I was super excited for this trip and planned it fairly quickly since Shane was able to take a vacation week while I was on holiday break from teaching. It was a rare occasion that we had 2 weeks off from school so we took advantage of the time to go somewhere a little warmer than Pennsylvania. We had high temperatures ranging from about 72 degrees to 50 degrees in Texas. It was definitely cooler in the shade and when the wind blew, yikes. It was also cold in the morning and evening.
Day 1 of our trip Saturday 12/30/23:
- flew into El Paso, Layover in Denver
- 4.5 hr drive to Ten Bits Ranch , passing through Marfa and Alpine
-one of the best sunsets I've seen
The stars were seen well here. Go to ten bits ranch website to look at their accommodations!
Day 2 of our big bend trip- NYE 12/31/23
the Drive into the national park was beautiful 😍 we hiked two trails totaling 10.5 miles - lost Mine and the window trail. Lunch was in between at chisos mountain lodge.
The Mexican blue jays greeted us along Lost Mine Trail. We joked about what they were saying about us 🤣
In the evening, we traveled to our Casita in terlingua and attended New years eve festivities at the Starlight theater. We ate dinner, listened to live music and watched people dance, had a champagne toast, and fireworks to end the night! A good day it was. Our Casita had an outdoor shower and tub which felt great after 10.5 miles of hiking our first full day.
Day 3-
We ate breakfast at a newer placed called venga and drove to the state park.
The drive coming from presidio to lajitas is ranked as one of the most scenic in the US.
Pictures won't do this drive justice.
We saw javelina and exotic bighorn sheep along our way.
we also stopped and got a picture of the mayor of lajitas who is a goat, lol.
We hiked closed canyon and the hoodoos.
Closed canyon was cool because there were sections where you had to slide down on your butt to continue the trail. Or you had to climb and find grab holds.
The hoodoos had a nice view of the Rio Grande River.
We had an easier day hiking and decided to attend the Blackeyed pea cook-off in town. It was really good and fun trying all the locals versions of their pea soup.
. We ate dinner at la kiva. I liked the different atmosphere there.
We finally had a nice fire outside of our place and stargazed to finish the day.
Day 4-
We checked out of our place and ate breakfast at this cute little coffee shop that is part of the far flung outdoor center. Great spot to that opens earlier than most.
We drove into the national park again and hiked Santa Elena Canyon which follows the Rio grande River. You are basically hiking a slot canyon between the US and Mexico , it was awesome. The water was cold but there were people wading around. We then drove and hit some of the overlooks on Ross Maxwell scenic drive. We stopped and did an easier hike- Lower Mesa Burro Pouroff. We ate lunch at the sotol overlook. As we headed to our next place to rest of our heads we did one more hike of the day which was one of my favorites- Balanced Rock. The road was a dirt road and a little rough for sedans. After this last activity for the day we checked into Chisos Mountain Lodge (which is being completely renovated at the end of this year) and ate dinner there. We enjoyed the nice views out the large windows as the sun set. Our meals were also pretty tasty especially my spicy margarita!
Day 5- the big hike day ! South rim trail !
It was a little creepy starting this hike so early in the morning with headlamps and being the only ones out there.
It was not an easy hike and we totaled 13 miles start to finish, but it was a beautiful hike. Fall colors showing in the trees and such diverse ecosystems you hike through. I was very alert for a bear or mountain lion at times. This is a tough trail but the views were great. I definitely recommend this one if you want to challenge yourself. The elevation change was pretty tough at first and then leveled off a little. Coming down was definitely hard on the knees and felt like it never ended. We started with the pinnacles side.
After our hike we ate dinner at Long draw pizza and checked into our cute hotel at la posada mims guest room in terlingua. I hope to stay again there someday !
Day 6- Boquillas!
I had prearranged our day with Edgar in Boquillas, Mexico. I was worried about not being able to walk or move after yesterday's hike so riding a donkey through Mexico was quite relaxing for a bit !
