Driving Across South Texas

Not to state the obvious, but Texas is a really big state!  It seemed to take us all day to drive from Garner State Park to Marathon, which is forty miles north of the entrance to Big Bend National Park.  Many people dread such drives, with not much more than the desert to look at.  I actually enjoy driving through the desert and looking at the subtleties of the landscape.

As we drove from east to west, the vegetation became progressively smaller in size, giving way to scrub brush and cacti.  The terrain is by no means flat.  The hills give way to canyons, and mountains are visible in the distance.  At Del Rio, we passed through a portion of Amistad National Recreation Area.  Although I was tempted to stop to get a National Park passport stamp, I knew that would be cheating since we did not have time to actually visit the park.

Amistad National Recreation Area

Lots of Recreation Opportunities at Amistad

Crossing Amistad Reservoir

We also encountered our first checkpoint of the trip just west of Del Rio.  No matter how you feel about illegal immigration or drug trafficking, going through a checkpoint can be a somewhat unsettling experience.  The Border Patrol agents and their dog, however, were very nice and just waved us on. 

Our First Border Patrol Checkpoint

The farther west we drove, the more the traffic thinned out, and we often drove for miles without seeing another car.  This part of Texas is a very desolate place, but beautiful in its own right.

A Windmill on the Landscape

Pecos River

It's Not Completely Flat Here

Hills in the Distance

We will be entering Big Bend National Park tomorrow morning and have campground reservations for three nights.  We understand that there is no cellphone reception, let alone internet service, so I will be unable to post any entries for at least three days.  Once we leave the park, I’m not sure when we will be connected again.  So please be patient, and I promise that I will catch you up on all of our adventures at what I expect to be an absolutely incredible national park.