March 11, 2022
Chris and Heather finally make it to Big Bend National Park! They talk with Chief of Interpretation Tom VandenBerg about some of what makes BBNP the best park anywhere ever. Did we say that out loud? Anyway, we cover the Basics – the unique convergence of desert ecosystems that makes the Park truly special and, of course, Tom’s favorite hike. What is it? Listen and find out!
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Transcript for “Big Bend National Park Basics”:
Chris Ruggia
Hello. Welcome. And thank you for joining us for Heart of the Big Bend. This is a podcast and radio show coming to you every other week about visiting the beautiful Big Bend of Texas. Specifically, we will cover what’s happening in Alpine, an incredibly friendly small town nestled in a desert mountain valley at the heart of the Big Bend region. With easy day trips from Alpine, you can take in everything this amazing region has to offer. I’m Chris Ruggia, Director of Tourism for the City of Alpine. And with me again today is Heather Yadon from the Alpine Visitor Center. Hi, Heather, good morning.
Heather Yadon
Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us.
Chris R
And finally, the show we should have had for our first or second show, I bet, is Big Bend National Park. This is the anchor, the gravity well of tourism for this whole region. And this is what the region is named for, the Big Bend of the Rio Grande. And we’re going to talk today with Tom VandenBerg, the Chief of Interpretation at the National Park. Hi, Tom.
Tom VandenBerg
Hello. Good morning. Glad to be here.
Chris R
Thanks so much for taking some time to talk with us about this incredible, beautiful asset that our region has to share.
Tom V
You bet. I’ve never heard it referred to as a gravity well before.
Chris R
Let’s say the jewel in the Crown, the superlative metaphor, whichever one we want to pick.
Tom V
It’s a pretty special place. Yeah, you bet.
Chris R
No question. So, for the folks who don’t yet know who are listening on their podcast and what is this Big Bend thing? Let’s talk about what is the Big Bend? Where is Big Bend National Park in the state?
Tom V
Well, Big Bend is the large swath incorporated into the big, broad sweep of the Rio Grande and far, far southwest Texas.
Chris R
I like to call it the bottom of that blob on the left-hand side of Texas.
Tom V
Yeah. That encompasses it pretty well.
Chris R
Is Big Bend National Park still the largest of the national parks?
Tom V
No, we’re not the largest of the national parks. We’re actually 15th largest of our US National Park area goodness.
Chris R
But it’s pretty large, 800,000 plus acres. Is that right?
Tom V
It’s a big place. Yes. There’s plenty of room for everybody here, in Big Bend, for sure.
Chris R
One of the things that since I’ve been in the area when I’ve read and visited and looked at interpretive materials about the park, that gets stressed is the ecological breadth; that the park represents a lot of different habitats and ecosystems.
Tom V
Yeah. The park is in many ways kind of a meeting zone of many ecological areas. We’re at 29 deg latitudes where the northernmost reach of a lot of Southern plants and animal species, and then the southernmost reach of many Northern species. And then we’re in the kind of in the middle of the continent. And so east and west overlap here. So, it’s a very diverse place. And the most prime example of the Chihuahuan Desert preserved in the United States. It’s sometimes considered like three parks in one as well. You have the river area. We have a couple of hundred miles of riverfront property managed by the National Park. There’s also the desert, kind of the heart of the park, the soul of the park. And then there’s the Woodlands, the mountains and the high country up in the Chisos Range.
Chris R
How and when did the National Park come into existence? That was back in the 40s, is that right?
Tom V
Well, it actually starts before that, even. The state of Texas recognized the area in the early 1930s and established an early state park here in 1933, Texas Canyons State Park, and then right away lobby to get it established as a National Park of some sort. That would be a big feather in the cap of Texas. And it took a long time. It took about seven years after being approved, but the state of Texas actually purchased the land with the sole reason and purpose to donate it to the federal government for establishment of a National Park. And that happened in 1944. The deed for the park actually crossed the desk of President Roosevelt on June 6, 1944, which was the D-Day landing day.
Chris R
Wow. And then I think it was in ’47 that it was dedicated in Alpine, isn’t that right?
