Big Bend - Alpine - Marfa - Fort Davis

[4th&Five 41556]

Taking the family out in February. It’ll be their first time and my first time in 15 years. We’re going to do the Star Party at McDonald on Friday and then 3 days in the park.

[TexPx 2323]

Aren't we lucky to have BB?

We are. And it’s fixin to grow by almost 4,000 acres.

[HRSchenker 2268]

On 12/17/2022 at 1:52 PM, 4th&Five said:

Taking the family out in February. It’ll be their first time and my first time in 15 years. We’re going to do the Star Party at McDonald on Friday and then 3 days in the park.

You'll have so much fun at the star party. Bring a jacket just in case because it's considerably cooler at the observatory than it will be in Fort Davis and Marfa

[Biff Tannen 45690]

On 12/17/2022 at 4:54 PM, TexPx said:

We are. And it’s fixin to grow by almost 4,000 acres.

Huh?

 

ETA: oh, yep.  NEAT

https://www.greenmatters.com/news/big-bend-national-park-expansion

Edited December 19, 2022 by Biff Tannen

[deft 6850]

Taking the family out in February. It’ll be their first time and my first time in 15 years. We’re going to do the Star Party at McDonald on Friday and then 3 days in the park.

We tried that in February of 2020 and got shut out by humidity. Ours wasn’t the normal star party; it was for one of the bigger scopes.

[TexPx 2323]

Huh?
 
ETA: oh, yep.  NEAT
https://www.greenmatters.com/news/big-bend-national-park-expansion

Oops yeah. Meant to provide a link but got distracted by the dogs barking at the printer.

[4th and 5 4914]

It took me 50 years to get here …now I can’t stay away

[4th and 5 4914]

[4th and 5 4914]

Ernst Tinaja and Boquillas today. Starlight tonight 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by 4th and 5

[deft 6850]

That ernst trail is rough. We rented a jeep and sis it for the first time last July. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go to the end: had to walk the two youngest back to the jeep and fire up the ac. Very cool pics.


I think you should go for the Diego burger.

[4th and 5 4914]

Upper Burro Mesa Pouroff is in my top 3 now, was quite a nice trip

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

It is a fun one. I actually took the photos that are on the trail sign for it. Glad you liked it!

[stc 1462]

was out there Dec 26-Jan 1 and it was way less busy than last year at the same time. was pleasantly surprised. 

Edited January 3, 2023 by stc

[stc 1462]

Hiked down through smugglers canyon from river road to the rio grande and surprised 2 bears at the river. They hauled ass as soon as they saw us. Wasn't expecting to see any bears in that part of the park. In my 20 years of visiting that's the first time I've seen a bear, pretty cool.

[tejas60 3533]

On 12/30/2022 at 8:31 AM, 4th and 5 said:

It took me 50 years to get here …now I can’t stay away

 

same here. in fact, bought some property out there.

[deft 6850]

I’ve seen bears the last two or three times I’ve been there in as many years.

[Biff Tannen 45690]

1 hour ago, deft said:

I’ve seen bears the last two or three times I’ve been there in as many years.

Saw one on the side of the road on the way out of the basin in Oct 2021.  

[deft 6850]

Haha yup. Saw a cub and mother literally next to the lost mine parking lot as we left the basin in July. Actually had the kids in the car too or they would never have believed me.

[Hornius Emeritus 12462]

Never mind .. wrong thread

Edited January 24, 2023 by Hornius Emeritus

[stc 1462]

anyone been to the chinati hot springs out west of presidio? have always been curious but wasn't sure if it's worth a stay. would like to combine that with pinto canyon road which has also been on my list for a while. 

[TexPx 2323]

anyone been to the chinati hot springs out west of presidio? have always been curious but wasn't sure if it's worth a stay. would like to combine that with pinto canyon road which has also been on my list for a while. 

