Big Bend, Chisos Basin - 2/05/15

Our plan for Thursday, 2/05/15, was to travel to the Chisos Basin to see the mountains there as well as the basin. Our first stop en route was the Panther Visitor Center.

Big Bend was dedicated as a National Park in June of 1944.

There are also many fossils found in the Park dating back 35 million years.

We continued on Rte 118 from Panther Junction for about three miles to the Chisos Basin Road that is on the left. This scenic winding road rises over 2,000' above the desert floor providing amazing views of mountain peaks as well as the basin area that was formed over millions of years by erosion. (Note that this road is not suitable for RVs longer than 24' or trailers longer than 20. Of course, we were driving our Mini Cooper.)

There are amazing rock formations along the way, like these.

The Visitor Center, Store, Lodge and Restaurant, and Campground can be seen in the distance.

Chisos Mountains.

Casa Grande (7,325').

Chisos Basin Visitor Center (5,401').

Exhibits in the Visitor Center. Mountain lions, bears, deer, and other mammals can be found in this area of the park.

Peregrine falcons nest along the river and in cliffs of the Chisos Mountains. In the 1960s-70s the use of DDT caused the population of peregrines to decrease dramatically. After DDT was banned, the endangered species made a remarkable recovered in the 1980s.

Near the Basin Store is the short Window View Trail (.3 mi). It provide great mountain views and provides a fabulous view of the famous "Window," this V-shaped formation with Ward Mountain (on the left in the photo) and Vernon Bailey Peak (on the right).

Surrounding mountains as seen from the Window View Trail.

View from the trail to the Chisos Basin Visitor Center, Store and Lodge with Case Grande towering above it.

Chisos Mountains Lodge, the only hotel accommodations in Big Bend.

From here we returned on the Chisos Basin Road toward Rte 118 for a mile to the parking lot where the trailhead to the Lost Mine Trailhead.

If you visit Big Bend, do not miss this scenic location!

Website:  www.nps.gov/bibe