Big Bend National Park Spring Break - Picture Heavy

Just got back from a great trip to Big Bend NP. We hiked right at 30 miles in 5 days. Highly recommended. Hope you enjoy.



We got camp setup Sunday afternoon and hiked into Boquillas Canyon



There were three Mexicans sitting on the other side of the river monitoring this little setup here that they put on the trail.



There was also a Mexican singing from a canoe with jars setup with cardboard signs saying "Tips for the singing Mexican Jesus".

Down in the canyon



View of the town of Boquillas in Mexico



The next morning we did a short hike up near camp just to check out the sunrise.

The sun about to come up over the Sierra del Carmen mountains in Mexico



And the Chisos Mountains facing the opposite direction





My beautiful wife





Continued…

Next we hiked up Grapevine Hills trail to the balancing rock

You can see the trail below



And the rock



Later we took this pic of the mule ears



Then we hike Tuff Canyon and got this shot of some bluebonnets. They are everywhere right now.



At the bottom of Tuff Canyon




Here we were headed up Lost Mine Trail

Views headed up the trail







At the top!





Continued…

Here's the oldest standing adobe structure in the park in Castolon village with a view of Santa Elena Canyon in the background



The dogs getting some swimming in outside the park. Yep, they went to Mexico and I didn't.





Graveyard in Terelingua Ghost Town



This is an old movie set where they filmed a few movies including Streets of Laredo (sequel to Lonesome Dove).




We hiked Ernst Tinaja.



At the Tinaja. Deer and mountain lion have been found drowned here.



Here we were hiking into Santa Elena Canyon (the same one in the far distance of the above adobe house pic)



Santa Elena looking up



At the bottom



Continued…

And finally the best part. Yesterday we hiked Emory Peak which is the highest point in the park at about 7900'. The hike is 10.6 miles round trip.

Emory Peak from bottom



Heading up. I did about 90% of all the hikes like this



Mexican Jay



Some vultures



A bee hive




First you hike up 3.8 mile to this junction then the final stretch to Emory Peak



Still going



Getting closer





Continued...

Finally we made it. The last 30 ft or so is literally a rock climb straight up. My wife was freaking out and only did it because I took the kids up and she didn't want them out of her sight up there. lol
I'm kind of bummed that the pictures don't really capture how high we really were but in a few of them you can see the buildings at the bottom where we started.










Thanks for looking!

Man that's awesome, great experience with the family. How old's your boy? Our youngest is 3 so I can see trips like this in our near future.

Wow what a great thing to share with the family,nothing compares with the different beauty we all share in the Great State of Texas.

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

Thanks! It was pretty fun.
The boy is 5. We have been taking them places like this for years. I've done a lot of carrying lol. It is worth it though.

Looks like an awesome time! How was the campsite? Never been out that way so sorry if this is a ridiculous question but, is it a pretty safe area to camp?

Great pictures, great family outing! Go Tech!

Nice pic's. Just got back myself. It's beautiful.

Nice pics!

Awesome photos If those hills could talk, long history there.

Great photos sir. That is a great family adventure for sure. I really miss West Texas and have hiked many of the same trails you guys were on. Thanks for sharing your photos!! Baker

I was wondering the same thing but didn't think twice about it once I got there. we camped in the rio grande village about 100 yards from the river but the park was so busy it was fine.

Thanks for sharing your pics and comments. I've never been, but now I want to. Where there a lot of people there?

Eddie

Hi Eddie, March is their busiest month because of spring break so there were quite a few there while we were but even then it wasn't bad at all. The park is so big that people aren't stacked up. There was maybe 2 to 5 cars at each trail head so the trails weren't crowded at all.
We stayed at the Rio Grande Village which has full rv hookups and it was full almost every night but it's only about 25 spots so that wasn't bad at all either.
If you went anytime between October abd February you would probably have the park to yourself basically.

I don't think summer is as crowded either but it would be miserably hot if you wanted to do a lot of hiking.

Didn't even see one other person in any of the photos, so doesnt look too congested at all

Did you stop at the rockshop in terlingua and visited my friend?
And dod you sat down and had a cold one outside starlight restaurant?

I wanted too but didn't this time. We got ice cream and saw the graves then went on through lajitas to that movie set. Lajitas looks really nice.

Look closer, they are all hiding with bundles on their backs behind rocks.

Great Pics. I was at BB State Park about a month ago, went to BB National 5 years ago. It's a must see for sure.

Great Photos!!!!!I did the same with my youngest son about 25 years ago.....neat place.....my wife and I were married in Marathon.

Appreciate the invite bedwetter.

Man those are some great pics!! Beautiful really.

That's cool Chris, thanks for sharing!

Let's go somewhere today. We freaking came home last night because Cad was supposed to have a soccer game this morning but it was canceled. Found out AFTER waking up at 7...

Great pics! Looks like you had really great weather for you trip also. Thanks for sharing.

great pictures!

Those kids should get gold medals, 30 miles in 5 days wow. We went right after X-mas with the boys. It was busy like you said, but the place is huge. Great job and pics.

What a great bunch of photos! Thanks for sharing.

Great pics. We love Big Ben. It looks greener out there then I have seen in a long time. This has made me decide to go back soon. Thanks for sharing.

That looks awesome.

Excellent pics. Thanks for sharing

wonderful vacation, wonderful family, wonderful memories....You got the Big 3 this year.

Looks like you and the family had a great time. Thanks for sharing the photos. The wife and I want to go there next year.

Awesome pics! I have been thinking about visiting for a while but you might have just made up my mind for me. I bet that place makes a person feel pretty small rather quickly

I just added big bend to next years destanation!!!

How was the water level in Santa Elena? We couldn't hike it lastSeptember due to floods. Too dangerous, BBNP is something you have to experience, even if just from a car. Even the "easy" hike to the windows can be brutal if it is warm. Rough and beautiful country. Great pics sir

The water level seemed normal to low. It didn't branch off into Terelingua Creek at all so we had a dry crossing to the trail. People were kayaking in the Rio Grande though so it wasn't too low.

Great pics! Looks like a good time by all. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome pictures and what a great looking family you have

Nice pics, and good story line!

My family took us down there in the 70's. looks just like I remember it. Boquillas, the Window, the Basin, Mule Ears, Lunas house, El Capitan…We floated Santa Elena one year…good times!