It is a loooonnnngg drive to Big Bend with some amazing scenery and multiple CBP checkpoints. As an example, this is the Pecos River High Bridge. At 273 feet above the river it is the highest highway bridge in Texas. This bridge replaces the one that was 50 feet above the river and destroyed by flood waters in 1954.
There are lodgings and camping inside the park. They both fill up rapidly, with lodging usually sold out months in advance. That means staying outside the park. There are no towns of any size close by. That means Marathon, population 410 about an hour north of the visitors center or Terlingua, population 78, about 45 minutes west. I stayed in both and found accommodations a little rustic, but clean and comfortable. The Gage Hotel in Marathon looked quite nice, but didn’t have availability when I visited. There are more options in Alpine and Marfa, but they are each that much farther from the park.
A word about fuel in this part of Texas – buy it when you see it.
Terlingua Ghost Town
Terlingua yielded the surprise bonus of the trip. One of Janelle and my bartenders in Bangor, Maine used to disappear every winter, and then return for summer season. What a surprise and what a gift to walk into the Starlight Theatre Restaurant and Bar and find Holly behind the bar. Turns out Holly works winters in Terlingua, being one of the 78 residents. We got caught up while I enjoyed the recommended quail dinner.
After dinner we met back up at the Boat House Bar. A funny name in a place where many get by with catchment water for their households. Water conservation isn’t just an eco-friendly thing here. It had rained a little bit the week before I got their and Holly estimated that they had collected 50 gallons of water. Prior to that, it had last rained eight months before, during the monsoons.
It was at the Boat House that I got introduced to Sotol – the liquor, not the plant. Technically, Sotol is a mescal, but the sotol plant is from the asparagus, not the agave, family. I was told to only drink the Chihuahuan made product, not the Texas knockoffs. What I brought home doesn’t seem to be quite the same as what I drank in Terlingua. Ambiance matters.
Any fans of 1985’s Fandango, with Kevin Costner? This is DOM Rock that features in that movie. On the river road between Lajitas and Presidio.
The Journey 