A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I were able to visit Big Bend National Park for a few days! Big Bend is always a surreal place to visit. We stayed in the nearby ghost town of Terlingua (it's no longer a ghost town). The town was set up by a mining company, The Chisos Mining Company, they mined mercury there. By the early 1900s the mining company went bust and literally everyone moved out overnight. That being said we stayed at a renovated miners house! It was small but homey.
Most of our time we spent hiking at the national park. The sun was intense but being in the mountains made it a little more bearable. Our first hike we made was the Window trail. We started off at a high elevation and slowly walked down towards "the window." The hike was amazing but we underestimated the climb back up!
View towards the window
The second hike we completed was the Lost Mine trail. Legend says that somewhere in the Chisos mountains lies a treasure horde of Spanish gold. The Spaniards were forced to leave it behind after they were ambushed by a group of natives and since has been forever lost. We didn't find gold, however the views from the peak were spectacular, at the top, the elevation is somewhere around 7,000ft above sea level.
View from the peak of the Lost Mine Trail
The Big Bend area is such a magical place; the mix of ecosystems makes one of the most unique and diverse places in the country, the mountains, desert, and the river valley make you feel as if you are in another planet. Below the break are some more images that I've captured. I hope that they convey a slice of what it felt like to be there.
Thanks for reading!
