Big Bend

Big Bend National Park is in southern Texas, separated from Mexico by the Rio Grande River.

This is some of the most beautiful, rugged and remote land in the U.S.

Like everything in Texas, this is a very big place.  The road into the park and to the campground is 85 miles long.  The park itself covers 1252 sq. miles, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island.

It's an easy hike into Boquillas Canyon and the river there is shallow enough to walk across.

We hiked to a few old, long abandoned ranches--

--and saw a few javelina along the way.

Kayakers float the river for days, over nighting on the remote sand bars.

The high walls of Santa Elena Canyon are especially captivating.

Changing light throws patterns of color on the rock walls all over the park.

There are gravel and 4X4 roads in the park for visitors to explore.

Luna's Jacal is a homesite once occupied in a very remote valley until 1947, when Gilberto Luna died at the age of 108 or 109.  The ranching family traded with friendly Comanche warriors as they passed through on their war trail in what was their territory.

As is true all over the West, visitors pass unmarked graves from time to time.