Big Bend National Park

February 12, 2019

On my first day driving in Texas, I saw a road sign that read, “NEXT SERVICE 118 MILES.” “Whoa. I really am in the wild, wild, west,” I thought. I made sure to fill up my gas tank when I was at a town with any kind of life, as well as have at least 2 liters of water in the car. At one point I literally drove by tumbleweeds. I was in disbelief as I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in real life before. They were EXACTLY like the cartoons. Being out in the middle of nowhere had me worried about a flat or mechanical malfunction, but luckily cars are so reliable these days. I had no issues.

With the scarcity of civilization in mind, I departed from Marfa, TX, which is this hip, artsy town I saw on Anthony Bourdain. There wasn’t a coffee shop open at 730am, so I made a pit stop in the town of Alpine to get some caffeine for the ride. Once on the road, there was pretty much nothing for miles. It was a beautiful drive known as the “Texas Mountain Trail.”

I hit life in the ghost town of Terlingua. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to check it out aside from filling up my car. For some reason I forgot how to pump gas without those spill guards they put on California gas pumps, so I spilled gas like a noob way too much on this trip. (WTF!?)

Once I got to the park I was paranoid of the gas smell and was expecting the Park Ranger to say something like, “Ma’am, are you aware your vehicle smells like gasoline?” Instead he said, “Welcome to Big Bend National Park, would you like a map?”

I drove around for a bit more inside the park, but needed to stretch my legs so I got out at the Lost Mine Trail. I didn’t have time to do the whole hike, so after about an hour-or-so I hopped back into the car and headed to Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. This paved road takes you through the park with exhibits and overlooks along the way. I tried to be selective of stops as the park is way too big to tackle in one day but I got the gist of it.

I finally reached Santa Elena Canyon. I hiked the switchbacks for a little bit, but really wanted to be home before dark so I didn’t do the whole thing. I overheard someone say it wasn’t really worth it anyway. (ha!) According to the map I had planned on taking the Old Maverick Road shortcut back to the visitors center, but as I turned onto the road I read the sign very carefully, and at the bottom it read “4-wheel drive required.” Welp, sorry little Ford Fiesta, we’ve got to head back the long way around.

One interesting discovery is that I think this park is a hidden gem for cyclists. There’s plenty of elevation gain, sweeping descents and beautiful views. The drivers are friendly and give the riders plenty of room. I hope to return to this park someday. There’s so much more to do.

The following day I set sail for a painfully long drive to Dallas to meet up with some friends. I don’t have any photos, but let me tell you, cutting through the oil fields of West Texas was something. I was the only car for two hours, because every other vehicle was a super duty truck or oil tank transporter thingy. It was simultaneously terrifying and fascinating. I was excited and frightened. I felt out of place, and was maybe a little grateful I wasn’t driving my Prius C with California license plates. The genuienly curious part of me also wanted to get out and ask someone with a white constriction hat soooo many questions. “Please tell me what’s happening here? What’s that for? How does it work?” I literally drove by Haliburton. I heard the Imperial March and saw holograms of Dick Cheney floating around the building.

Yes, oil companies are evil. But you can’t deny that we all still need oil. Even if you drive an electric car, or no car at all, you aren’t free from this dependency. Things get delivered by trucks and trucks run on oil. You eat food and food is planted and harvested by tractors that run on oil. Most of you fly. You get the point. I respect and am thankful for the people out there doing that job because I certainly don’t want to do it. But it can’t stay that way for long. Luckily, I did see some wind turbines on my drive too. It sure was windy enough. At any rate, it was a drastic change from the pristine, protected lands of Big Bend. I stopped at Whataburger and was on my way…