Big Bend Ranch State Park

From Marfa we headed south.  Our goal was the Big Bend Ranch State Park which is right along the Texas border with Mexico.

As we traveled we wound through the foothills of the mountains in the distance.  The terrain began to look like that out of the cowboy movies which we watched as a kid.  Roy Rogers or Gene Autry should have come riding up at any moment.  The town of Presido (and Ojinga its sister city in Mexico) was much larger than expected, but the only shopping we needed to do was a fuel top-off.

At the Fort Leaton Historical Park we paid our fees for a primitive campsite on a mesa overlooking the Rio Grande.  The site, about 30 miles further along the road, is fabulous.  We have a view of the mountains on the Mexican side and look down into the river valley or we can look behind us to the mountains on the US side.  After changing into shorts (the temperature is back up into the 80s now that we are back to 2500 feet elevation),  we walked a ridge from our mesa down to the valley and walked to the Rio Grande.  Here the river has a steady flow and is just about 25 feet wide.  A sign promises a $5000 fine for crossing the river and stepping foot on the other side. 

Flora and fauna for the day:  A javelina running across the road.  Dead rabbits on the side of the road.  Antelope and steer grazing.  A few yucca in full blossom.  Blooming at our campsite are lupine, portulaca, a daisy like flower, a chrysanthamum like flower, and so many flowers I don’t know.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)