Chisos Mountains

— After a couple of years since our last visit, this past spring we spent a week in Big Bend National Park. We’ve been going to Big Bend NP since 2001, when I was first introduced to the beauty and vastness of Big Bend Country. No matter how many times we visit the park, there’s always something new to explore. This year alone, we did enjoy new sites in the park. We were able to do new hikes and even canoe the Rio Grande a whole day. Re-visiting some of our favorite destinations, however, had to include the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. If a visitor were to ask me what to do in only one day, I’d probably suggest this drive. You have beautiful lookout points and incredible panoramas. On this drive, you can appreciate the Chisos Mountains, marvel at Sotol Vista, see the other side of the Window (as shown in this photo) and even get a glimpse of Santa Elena Canyon. If you time is right, close to sunset is my favorite time to be wrapping up this drive. This scenic route was named after Big Bend’s first park superintendent. Ross Maxwell had that role from 1944, when the park was established, through 1952. This HDR image was created from three bracketed images taken around 7:30 PM.