Tuesday, February 13 – We began our day here in Terlingua, TX, by heading back in the west side of Big Bend National Park. We had several stops planned along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. This is a 30 mile stretch of paved road taking us to Castolon/Santa Elena. It is known for some of the grandest views in the park. It didn’t disappoint.
We decided to drive the complete scenic drive making Santa Elena Canyon our first stop. This hike is an easy trail of 1.7 miles hugging the mountain cliff along the Rio Grande River. It is amazing how the river carved this gorge through the mountain. These cliffs must be 300 feet or more high! After crossing Terlingua creek by way of a small board that probably wasn't even needed, we climbed a set of switchbacks and stairs to an overlook area about 100 feet above the river.
Marsha gingerly crosses the roaring Terlingua Creek.
Time to climb.
We then followed the trail back down to the river's edge until we reached the end of the trail about a quarter of a mile back in the canyon. A easy hike but full of amazing scenic views!
End of the trail.
A little beauty along the way.
Looking back towards the Chisos Mountains.
Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff was our next trail. Another easy hike of 1.1 miles.
Pretty easy trail.
The hardest part of this hike is the dry river bed we needed to maneuver down. It is tiresome to walk on the gravel in a riverbed, similar to a soft sandy beach.
Lots of debris from the rushing waters.
The trail ends at the bottom of the dramatic Burro Mesa Pour-off. This would be best described as a dry waterfall. It is where the mountain waters spill over the mountain edge to eventually reach the Rio Grande River. We imagine it's been some time since water was pouring over that cliff in this dry desert environment.
Because the mesa is capped by hard lava, the runoff sculpts a sheer
chute instead of a leisurely stream canyon. 100 foot pour-off.
Our last stop of the day was the Sam Nail Ranch trail. Another short and easy trial less than a mile in length. The trail runs through the brush back past a working windmill to the site of the former ranch. This is a popular birding area due to the combination of water and shade.
Remains of ranch house.
View from the Nail’s front window.
We then headed back to BJ's Campground to relax for the remainder of the day. Another enjoyable day with awesome views and beautiful weather with temperatures in the mid-seventies.
Y’all come back tomorrow to venture with us on the longer Mule Ears Spring hike.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
The canyon hike was one of our favorites. The views are amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful hike excellent pictures and wonderful views, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe really enjoyed the scenery in this part of BB. Santa Elena Canyon was where we had the furious winds ... we managed to avoid the worst of it by starting out really early. Didn't get to the Mule Ears Spring hike ... looking forward to seeing what we missed.
ReplyDeleteWow!! What a beautiful drive and neat hikes. I really enjoy doing several shorter hikes with a drive in between. Fun! That water crossing was wicked! So glad you made it...haha! Finding ranch ruins is always a treat. They certainly had a spectacular view. Must be a gorgeous waterfall when the water is rushing, but tough to get to!!
ReplyDeleteOh, how beautiful!! The colors you captured in the landscape are just fantastic. We loved those hikes, too. So glad you made it safely across the raging Terlingua Creek so that you could explore Santa Elena Canyon, LOL! Your photos make me want to return to Big Bend, even though we were just there in December. You are certainly having some gorgeous weather.
ReplyDeletePS I think the caption "A little beauty along the way" should belong to the photo above it! :-))
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved this part of the park! You two seem to be discovering all of Big Bend's "little" gems. LuAnn
ReplyDeleteThis is the one we missed, and that we must go back for. We only saw it from the top side. We got spectacular pics, but I also wanted to see it from the river level. Just ran out of time that day. . .boo!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pics. . .