We started our day with a quick breakfast at far flung's coffee shop again and then drove to the border crossing for Boquillas. We took the boat across and met Edgar with our donkeys there and headed on our trip into Boquillas canyon. It was a nice ride and we also stopped at the Crystal caves and ate lunch at a cute Mexican restaurant in town.
This was a really unique thing to do while being in Big Bend so I recommend bringing your passport and going to Boquillas!
After our day trip to Mexico we hiked the Rio grande nature trail and got into the hot springs along the river. It was very busy but relaxing. Even the river felt good to jump into.
We ate dinner at taqueria which is right in town of terlingua. Another great day !
Day 7
-we checked out of our room at la posada and got breakfast at their establishment. Really good!
We decided to hike the Pine canyon trail today and we were very alert for bears and mountain lions on this trail too. We were the only hikers the entire time ! It was a pretty trail and lots of were seen. This was our 52nd hike of the year so we successfully completed the 52 hike challenge for a second year !
After our hike, visited the fossil exhibit which I thought was a neat thing.
We continued our travel north into Alpine and checked into our air BNB for the night which was a yurt. We ate dinner in town - reaka was the name of the place. We didn't have too many options to choose from for dinner. We were going to check out the marfa lights but found ourselves short on time.
Day 8- fly home !
We drove from Alpine to the El Paso airport to head home ! One of my favorite trips. It was also nice having a full week to explore, a lot of times our trips are cut short with shanes schedule.
Our simple itinerary:
Dec 30 saturday
Airport 430 am from Pittsburgh
Flight 630 am
Layover Denver 1 hr
fly into El paso
Pick up rental car noon pm
Walmart, blue water for groceries
Need - water, firewood, beer. Snacks
Cactus liquors
Lunch- Jason's deli? Pickup 1220 pm
Dinner- rest of sandwich from lunch
Overnight stay ten bits ranch
Dec 31 sunday
Travel
Breakfast- ten bits
Hike lost Mine Trail- 4.8 mi
lunch at chisos
Hike window trail
Travel into terlingua, Check in at nuevo terlingua casa miranda
Starlight for nye. Dinner
Jan 1 monday
Breakfast- venga
Travel to lajitas Big bend ranch state park 37 min
Hoodoos and closed canyon trails
Lunch deli From lajitas general store
Blackeyed pea cook-off 230 in terlingua
Dinner- La kiva
Back to nuevo
Jan 2 tuesday
Check out from nuevo
Breakfast- canyon coffee at far flung
Ross maxwell scenic drive:
Santa Elena Canyon hike 1.75 miles
Lower burro hike 1 mile
Mule ears viewpoint
Packed Lunch at sotol vista overlook
Hike balanced rock - 1.9 miles
Check in chisos mtn lodge
Dinner at chisos.
Jan 3 Wednesday
Check out chisos
Breakfast in room
Hike south rim , almost 13 miles
Pack a Lunch
Dinner- Long Draw PIZZA
Check in la posada mims room
Jan 4 Thursday
Breakfast- canyon at far flung
Travel to Port of entry
Boquillas 9 am
Ride burros around town and into the canyon, Crystal caves
boquillas for lunch
Be across border by 2 pm
Rio grande nature trail
Hot Springs Trail-1.2 miles
Dinner - taqueria
Back to LA posada
Jan 5 Friday
Breakfast- •Espresso Y Poco Mas
Check out la posada
Pine canyon trail
Travel to fossil exhibit, visitor center
Lunc
Travel into alpine
Check in alpine yurt
Dinner - reaka
Jan 6 Saturday
Check out, breakfast
Leave by 7 am
Get picture of Prada sign
Travel hours to Airport:
3 hrs 30 minutes
Drop off rental 1030
Be at airport 1030 am
Travel el paso Fly home
Layover phoenix
Flight lands 10 pm
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