Jan 7, 2023 Day 5 Big Bend, TX

The Ross Maxwell drive offers fantastic views of the Chihuahuan Desert landscape as it winds its way to the Santa Elena Canyon. We left the campgrounds around 9:30am to travel this drive in the park, making several stops on our way.

Our first stop was at Homer Wilson Ranch. This is a short hike of .5 miles down into a valley where the ruins of this former ranch still stand. We wonder how this family could have survived in such harsh conditions and isolation but it’s a beautiful view and possibly they had an idyllic life here. This is a birding spot, and we capture a few photos of birds in the brush. The park also has signage warning of black bear and mountain lions, but we, fortunately or unfortunately depending on which one of us you ask, do not see either.

**Update: In looking more closely at the photos Ron took at the Homer Wilson Ranch, I discovered the bird photos Ron took are of a rare bird, the Colima Warbler! These birds are a rarity in the US and only located in Big Bend, most are in Mexico. Each year, people travel from all over the world to capture photos of this bird. Fortunately, Ron captured a few good photos!

We made several other stops including Tuff Canyon with an overlook into a deep canyon and another stop to view Mules Ears rock formations. The entire drive is filled with beauty and grandeur.

Castolon Historic District is an interesting historic site that now houses a Visitors Center and store. Starting in the 1900s many families farmed the fertile valley adjacent to the Rio Grande. After a Mexican uprising, a military outpost was established here in 1916, and an enterprising company, La Harmonia began a cotton farm in the 1920s that failed around 20 years later. Many of the structures are still here today including a home where a widow lived raising her 5 children in the 2-room structure.

Cottonwood Campgrounds are located nearby, and we checked them out too. This is a primitive area, and the sites are more conducive to tent camping rather than RVs.

From here we travelled to the end of the drive and Santa Elena Canyon. There were a lot of visitors at this location, but we found a place to park and walk down to the Rio Grande River and the Canyon. Many people had crossed a small waterway and sandy inlet to reach the canyon walls and steps leading up to the canyon. I am certain the views are tremendous, but we opted out of getting our shoes wet and making the climb.

This is one of the most impressive sights in Big Bend with the 1000-foot vertical cliffs, it’s truly magnificent. It can be seen from 10 miles away, as the Rio Grande changes direction abruptly after following the cliffs for several miles and heads due west, cutting through the mountains via a deep, narrow gorge.

For our last night in Big Bend, we went out to eat at the Maverick Park Resort across the road from our campgrounds. We enjoyed a great meal at the Candelilla Cafe and the views from the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the mountains of this region. On our return walk back to the campground, I took one last photo of Lajitas Mesa at dusk.