Tom V
It took a few years to kind of get everything together to establish it and formally dedicate it. But the park opened in 1944 and we had about 1,200 visitors that year. This last year. Now we had just under 600,000 visitors.
Heather Y
And that was a record for the park, correct?
Tom V
Yeah. We’re seeing quite a lot of records in recent years, especially the last couple of years.
Chris R
Indeed. So, let’s take the areas of the park in the order that you mentioned them. We’ve got the river corridor in the desert and then the mountain area. So, along the river, there’s two campgrounds where the infrastructure is a little more visitor friendly. There’s the Rio Grande Village at the far Eastern edge of that park area and then Castolone towards the Western just before you get to Santa Elena Canyon, right?
Tom V
Yeah. Those are probably the two easiest areas to access the Rio Grande and experience the floodplain environment, cottonwood groves and the lush vegetation along the river, and just to see and experience the river itself. Whether you wanted to hike along the river, get some views of it, or do a float trip along the river, those are the easiest spots to access it. Much of the river flows through pretty remote backcountry areas of the park and you’d need a Jeep or some sort of rugged truck to access some of those areas. But Rio Grande Village is probably one of our larger developed areas. A couple of camping areas, a visitor center that’s open in the busy months, boat ramps, group campgrounds, a store and some really nice trails.
Chris R
Yeah. And an international Port of Entry, oddly enough.
Tom V
That’s correct. Yes. That’s another unique thing we have here in Big Bend is this international flavor. And people that come to this area, they want to get a feel for what makes Far West Texas special. And that cross-border connection is a strong one. And we’re really happy to have the Port of entry. So that would allow visitors with a passport to cross through our Port of entry building, make their way down to the river, take a little boat ride across the river, and from there you could make a short walk or even ride a burro or a horse into the little village of Boquillas.
Heather Y
There’s also the Hot Springs over there on the east side.
Tom V
That’s right. Everybody wants to go to the Hot Springs. That area attracted people for thousands of years, then became a health resort at the turn of the century, and now the ruins, the old buildings, the old rock art on the walls, and the Hot Springs themselves draw people from all over to experience. It’s kind of a magical little corner of the park, for sure.
Chris R
Yeah. And then I wanted to jump over to the west edge of the Santa Elena Canyon, which is an iconic physical aspect of that river landscape.
Tom V
Yes. There are three major canyons within Big Bend National Park, Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas Canyon. All of them are different. But Santa Elena Canyon just seems to be the big attraction for many people. It’s pretty iconic. Amazing. 1500-foot vertical walls. The Canyon itself is over 10 miles long, and you could take an easy trail and walk into the mouth of the Canyon. It’s a pretty special experience. Yeah.
Chris R
That’s a really popular trail. And one thing about Santa Elena is you can see it because Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive heads down to that and ends pretty much at that trailhead. And all along the route, as you’re lowering an elevation, you can see that slice in the Ridge.
Tom V
I love that it seems kind of small at first, but as you get closer and closer, it’s amazing how big it gets. And it’s quite imposing. Yeah.
Chris R
Now, one thing we should point out the folks that you want to enjoy that river area is the temperature extremes in the park. And the warmest area of the park is that lowest elevation right by the river. So, when you’re in mid-day, anywhere from May onwards through the summer, it’s very warm along the river.
Tom V
Definitely. The park has a vertical elevation difference from the high Chisos to the river and when you look at the weather reports for Big Bend National Park, it often is reflecting what you’ll find at park headquarters. Well, we’re in the center of the park at kind of mid elevation, and so you need to add ten degrees to that for most of the river areas. And a lot of people are not prepared for that. It can be very toasty along the river half the year.
Heather Y
Isn’t that why Castolon and Rio Grande Village have parts of that closed during the summer?
Tom V
Yeah. We close those visitor centers in the summer months, and the campgrounds are open at a reduced capacity. It’s just hard to camp and do much when it’s 110 degrees.
Chris R
Our very first visit to the area, we were camping at Rio Grande Village, and that was late May, and it was a challenge.
Heather Y
I went to Rio Grande Village last year in July, and my toddler said, “I’m not getting out of the car.”
