Days 54-56 Big Bend and Boquillas, Mexico

Big Bend National Park is everything we thought it would be and MORE!! This park lives up to its name. One could easily spend a week or more here. On our first day here we chose a few shorter hikes and followed the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive which traverses the west side of the park. My favorite hike was the Santa Elena Canyon Trail which is on the border of Mexico alongside the Rio Grande-which was quite low this time of year so sadly no canoe ride this trip.

On our second day we decided to go over the border to Boquillas, Mexico. It is a small town-population ~ 200, which supports itself with the tourists they welcome. After a brief- literally feet- boat ride across the Rio Grande we both mounted a donkey and took the mile ride into town. We spent a few hours here walking around the small town, had lunch and shopped for a souvenir.

Our last hike of the day was the Ernst Tinaja Trail. Although the trail was only about a mile long the drive to the trail was about 5 miles over some very rough terrain. Even with 4-wheel drive we were traveling about 5-7 mph and stopped short of the parking having had enough of being bounced around on the road. The hike was definitely worth it as we saw our first limestone canyon.

Our trip on day 54.