Went there pretty soon after they opened and spent the day. Looks like they have done a lot of improvements. The couple who were running it were from Dallas. Turns out we knew the lady. She was a bartender at Club Dada. Anyway it was a cool place.
Had a blast driving the WRX out there.

[texashorne 1178]

Me and a group of friends are heading out.. guys trip in November and we have settled on BB. Any recs on places in Terlingua that can sleep 6 or 7 guys? I would ideally like that stretch of cabins on the main road but can't find them on the internet..

If not, I think we're going to get 2 separate places in Terlingua..

 

[billfromlaketravis 11485]

Best month(s) for birds and weather? 

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Best month(s) for birds and weather? 

Late February to early May for birds.

Weather, late October to early April.

Can easily extend that if you are not tent camping, though.

[4th and 5 4914]

51 minutes ago, texashorne said:

Me and a group of friends are heading out.. guys trip in November and we have settled on BB. Any recs on places in Terlingua that can sleep 6 or 7 guys? I would ideally like that stretch of cabins on the main road but can't find them on the internet..

If not, I think we're going to get 2 separate places in Terlingua..

 

Terlingua base camp has lots of casitas

[tejas60 3533]

11 hours ago, texashorne said:

Me and a group of friends are heading out.. guys trip in November and we have settled on BB. Any recs on places in Terlingua that can sleep 6 or 7 guys? I would ideally like that stretch of cabins on the main road but can't find them on the internet..

If not, I think we're going to get 2 separate places in Terlingua..

 

you talking about these in Study Butte? https://terlinguanights.com/

there's also Terlingua Ranch Lodge, but it's about 16 miles east of 118 and 16 miles north of Study Butte, so a 32 mile drive to town. the lodge has a restaurant (the bad rabbit), pool (don't think it's open in Nov.), and small laundromat. if you have 4WD, take the Christmas Mountain drive from the Lodge.

 

[tejas60 3533]

10 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

Terlingua base camp has lots of casitas

owned by a scumbag that's also a sex offender. allegedly.

there are some cool casitas, though.

Edited February 4, 2023 by tejas60

[feces hurling monkey 2]

5 hours ago, tejas60 said:

owned by a scumbag that's also a sex offender. allegedly.

there are some cool casitas, though.

Do you have to pay extra for the diddling?

[Your Mom 4806]

As soon as they canceled school last week the younger kid and I left our broken tree branches for later and headed to Big Bend. Squeezed in a decent amount in a quick trip. Hiked the Window, good meal in Terlingua, two isolated days and nights out in BBRSP, made it to Ft Davis for a star party at the observatory.  

[stc 1462]

On 2/3/2023 at 11:03 PM, texashorne said:

Me and a group of friends are heading out.. guys trip in November and we have settled on BB. Any recs on places in Terlingua that can sleep 6 or 7 guys? I would ideally like that stretch of cabins on the main road but can't find them on the internet..

If not, I think we're going to get 2 separate places in Terlingua..

 

these are the ones you seek: https://nuevoterlingua.com/

[deft 6850]

That’s just a reskinned basecamp Terlingua right? Eben the website looks identical. It’s like cuero boots and tecovas boots.

[tejas60 3533]

I believe it's the same owner

[stc 1462]

On 2/4/2023 at 10:21 AM, tejas60 said:

owned by a scumbag that's also a sex offender. allegedly.

there are some cool casitas, though.

i read about that not long ago, didn't know that was the origin of the "katy lied" stickers around terlingua. thought it was just a fellow steely dan fan spreading the word. 

[tejas60 3533]

this pretty much tells the whole story (yeah, wiki, but you can research most of it)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_D._Leach

[Hagbard Celine 10866]

wiki says the trial set for late 21.....   and ends there

[4th&Five 41556]

On 2/4/2023 at 10:19 AM, tejas60 said:

there's also Terlingua Ranch Lodge, but it's about 16 miles east of 118 and 16 miles north of Study Butte, so a 32 mile drive to town. the lodge has a restaurant (the bad rabbit), pool (don't think it's open in Nov.), and small laundromat. if you have 4WD, take the Christmas Mountain drive from the Lodge.

