Big Bend National Park - Santa Elena Canyon

March 11/16  Weather 77/46.  Cloudy today, a bit of sun.  We put on all our leather gear today to ride.  With the elevation changes and the clouds it will feel cooler than you think.  (turned out to be a smart idea.... we stayed warm).  The $20 park pass into Big Bend National Park is good for 1 week, so we just have to show our receipt at the gate entrance.    Away we go headed back towards the Chisos Mountains where we turn due south on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.  Along the way you will see volcanic leftovers from 25 million years ago; most significantly are the Mule Ear Peaks.

Mule Ear Peaks from miles away

 We could see them from 10 miles away when we approached the park.  Funny I told Billy to look way in the distance at the twin peaks called Donkey's Ears!!!  Well I was close.  Ha ha.  Some tour guide.   The highway is really nice on the bike, twisting and changes in elevation, not narrow at all.   You rise up to see beautiful vistas then drop into basins.

all different colours of volcanic rock

It is the most impressive in Big Bend National Park -you will see the cleft in the wall for miles away, as the Rio Grande changes direction abruptly after following beneath the straight Sierra Ponce cliffs for several miles and heads due west, cutting through the mountains via a deep, narrow gorge. This sharp bend in the river was formed by movement along the Terlingua fault zone that crosses the park.  The Rio Grande carved a 1,500 foot chasm out of limestone..... while Texas makes up one wall, Mexico the other.

the trail into the canyon shelf

rafters on the rio grande through Santa Elena Canyon  - walls are 1500 feet tall

We parked at the trail site and hiked up about 1 1/2 miles, it is really not too bad of a hike for us and the views are really worth while.    This is what we had pictured in our mind all along, these views we have seen in books and TV many times.   We are definitely remembering the old westerns we watched as kids....   Now we know why the gunslingers could not outrun the posses once they hit these canyon walls. 

The prize at the end of this road is the majestic Santa Elena Canyon.

the end of the trail

Rosey feeling pretty small along the canyon