Roller Coaster Ride to Presidio

Yesterday was a great day to take a road trip! I have had so many park visitors ask about areas surrounding us that I decided to make a road trip west past the towns of Study Butte and Terlingua to Lajitas and Presidio as well as Big Bend State Park. Although I was a little curious to see the border town of Ojinaga I did not bring my passport and thought it might be better to have someone else with me if I crossed into Mexico.

The day started out in the 70's, perfect for driving with the windows down and sight seeing. But by the end of the day it was just over 100 in Presidio when I began my return trip. My car thermometer stayed on 99 until I got back up into the Chisos Basin where it was a much more pleasant 84. :-)

As I drove west out of Terlingua it was fun to see a place that I've heard others speak of: Long Draw Pizza. Such a nondescript building but around here there are no Aurelios, Genos, Papa John's or even Pizza Huts so one takes what one can get! Actually, everyone speaks very highly of the pizza and I'm looking forward to eating there one day soon.

Long Draw Pizza (photo from TripAdvisor)

A recent park visitor was exclaiming of the  lush beauty of Lajitas and I, too, was astounded when I saw how much money must reside in that town! There is a golf course, plush looking condos and swanky places to eat. Who would have thunk it in the middle of what most see as god-forsaken desert!

 

Lajitas Golf Resort & Spa (from their website)

The first major stop I made was the visitor center on the east side of Big Bend State Park. Ranger Laird, was happy to let me explore their wonderful visitor center and see their exhibits. They have the coolest fossils, a beautiful, 3-acre desert plant exhibit, camel saddles from the days when camels were used to cross the Chihuahuan desert, mercury mining equipment, and a collection of at least 50 different varieties of barbed wire that were used in this area throughout history.

When I began the trek through the state park I was in awe of the vistas! It was sort of like taking a roller coaster ride along the Rio Grande combined with views of all the same types of rock formations that I had seen throughout the National Park. For the average tourist the drive would be very enjoyable, especially because the Rio Grande River is in view most of the time with towering cliffs on the Mexican side.

This is campsite #1 in the Upper Madera. Pretty nice with a shade structure, a hook & pole for keeping your food away from critters, a fire pit, etc.!

This is what all the other campsites looked like though - this one was special because it came complete with vultures!

The roadside rest area. Teepees must be a tribute to the Apache and Comanches who used to live in the area.

I hiked in my flip flops into Closed Canyon but only until the shoes hindered safe progress.

What hike would be complete without a lizard buddy?

While driving I could not take a picture of the road where it zigzagged but this is one of the many, many roller coaster drops! Yee haw!

The Rio Grande River - Mexico is the "tall" side of the photo.

Population about 5,100 with a great grocery store, one of the biggest high schools I've seen down this way, banks, Bealls (for clothing), auto supply stores and more.

A house in the tiny town of Redford a few miles east of Presidio.

Roadside flowers in Redford. I recognized them as the same type I'd seen on the way to the Gila and was surprised to see them looking just as beautiful here.

Another house in Redford - not sure if it was occupied or abandoned.

There were a couple of interesting signs along the way and I'm not sure what this means, but it sure was eye-catching. :-)