When my fiancé said he had a few days off from work at the end of May, we quickly planned a trip to Big Bend National Park.
Summer was nearing, and I imagined the flowing waters of the Rio Grande against picturesque canyons, fields of desert cacti, and glorious mountain peaks meeting fresh blue Texas sky.
We reserved a hotel in the area and drove 10 hours from Houston to the park. Unfortunately, our trip wasn’t quite what I hoped.
The vastness and seclusion of the dry desert landscape were intimidating from the start
The sky looked beautiful during sunrise and sunset.
Isobella Jade
When we arrived at the park, we paid $30 for an entrance pass and then traveled another 35 miles to our lodging site, Chisos Mountain Lodge.
I liked that the simple rooms in our lodge provided mountain views of the heart of the park, which formed from a volcano eruption over 30 million years ago.
The surrounding Chisos Mountains looked ghostly, with eroded rough cliffs and shadowed formations that looked like mysterious creatures.
Although we were in the heart of Big Bend, we quickly realized we’d have a lot more driving to do throughout this trip. The drive from our lodge to Santa Elena Canyon alone was over 90 miles there and back.
I hadn’t realized just how massive Big Bend National Park would feel at 1,200 square miles of land or just how spread out its landmarks were.
Most of the remote drives made me feel like I was on Mars. Every plant and cactus we passed looked parched from the scorching sun and sweltering heat.
I felt like desert prey as the signage we passed warned of rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and black bears.
We saw some beautiful views, but I didn’t realize the glorious Rio Grande might be dry
A view along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.
Isobella Jade
We explored the easy Window View Trail, which offers a beautiful vista of the “window” formed between the mountains. It was outstanding at sunset.
Then we ventured on the rocky Chisos Basin Loop Trail, an easy-to-moderate hike that introduced us to views of Emory Peak, the highest in the park, and the square-shaped Casa Grande Peak.
I was especially excited to see the magnificent Santa Elena Canyon, a gorge where the Rio Grande splits the land between the US and Mexico.
To get there, we took the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, a geological wonder where volcanic ash and various rock formations meet. We didn’t pass anyone on the road, just a coyote and vultures.
When the 1,500-foot-high limestone cliffs and Santa Elena’s gorgeous purplish and beige colors came into view, I straightened up in my seat.
I was expecting to see sunlight beam off the ripples of the river between glorious canyon walls. Instead, I mostly saw dry, cracked ground.
I wish I’d gotten to see the Rio Grande in all of its glory at Santa Elena.
Isobella Jade
I didn’t know I might not see the Rio Grande in all its glory, but I later learned that it was always possible.
In 2022, Rio Grande dried out for the first time in about 40 years due to factors like persistent drought and lack of rainfall.
It began happening again in 2023, and with many hot days ahead in Texas, it’s not out of the question for the future. I wish I’d reigned in my expectations by looking into the state of the river before we left.
I wasn’t prepared to deal with the heat or how scared I’d be of wildlife
Getting to one of the park’s most famous photo spots, The Balanced Rock, meant driving on an extremely intense rocky road. I couldn’t see the hood of the SUV as we spent miles dipping up and down like we were on a roller coaster.
We parked near a sandy trailhead and set off on a steady pace. It was only a 2-mile round-trip hike through a boulder field, but all I could think about was mountain lions.
The hills were covered in clusters of huge boulders casting shadows, which seemed like the perfect spot for a lion’s den. There are about 150 lion sightings at the park a year, and although only a few encounters have resulted in attacks, I was still on edge.
The hike’s incline didn’t help, either. I could feel my energy quickly evaporate while scrambling and pulling myself over steep boulders in the blazing sun.
In Big Bend, temperatures can hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit by late morning in May.
When I saw the famous Balanced Rock, I’ll admit, I wasn’t as impressed as I should’ve been. I was too hot, sunburned, and dehydrated to appreciate the poised composure of the huge boulder balancing atop other rock formations.
Many find Big Bend to be paradise, but I’m not sure it was for me
The Balanced Rock is a famous photo opportunity in Big Bend.
Isobella Jade
While driving toward the park’s exit, I didn’t look back.
We saw some beautiful views during our trip, but I found myself uninterested in doing too many challenging climbs to see more eroded cliffs.
I learned Big Bend is not a park where one can just “wing it.” Hiking in the heat is no joke, and the weather can easily impact plans.
Had I realized the great driving distance between each landmark we wanted to see, I would’ve planned to visit only one a day so I could enjoy them without tiring myself out in the heat. I also really wish we’d visited during a cooler month, like March.
Still, Big Bend welcomes over 500,000 visitors each year. I’m sure many of them resonate with mountainous and wide-open desert landscapes, enjoy isolation, and trust themselves to hike in the heat.
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