Leaving Casa Grande and Heading East (Slowly)

Posted from near Ingram, TX
(Click on Pics to Enlarge)

We left our winter home at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ on April 15th.

We'll eventually be heading to the east coast and northeast for the summer months, but that's no reason not to slow down and visit some areas along the way.  We've been traveling with our friends Paul and Laura for the past two weeks and having a blast.

Paul suggested that he'd like to visit the Big Bend National Park area in southwest Texas, so we decided to tag along.  (Thanks guys for putting up with us!)

We both like to drive short days and miles, so we stopped at the SKP park in Deming, NM the first night, then at Desert Willow RV Park in Van Horn, TX the next night. Nothing special at either park, just nice places for an overnight stop.

Our Site

Our destination to visit the Big Bend National Park and area was Maverick Ranch RV Park in Lajitas, TX.  A nice park, probably the nicest in the area, and great for exploring the area. If you've never been to this area bring plenty of groceries as choices are limited and expensive. The area is beautiful, however.

Beside the pool

We visited the Lajitas Golf Resort (part of the RV park) across the highway.  I don't golf, but the course has beautiful surroundings.  The resort has a lodge, restaurant, bakery (great cinnamon buns), and other amenities.  Our RV park has a nice swimming pool with great natural views.

We explored the Big Bend National Park on three different days.  This is a very large park, so multi-day visits are a must.  We attempted to visit a different part of the park each time after first orienting ourselves and picking up valuable information at the Panther Junction Visitor's Center.

Lunch at Rio Grande Village Visitor's Center

Each day we packed a picnic lunch and ate at a different area within the park.  As already stated, the park is very large.  The first day we headed down toward the Rio Grande Village area and hiked along the Boquillas Canyon Trail.

Rio Grande and Mexico behind

At the overlook, Mexicans across the Rio Grande River have set up spots to sell their wares.  They are pretty trusting, because the cash container is unattended.

Boquillas Canyon

After a short trek up the trail we made it to the edge of the Rio Grande River.  Due to the steep canyon walls, the wind was really blowing in this area.

I wondered why the name Big Bend National Park. I learned that the park got its' name from the "big bend" the Rio Grande River makes in this area.

Hot Springs with Rio Grande behind

While in this area of the Park we decided to take in the Hot Springs near the Langford Ruins.  After a short trek, we dipped our toes into the remains of the springs. The temps were about 104 degrees, but very soothing after doing a bit of hiking.

So as not to make these next few blog posts too lengthy, I've decided to include a few pics around the Park, then split our adventures up into several future posts.

Boquillas border crossing gate

Petroglyphs along the Hot Springs Trail

To view many additional pictures for Big Bend National Park (Day 1) just click on this link to go to our Google+ Photo Album.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!