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We headed back in to Big Bend. Our initial destination was Chisos Basin again. On the way into Chisos we saw a Gray Bobcat (Lynx Rufus) cross the road. Very cool. Donna researched where the Window View Trail was and we wanted to see it. It starts right by the Chisos Basin store and is literally only a couple of hundred yards long. It is totally paved and could be done in a wheel chair with little effort.
After the very arduous (NOT!) Window View Trail we headed for East Big Bend. Our first stop was Boquillas Canyon. Nearby is a border crossing where you can pay to cross the Rio Grande in a row boat and visit the Mexican Village of Boquillas. Reviews did not make it sound that great and we would have to leave Maverick in the car so we didn’t try it.
The Boquillas Canyon trail starts with a 102 ft ascent and is about 1.4 miles round trip. It follows the Rio Grande. While pretty, you never really get a good view down the canyon like we did at Santa Elena Canyon. If you are just looking to hike it’s OK, but we felt the effort to scenic ratio wasn’t that great. Mexicans clearly cross the Rio Grande at will here. On the trail was a Mexican man singing and selling trinkets. I’m sure he is from Boquillas. We got very hot on the trail. There was no wind, and direct sunlight. The outside temp was only about 65F. I can’t imagine doing this hike in 100 deg summer weather. When we got back to the car we immediately changed into short sleeve shirts that were much more comfortable for the rest of the day.
After the trail we went to the park at Rio Grande Village. There is nice motorhome camping, a store, gas, and very nice picnic area. We considered staying here when planning this trip but it was already totally booked up. The lack of availability was probably because the other motorhome campground, Cottonwood, was closed at this time. We packed our lunch today and enjoyed the picnic area with only a few other folks.
After our lunch we headed back West. On the way back we stopped at the Hot Springs trail. The trail was about 1 mile round trip. The trail follow cliffs that are very interesting and that have some petrographs. The Hot Spring was truly hot and had three people in it. The springs was a square concrete structure only about 1-2 feet deep. It could hold probably about 8 couples comfortably. The neatest thing is the “springs” basically stick out into the Rio Grande. While we packed our swim gear based on the possible use of the springs, once we experienced the hike in we didn’t want to return dressed for the springs. The hike was enjoyable with or without experiencing the springs. Be aware the road to the springs trail head is very narrow, winding, and pretty rough in spots. Easy in the jeep or a pickup but would not be cool in a normal car. RVs and trailers are prohibited.
After the hot springs we felt we had seen most of Big Bend without committing to much longer hikes than we were interested in. We headed back to Lajitas for a shower and dinner. Refreshed we decided to eat at the highly rated Starlight Theater restaurant. When we arrived we were shocked to see the parking lot full and people waiting outside to be seated. Nowhere else did we experience any crowds. Our backup plan was the High Sierra Bar and Grill right on the highway. We dined on the 2nd floor open air patio. The food was good, the view and weather were great. We were very pleased with our backup plan.