Mariscal Mine

— Getting to Mariscal Mine in Big Bend National Park may not be easy. High-clearance vehicles with four-wheel-drive are required. When we did our first visit to this area in 2007, the ranger told us that he was not sure the road was passable at some points. Yes, we encountered at least one spot where we had to get out of our vehicle to study how we’d continue our journey to Mariscal Mine. The trip in itself is a feast for the eyes, even before getting to Mariscal Mine.

Once in the desert, you pretty much have a constant view of the Chisos Mountains in your horizon on one side. On the other side, across in Mexico, you can see Sierra del Carmen. That’s the blue mountains in the photo above. Mariscal Mine was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1974. The mine is the best preserved mercury mining site in the state of Texas. Some of the structures are still there, including holding bins, furnace, condensing chambers and stack. A few entrances to the mine are still there, but closed.

The landscape view from the top of the mine is magnificent. Even though the photo above is from a five-megapixel camera, one can still see the beauty of the location. We were fully bundled for that January trip, and in fact upon returning to the Chisos Lodge, there had been some frozen precipitation in the area, giving it a very eerie look around the Lost Mine Trail parking lot.

Getting to Mariscal Mine depends on how passable the River Road East is. This 51-mile stretch of a primitive dirt road connects the Rio Grande Village to Castolon. The drive is thrilling as it takes you deep in the interior of Big Bend National Park. River Road East must not be confused with the River Road or FM 170, which runs through Big Bend Ranch State Park from Presidio to Lajitas.

The photo below is more recent. It is from 2018. It was taken nearly the same spot as the photo above, but it shows more of Sierra del Carmen in the distant horizon.