The walls are bare, look out the window and you have a finer sight than any painter has ever placed on a piece of canvas.
Iian Pears
After 4286 miles (6857 KM) we finally made it to BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK!
Apparently Big Bend is named for the big bend in the Rio Grande River. We entered the park at Persimmon Gap (the north entrance). Our first stop was the Fossil Discovery Exhibit. This was extremely interesting to Steve as he always wanted to be an archeologist. They have made some great discoveries here!
The drive into the park was amazing. We were thinking wow how does it get better than this? Then we turned into Chisos Basin Park Road, and the views were SPECTACULAR! UNBELIEVABLE! WOW! Once again, good thing for digital!
Since we wanted to take advantage of the nice weather, we decided to do the Window Trail (5 miles). We actually started at an elevation of 5401 ft., Hiked down to 4600 ft. I know that an 801 foot elevation change doesn’t seem like much. However, when you are 60 and out of shape it was a work out.
Some of the trail was through the desert and dried up creek beds. It was the bottom of the valley. The majestic mountains towering over us were massive. It surely makes you put things into perspective. The pictures cannot do this justice. It is a memory we will have forever. The window is actually a break in the rock of the mountain where water used to “pour off” (still does after a rain). The opening has a dramatic view of the vast desert expanse below.