Chris R
But of course, that’s not all we have to offer. So, if we move up an elevation. Our next kind of stratum of the park would be that the desert, the scrub desert in between the river and the mountains. Let’s start at Panther Junction is the main visitor center. As you pointed out, Tom, that’s kind of the center elevation, and it’s right at almost the geographical center of the park. You have these three main roads that coincide at Panther Junction.
Tom V
Yeah. Panther Junction is at about 3700ft. And, in all directions, there’s really cool things to do. So, heading north, that takes you toward Persimmon Gap 385. That would be the route you’d take to Marathon. And along the way, one of our highlights is the fossil discovery exhibit is right there.
Chris R
Which was really nicely upgraded just a few years ago.
Tom V
Yeah. That was a project for sure, supported by our friends group. It’s just an amazing facility. So, if you want to learn about some of the deep history of the park, that’s the place to go. It’s really amazing.
Chris R
Yeah. And it’s really easy to access, too. It’s right off the road, but yet it also gives you some nice walks from there.
Tom V
Yeah. Heading west from Panther Junction kind of takes you through some of the other highlights of the park. The Balanced Rock Trail is a fairly easy trail. It takes you out to a really famous geologic feature, a big giant arch formed by essentially a balanced boulder that people love to hike to.
Heather Y
That is a dirt road to get to balanced rock, right?
Tom V
It is a dirt road, and that’s an important point. Probably not the appropriate road to take a Prius or a rental car. Yeah. The park has a lot of dirt roads. And once you enjoy some of the scenic driving on the paved roads, if you wanted to get off the pavement, that’s a pretty cool thing that this park offers that most national parks don’t, is an extensive network of roads. And most of those take you through just beautiful desert areas. But you really need to have an appropriate vehicle, at least a high clearance vehicle with good tires, for sure.
Chris R
And I associate that Grapevine Hills Balanced Rock Trail with greater earless lizards. Those guys, especially the males, have that rainbow of color along their sides. Just really cool looking little guys.
Tom V
Yeah, hands down for the entire park, I’ve never seen more lizards anywhere than that trail, for sure.
Chris R
Then we keep on heading towards the west, and a big attraction is, as I mentioned earlier, that Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive that takes you between that main park road and the river. And there’s a lot of great stops and hikes and views along that.
Tom V
That route actually takes you basically shows you the story of Big Ben’s geology from one end to the other, the early ancient ocean sediments to the volcanic activity that form the Chisos. So amazing geology is on display there. That route takes you all the way down to Santa Elena Canyon. You could spend literally a whole day just exploring that one road. And then a lot of human history is on display as well along that route. Some of the early ranches, the remains of the hardy folks that made a living here in Big Bend long before it became a National Park. It’s pretty amazing.
Chris R
The Chimneys Trail, too, has some really beautiful and fragile artifacts or markings of the earlier people.
Heather Y
And that’s where people can see Mule Ears, which is another famous spot to get pictures. That’s one of them that’s very iconic. And everyone recognizes that.
Tom V
Yeah. That’s a big landmark is Mule Ears. You can see it for miles and miles and miles.
Chris R
And then let’s see, between Panther Junction and Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, there is the Chisos Basin Road, which takes us way up, much higher in elevation to the heart of the Chisos Mountains, which I understand that it’s a mountain range that is entirely contained within the boundaries of the National Park.
Tom V
That’s right. And as far as I know, that’s the only mountain range completely within the boundaries of any US National Park. So, it’s a special little enclave of rare plants and animals. And some of the best scenery in Texas is the little woodlands of the Chisos Mountains. Chisos Basin is right, literally right in the center of the Chisos Mountains. And that’s where the Lodge is. We have a visitor center that’s opened year-round. And probably if you’re coming to Big Bend and you wanted to just hike and hike and hike, that would be a place you’d want to go first.
Heather Y
And some of your very popular trails all come from; the Chisos Basin Lost Mine Trail is along the road headed to the Basin, which is a super popular trail that we have to always let people know, especially this time of year, that it will fill up early and go to one car in one car out for parking and things like that. And then the Window is there at the Chisos Basin, which is a beautiful short trail, or you can do the longer one.