Stayed there a couple weeks ago. You definitely feel like you’re out in the wild, which was cool. Restaurant was good and even had live music. The drive after dark was a bit harry, especially since the last few miles is unpaved but would stay there again. 

Here’s a pic from our cabin:

 

Might have been mentioned but Long Draw Pizza in Terlingua was a great stop after hiking all day for some pizza and beers. They even had the Horns game on. 

Edited March 4, 2023 by 4th&Five

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

I really like The Lodge, actually. It ain’t fancy, and sometimes the water smells like sulphur, but it’s a cool place. Here’s some random photos.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Also, go up the Christmas Mountain road if you can.

[Jersey Man10 3534]

Username checks out.

[Hagbard Celine 10866]

fuck fucking continental haze

saw that same exact view in '90 and it was crystal clear for 120 miles

[Hagbard Celine 10866]

on 28 may 1923 after 2 years of drilling Santa Rita #1 came in here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.225133,-101.6924472,106m/data=!3m1!1e3

everyone knows the original hardware is on the 40

the rig and pumphouse at the above site visible on satellite and street view produced for another 45 years

they were recently restored making this a Fandango-level pilgrimage site for Horns on the way to or from the transpecos which is why i'm posting this here

the ruins of the town of Texon are in between the rig and the road (us 67) and probably full of sneks

the historical marker on 67 is exactly due north of the site and the rig is easily visible facing south, and easily accessible driving the "streets" of Texon

https://goo.gl/maps/Z3PTmjsCzrmLbAxX6

here's the sites worth a read on this subject:

https://universitylands.utsystem.edu/News/2021/6/SantaRitaWell1Restoration (scroll down - the pic isn't loading - there is text after the blank space)

http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Texas_ghost_towns/Texon_Texas/Texon_Texas.htm

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=118024

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texon,_Texas

+++

getting there from austin/houston/sa

for sake of simplicity assume destination is study butte via fort stockton & alpine down 118

99% of travelers from east/south of sonora will have that as their common detour point

sonora to study butte (no texon fandango): 290 miles ("251 minutes")

sonora to texon to study butte: 318 miles ("287 minutes") https://goo.gl/maps/3bYB4jD8ye5YDA4X6

so it's a difference of 30-ish miles / 30-ish minutes in travel plus time spent gawking

adding on the stiles courthouse to the north of big lake and then to texon is another 30-ish miles / 30ish minutes plus gawking time

+++

getting there from nortex:

exiting i20 in cisco & taking 208 to 67 south of coleman is 8 miles shorter to stiles courthouse than i20 through big spring but i can't drive 55 and i'm sure most here can't either so assume abilene to study butte via fort stockton for better i20 performance over us67

abilene to study butte (no fandangos): 394 miles ("350 minutes")

abilene to stiles courthouse to texon to study butte: 427 miles ("404 minutes") https://goo.gl/maps/DCsGS2EPhwRjazAQ9

from nortex both fandangos add only 36 miles and "54 minutes" which is more likely 45 minutes tops in daylight, plus gawktime

 

 

 

 

[tejas60 3533]

On 3/4/2023 at 1:17 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

wiki says the trial set for late 21.....   and ends there

Charges got dismissed I believe. 

[stc 1462]

On 3/4/2023 at 1:17 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

wiki says the trial set for late 21.....   and ends there

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/they-accused-a-man-of-sexual-assault-in-a-small-west-texas-town-that-was-only-the-beginning/

[DaysOff 7951]

La Kiva set to reopen May 2023. Yay.

[thrillhammer 683]

On 3/8/2023 at 7:55 AM, DaysOff said:

La Kiva set to reopen May 2023. Yay.

fuck me.  i didnt know it was closed.  heading that way for 4 night mid-april, and it was a must stop for the visit, at least for a cold beverage.  that sucks.

