The Big Bend

If you are in Texas, there is  one place you would not like to miss. This is place is so big and remote that you can feel and see nature at its best. There are no skyscrapers nor highways that remind you of busy city life, just plain mountains, rivers and cactus plants (things of nature).

During my childhood days, I watched many Western movies like the Wild Wild West, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, the Lone Rangers and many others. I can remember vividly scenes of Red Indians chasing cow boys on rocky mountains with the occasional gun shots being fired at each other, the fight inside a bar where chairs and tables and of course bottles were smashed and also the bank robberies. This is the Big Bend National Park in Texas. The ideal shooting location for Western movies of cow boys showing their skills in drawing our their guns with fast lighting speed and then the villains came crashing down. During our stay in Texas in 2011, we visited the Big Bend and spent two days driving around this huge national park. We had a good time venturing into deep mountain trails, watching sunsets and playing on shallow rivers and streams.

 Big Bend National Park has an area more than 800,000 acres big in southwest Texas. The Rio Grande forms the international boundary between Mexico and the United States with a stretch of more than 1,000 miles. Big Bend National Park administers approximately one-quarter of that boundary. Within the 118 twisting miles that also define the park’s southern boundary, the river’s southeasterly flow changes abruptly to the northeast and forms the “big bend” of the Rio Grande.

At entry to the national park

Big Bend National Park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States. Few areas exceed the park’s value for the protection and study of geologic and paleontologic resources. Cretaceous and Tertiary fossil organisms exist in variety and abundance. Archeologists have discovered artifacts estimated to be 9,000 years old, and historic buildings and landscapes offer graphic illustration of life along the international border at the turn of the century.

In front of Canyon

Inside the Big Bend Museum

Before we explored the vastness of the Big Bend, we visited the Museum of the Bend to view the history and artifacts associated with the park. The museum introduces visitors to the history and confluence of cultures represented by the region. Native Americans inhibited the area for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans, the Spanish. The Spanish, through their system of missions, imprinted their customs on the region only to be replaced by the the nation of Mexico. The westward expansion of the United States of America brought yet another unique culture to Big Bend.

On the BoquillasTrail

On Santa ElenaTrail

^{One of the park's best known features, Santa Elenar Canyon, is only half a canyon on the United States. Its south canyon wall towers above Mexico. We spent almost 3 hours exploring the mountain trail at Santa Eleanor Canyon until we reached a dead end where our path was blocked by a gigantic mountain rock and a river that serves as border between Mexico and the United States.}


 

End of Trail at far end

Despite its harsh desert environment, Big Bend has an amazing variety and number of plant and animal species. It has more than 1200 species of plants (including 60 cactus species), more than 600 species of vertebrates, and about 3600 insect species. The diversity of life is largely due to the diverse ecology and changes in elevation, ranging from the dry, hot desert to the cool mountains to the fertile river valley.

Most of the animals are not visible in the day, particularly in the desert. The park comes alive at night, with many of the animals foraging for food. About 150 Cougar sightings are reported per year, despite the fact that there are only a total of two dozen Cougars. Other species that inhabit the park include Black-tailed Jackrabbit, kangaroo rats, Greater Roadrunner, Golden Eagle, Collared Peccary, and Coyote. Mexican Black Bears are also present in the mountain areas.

A  life-size specimen of black bear at the Museum of the Big Bend

 Huge Cactus

The variety of cactus and other plant life add color to the Big Bend region. Cactus species in the park include prickly pear (Opuntia spp.), Claret Cup (Echinocereus coccineus) and Pitaya (E. enneacanthus). In the spring, the wildflowers are in full bloom and the yucca flowers display bright colors. Bluebonnets (Lupinus spp.) are prevalent in Big Bend, and white and pink bluebonnets are sometimes visible by the road. Other flowering plants such as the Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata), Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), Rock Nettle (Eucnide urens) and Lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) abound in Big Bend.

Completely immersed in nature

                                                       Video on Santa Elena Trail

                                                       Video on Boquillas Canyon Trail

When we hiked on the Boquillas Canyon Trail, we reached a point where a river separate the nations of United States from Mexico. We heard some guy singing Spanish song from a mountain at the other side of the river. He had a very good voice (at least I thought so) and his singing reached us from afar. Later we found out that he was the singing Mexican and he used his song to greet the visitors. Actually his aim was to attract visitors' attention. He has become so famous that he appeared in U tube as the Singing Mexican, a local icon, in this part of the world (you will hear his singing towards the end of the second video clip). His father used to sell home made souvenirs and hiking sticks to visitors. Beside the goods he was selling, he also placed a tin near his goods to collect donation money. It seems that everyday, the Mexicans would cross over the river to the American side to solicit business from visitors.