On Thursday morning, we left the Bus at the Big Bend Resort RV Park (Yeah, Right!!) , and headed toward the National Park……… 3 miles down the highway.
Our free National Parks Pass (for being older than 62) got us a free 7 day pass to enter the park. After passing through the gate, we stopped at the visitor center located 22 miles into the park, got our maps, asked some questions, and headed out.
Our first destination was the Boquillas Border Crossing area. While at the Visitor Center, we realized that we had left our Passports in the Bus, and would not be able to cross today. However, we wanted to check it out and decide whether we would come back on Friday.
On the road to the border crossing, we saw a sign for the Hot Springs, so we turned and investigated. After traveling down a dirt and rock road, sometimes just wide enough for the car, we came upon some old building that were the remnants of a hot springs resort area. There is still a spot with hot mineral water, but no longer a commercial endeavor.
Contrary to what we had read, the crossing did have Federal agents at the crossing, and a place to declare your purchases. Two people for a crossing that did not have very many people using it…….. at least today!!
The New Border Patrol office & parking lot……
The Village of Boguillas from the USA side…..
Boguillas “zoomed” from the USA side…..
We began with a full tank of gas in the car, and ended up driving 180 miles on the roads of the park. The scenery is a mixture of sand and rock desert with sparse plant growth to magnificent mountains of large rocks, and a lot of rock structures that have been water/wind eroded over thousands of years. Here is a montage of pictures………
The last place that we visited turned out to be the best. It was the Santa Elena Canyon along the “Russ Maxwell Scenic Drive. We actually were able to walk down to the Rio Grande river and put our feet in!! There was even a boat ramp!! Here are some pictures……..
Finally, we did drive through the three (3) Camping areas in the park. Two were no hookups, but one (Rio Grande Village had full hookups as well as a no-hookup area. We also saw a couple European RV’s that we had seen pictures of in RV magazines………
On Friday, we will tour more of the Park and the surrounding area. Whether or not we cross into Mexico is yet to be determined. Watch for the next blog………….
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