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

On 1/25/2023 at 9:42 AM, stc said:

anyone been to the chinati hot springs out west of presidio? have always been curious but wasn't sure if it's worth a stay. would like to combine that with pinto canyon road which has also been on my list for a while. 

 

its pretty low key. Its been awhile since i've been there, but you could tent camp or stay in rooms they have there. Not much going on. Large communal hot tub fed from a hot springs. Warning: hot tub may contain naked hippies. Some of the rooms have hot tubs also. Large communal kitchen. Bring your own food. Bring wood for a camp fire. Surrounded by private land, so not much hiking, although you can hike downstream in the dried creek bed with cliffs on either side for a little ways, although you enter private property pretty quickly.

They have a pool but I've never seen it full.

I give it a meh. The isolation is the big draw. The drive is the fun part, although you surely need high clearance. On the drive back you might get stopped by border patrol once you get to pavement. I say two nights max. I would say one night, but the drive there is pretty long for only one night.

 

edit: @Anton Chigurh Is Pinto Canyon road the unpaved road through open range that takes you there from Marfa? I don't remember.

 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 11:32 PM, Anton Chigurh said:

Late February to early May for birds.

Weather, late October to early April.

Can easily extend that if you are not tent camping, though.

 

I think Oct and Nov are the best months by far, although it can get chilly at night starting in Sep, and downright cold in Nov. If you are coming from a blast furnace like Austin, Dallas, Houston, even August and Sep are nice because its much cooler than those places, and you can get cool nights and afternoon thunderstorms that cool things off. (Hottest time is earlier in the summer before the monsoon). Jan and feb are cold and windy and dry dry dry. Spring is often very windy and dusty. For me, wind is worse than extreme temps, so I avoid the spring time.

But the worst day out there is better than the best day just about anywhere else.

Drive back through Fort Davis and onto Balmorhea for a dip in the pool there. Its awesome. You might need advance reservations for entry into the park though.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by High Plains Drifter

[tigol 2398]

1 hour ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

its pretty low key. Its been awhile since i've been there, but you could tent camp or stay in rooms they have there. Not much going on. Large communal hot tub fed from a hot springs. Warning: hot tub may contain naked hippies. Some of the rooms have hot tubs also. Large communal kitchen. Bring your own food. Bring wood for a camp fire. Surrounded by private land, so not much hiking, although you can hike downstream in the dried creek bed with cliffs on either side for a little ways, although you enter private property pretty quickly.

They have a pool but I've never seen it full.

I give it a meh. The isolation is the big draw. The drive is the fun part, although you surely need high clearance. On the drive back you might get stopped by border patrol once you get to pavement. I say two nights max. I would say one night, but the drive there is pretty long for only one night.

 

edit: @Anton Chigurh Is Pinto Canyon road the unpaved road through open range that takes you there from Marfa? I don't remember.

 

 

 

I think Oct and Nov are the best months by far, although it can get chilly at night starting in Sep, and downright cold in Nov. If you are coming from a blast furnace like Austin, Dallas, Houston, even August and Sep are nice because its much cooler than those places, and you can get cool nights and afternoon thunderstorms that cool things off. (Hottest time is earlier in the summer before the monsoon). Jan and feb are cold and windy and dry dry dry. Spring is often very windy and dusty. For me, wind is worse than extreme temps, so I avoid the spring time.

But the worst day out there is better than the best day just about anywhere else.

Drive back through Fort Davis and onto Balmorhea for a dip in the pool there. Its awesome. You might need advance reservations for entry into the park though.

 

 

Agree with all of this.  And Pinto is the way there.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Pinto Canyon Road, yes. I haven’t actually been down it yet myself, though.

[deft 6850]

La Kiva set to reopen May 2023. Yay.

Fuck yea. It’s been a hot minute.

[Guest]

Found out I am going in May to Lajitas.  Not a golfer.  Will probably do the zip-lining and take a good book(s) & whiskey and just get the fuck away for a while.