summer camps, event hosting, guest ranching etc. Hence it’s known as a ‘Dude Ranch’… we had real good fun and even spotted The Lone Rangers horse, silver… hi ho y’all! While there we also visited Fort Davis, a well preserved example of a frontier military post. It’s one of many built along the route that pioneers were travelling, heading through the Trans Pecos region to chase the gold in California and where the military provided protection and support. Do you see the kneeling person in the rock formation?

Big Bend State Park is the little sister to Big Bend National Park. Covering a vast area there’s a lot of driving, the landscape a kind of mix between Death Valley’s artists palette colours and The Grand Canyon for sheer sided, flat topped mountains and austerity. Highway 170 hugs the Rio Grande all the way, we stopped lots of times to look at the river, the hoodoos and the expansive views and hiked into canyons, clambering rocks. There was one guy who must have thought there’d be some kind of trouble with the tourists! (so wanted to ask why?) This was real desert when thinking of isolation and wilderness, the Chihuahuan Desert is the biggest in the Americas, much of it is actually in Mexico. The 18th century Spanish called it ‘el despoblando’, the unpopulated place. Very little greenery to soften the landscape, it is vast, desolate but beautiful.

On our way to our campsite we stopped at the so called ghost town of Terlingua. It says a lot about a place when the most interesting bit is the cemetery! Not a mercury mining ghost town at all these days, it’s full of old 60’s and 70’s RV’s and Airstreams masquerading as Airbnb’s, has a really busy restaurant, bar and music venue and a tourist tat shop. At least they have a fiesta recognising Day of the Dead on Nov, 2nd to keep it real! On that note, the ‘cornhole’ boards at the campsite, we’ve learned the basics of the game, were very elaborate.

Big Bend National Park, founded in 1944, is vast and thus we stayed in 3 different parts, each quite different. At 1,252 sq miles it’s just a tad smaller than Cornwall. A scale like that equals diverse landscapes and all of it immense. Some parts really hug the Rio Grande, Big Bend being named as a result of the 90degree turn that the river does, within the park. We were really surprised at how low the water levels were, such that we could literally stepping stone into Mexico. Apparently, the river is dammed several times up stream to provide water for the populations of the big towns and cities. We wondered what happens when it’s totally dry as it doesn’t seem far off! The Santa Elena canyon was a great hike, we could throw rocks at Mexico, just like the US seems to do with words (based on conversations and attitudes we’ve come across so far)

The west of the park was farmed until is stopped being economic in the 1950’s and there’s plenty of ruins of buildings scattered about such that it’s easy to look out and imagine it, across the wide plains. It’s a curious place, barren yes, but there’s plenty of colour and fun in the forms if you look, like the cactus that needs a hair cut.

The best part of Big Bend, in our opinion, is The Chisos Mountains. Camping within the caldera provides for a literal cauldron of flora and fauna and some epic geology. Hiking the ‘Window Trail’ down to a gap where you could easily be blown off your feet was a memory we won’t forget. Volcanic geology on display, numerous Yukka (Sotal and Torrey mainly), prickly pear cacti; and tree varieties in glorious autumnal colours (yes many still had yellow leaves on) and to top it, a mummy Mexican bear with two darling cubs crossing our path. We were glad we’d eaten our porridge! At the altitude it got pretty cold at night too but it also makes for more trees and vegetation than at the lower levels. A couple of days around there, taking it all in was nature for the soul, it really was.

Towards the east of the park it is different again. Remaining close to the Rio Grande again, we could hot foot it into Mexico on a hike at The Boquillas Canyon, with the wild horses, where the landscape changed again, sandstone eroded hoodoo forms and a lusher feel. At every turn there were Mexican crafts for sale, adding a mass of colour. In the evening sunset light atop a mountain, the rock of the Sierra del Carmen turned pink (on the Mexico side) and the sky pinks and orange, US side. The Cottonwood tree’s and grasses vegetation, back lit on the river flood plain were mesmerising in the breeze. The Sierra is on the scale of The Grand Canyon, with its steep sides and escarpment edge, and just as stunning, rising out of the Chihauhaun Desert in Mexico the range is 72 km long Walking through a nature trail nearby, in what is in effect a desert oasis, we saw a Javelina and a Coyote (note to selves, Jigsaw needs to be supervised in the campground!) We didn’t spot the bobcat that’s around!

There are plenty of viewpoints around and it is genuinely possible to stand and gaze over the flat plains within the mountain ranges and imagine the whole area under water and then roamed by dinosaurs. There’s plenty of fossils and some fab exhibits, dinosaur skeletons etc, no one needs virtual reality goggles to be able to see that if you let yourself imagine it. The whole park is a vastness that’s difficult to comprehend and describe. It’s layer upon layer of geology, big skies and even bigger views.

So that was our first taste of Texas and we have to say, as a landscape it is ‘Texas large’ and packs a punch. It’s so vast it feels empty and the dark skies are incredible. We’ve met a variety of people, many like minded, some not at all, but that’s the experience. It’ll take a lot to convince us that people walking hundreds of miles for a better life and safety can be as bad as depicted. There are bad people everywhere but they are the minority. Anyhow, we’ve plenty of time here yet and lot more to explore but we can totally see why this place is a big draw.