Day 1 of 2022 Big Bend National Park Trip, Driving

First day of my 2022 Thanksgiving trip to Big Bend National Park as I drove from Odessa, TX to the park.

Distant Cliffs

The cliffs that gloriously reflected the setting sun. To me it felt like a shimmering welcome after driving under gloomy clouds for the entire day. It ended up that those cliffs were actually Sierra del Carmen Mountains in Mexico.

Despite flying into Midland/Odessa, which was the closest major airport to Big Bend National Park, it’s still a 3.5-hour drive to Chisos Basin where I would be spending the night.

Lodging

In addition, lodging was very limited in Big Bend National Park, especially during the peak season of Thanksgiving. The only hotel, Chisos Mountain Lodge, was fully booked long in advance. Apart from that, the town of Terlingua, which was 40+ minutes from Chisos Basin, featured fewer than a handful of hotels (mostly RV parks), so I wasn’t too interested in that. The only options left were campgrounds, of which the Chisos Basin Campground was the most sought-after. 2/3 of the 56 sites were reservable 6 months in advance, so I was left with the remaining 1/3 that were open 14 days in advance. By setting up alarm clocks and playing some tricks, I managed to snap a site for my 4-night stay in the heart of the park.
That meant I had to pack my camping gear into the suitcases, which, in short, was challenging. Since I valued quality of life, I chose a comforter over a sleeping bag. With nighttime temperatures around freezing at Chisos Basin during my stay, I packed the thickest comforter in my house, an inflatable mattress, and a tent into my checked bag (with the help of vacuum pumps), which was barely overunder 50lbs. That meant my entire carry-on bag was dedicated to clothing and electronic gadgets.

I grabbed a rental car after the rental shop opened at 10am. I guessed most of its patrons were from the oil industry, so the car’s interior felt uncomfortably greasy. I headed for a Walmart first, seeking out amenities for my camping trip, like a pillow and some food. After that, it’s almost noon by the time I left Odessa, heading for Big Bend National Park.

Road

The roads towards Big Bend National Park were likely the most deserted I’d seen in the states. There might have been some light rain/snow the previous night (so the rental shop refused to clean the car’s exterior, citing freezing conditions), the roads felt damp at places. The clouds were too depressingly low and gloomy.

Click here to display photos of the slideshow

US Silica Factory
A sand mining facility.

Road
Feels like a straight line extending towards infinity.

Historic Fort Stockton

Fort Stockton was the last major city on my way to Big Bend National Park. I grabbed some lunch, finished some errands (I anticipated losing internet connection in Big Bend), and there was still some time left, so I decided to take a tour of the Historic Fort Stockton.

The historic fort was built next to Comanche Springs, a major source of water along a few travel routes in the region between San Antonio, Chihuahua and El Paso. In the 19th century, some soldiers were stationed here to protect travelers from Indian attack.
Unfortunately, I visited during a Sunday, so the Fort’s visitor facilities were closed. Nonetheless, I gave its grounds a quick tour.

Click here to display photos of Historic Fort Stockton.

Barrack

Officer Quarters

Guard House

Kitchen

Building
A modern day restroom.

Los Caballos Picnic Area

By the time I left Fort Stockton, it’s past 2pm. After leaving the village of Marathon, I took a brief stop at what Google Maps called “Los Caballos Picnic Area”, stretching my legs and enjoying some snacks, while appreciating views of nearby mountain ranges with my camera and my drone.

Click here to display photos of the slideshow

Simpson Springs Mountain

Hill

Road from Marathon, TX

Road to Big Bend National Park

Fields

Fields

Drone overlooking Fields and Mountains

And here’s a video from my drone:

• 0:00 Checking out some ridges to the east before following the road to return to the picnic area.
• 1:48 Towards Simpson Springs Mountain to the southwest.

Not long after that, I entered Big Bend National Park. Here’s a timelapse video of my driving towards Chisos Basin, captured from my windshield-mounted GoPro.

• 1:44 Sign of “Big Bend National Park”, roughly at the boundary of the park.
• 1:57 Entrance station
• I checked out the roadside fossil display between 4:26 and 4:44.
• 5:52 Panther Junction
• Chisos Mountains were covered in clouds by the time of my arrival, with very limited visibility for the last minute or so of the video.

Click here to display photos of the slideshow

Road

Road

Park Road and Mountains

Park Road and Mountains

Park Road and Mountains

Roadside Fossil Display

Inside Big Bend National Park along “Main Park Road”, there was a exhibit area with some fossil display. The fossils were unearthed from the fields nearby, which was kind of nice.

Click here to display photos of the fossils.

Fossil Exhibit

Fossil Exhibit

Fossil Exhibit

Fossil Exhibit

Fossil Exhibit

Not far from the fossil exhibit was a vista with views of surrounding fields. I checked it out, just that it was too windy for my comfort, so I quickly retreated back to the car.

Click here to display photos of the slideshow

Fields
Chisos Mountains still in the clouds.

Hoodoos
River deposits of Big Yellow Sandstone.

Park Road

Distant Cliffs

Hills to the East
A plateau in Big Bend National Park, under depressing clouds.

View of Fields

In the end, I arrived at Chisos Basin at 5:30pm, about 25 minutes from sunset, which was just enough time for me to set up the tent and prepare for the night.
END

Day 1 of 2022 Big Bend National Park Trip, Driving by Huang's Site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.