Leaving the Chisos

— After a three-year absence, we finally returned to Big Bend NP the first week in December 2021. We were able to hike some of our favorite trails while also adding new ones. As adventurous and beautiful Big Bend NP is, leaving the park is always a sad time. We leave behind a beautiful part of Texas like no other.

One thing that was very unusual for us this year was the fact that on the day we arrived at the park, there was dust covering the entire area. The dust was so thick that in some cases we could not even see the Chisos Mountains right in front of us. Luckily, the very next day things started to clear up. On the third day, it was as if nothing had happened.

The Texas State Historical Association says that the Chisos Mountains “were pushed up to elevations of more than 5,000 feet above sea level by a great deformation during the Cenozoic era.” What the photos here do not show are the high peaks in the Chisos Mountains, including Emory Peak (7,835 feet / 2,388 m) and Casa Grande Peak (7,325 feet / 2,233 m), just to name a couple. You can see some of these mountains in other entries.

The road down from the Chisos Basin offers some breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks as well as these other lower elevations featured here. On this particular day, as we were leaving the lodge, it was mid-morning with the sun and clouds above casting some amazing shadows. These images stay with us long after we are gone. They will help us wait until December 2022, when we return (already booked our room at the lodge).