Chris R
And for folks who don’t know, it’s a little cleft in the mountains, that’s where you can see out to the plain beyond.
Heather Y
And then you have the highest peak there is. Emory Peak, correct?
Tom V
That’s correct. Yeah. Highest peak in the park. It’s just under 8000ft. And that’s a big destination for a lot of folks. It’s pretty much an all-day hike to get up there and back. It’s about a ten-mile hike. But the views from there on the top of Emory Peak, literally you see everything on the park map just laid before you it’s from Santa Elena to Boquillas. You can see it all.
Heather Y
My three year old’s name is Emory, so my goal is to hike that. But we’ve got a few years before we try to do that.
Tom V
Yes. And what’s neat about being on top of Emory Peak is that if you’re looking north, you can see literally as far away as Alpine fairly easily.
Chris R
Yeah. And the iconic Basin hike has got to be the South Rim. It’s an investment of time and energy to get there. It’s quite a distance, but it’s a destination of itself, for sure.
Tom V
Yeah. You can do that as a day hike, but you have to really kind of move. You don’t have a lot of time to spend out there at the Rim. But if you make your way out to what’s called the South Rim, it’s this giant palisade miles long and 2,000 ft. Above the desert below, with just spectacular views stretching way off into Mexico. So, you can do it as a day hike, but better yet, do it as a backpacking trip and you can spend sunset, sunrise out there off of the Rim. It’s one of the iconic, just amazing West Texas experiences.
Chris R
Yeah, it sure is. And it’s a pretty lengthy hike with a lot of steep ascent and descent. There’s definitely some tears sometimes on the way back down. If you do it as a day hike, you’re going to feel it when you get back to the parking lot, that’s for sure. Speaking of hikes, today we’re talking in general about the park. And in two weeks we’re going to have you back and we’ll talk a little more in detail about kind of the details of visiting the park today. But I want to just touch base with a few touch points of favorite hikes in general around the park. And for me, one of my absolute favorites is Dog Canyon. This is a flat, scrub desert hike. It’s just a straight shot across with very little vegetation, and it’s on the Persimmon Gap Road between the park entrance and Panther Junction. And it’s a winter hike, in my opinion, because once it’s warm, it’s very uncomfortable to get there. But the Dog Canyon, it’s a small Canyon, but it’s just really appealing, and you feel like you’ve arrived at this place out away from everything.
Heather Y
So, Tom, do you have a favorite?
Tom V
One of my favorite hikes is along the Ross Maxwell Drive, and it’s called the Upper Burro Mesa Trail. And it’s a trail that’s about 2 miles each way. And it’s not usually that busy because from the trailhead it doesn’t look very interesting. But after about a quarter mile hiking that trail, you drop into a narrow, narrow slot canyon, and you follow that all the way down. It gets narrower and narrower and taller and taller. And eventually you end up in literally like a big cave at the top of 100 foot drop off. And that’s pretty cool. So, it’s kind of like this treasure at the end to explore. And, usually, you’re the only person out there on that route.
Chris R
Yes. That is a really lovely thing. And another easier approach, or a very easy payoff is the Tuff Canyon, which is on that same Ross Maxwell. It’s very near that, and you can get some really nice views and overlooks pretty close to the car. You can do really long hikes and you can do some pretty short hikes, depending on your appetite.
Tom V
Yeah. And we have a lot of people that just experience the park and don’t do any hiking. They just do scenic drives and they’ll stop at some of the scenic pull outs. And that’s an amazing experience for lots of folks, too.
Heather Y
I think that’s what I get more questions about at the visitor center, because most people who are doing some of your more advanced hikes and stuff, they don’t necessarily need my help like they’re experienced in going to the park. But most people who come to Alpine Visitors Center are really wanting to know where they can take the best drives through the park. And they like to do the loop that comes in either in the north or the west and come out the other side so they can do the day trip back to Alpine. I think that that’s something great because even if they’re not going to hike, they can still see all three of these areas that we’ve talked about by car.
Tom V
Absolutely.
Chris R
Speaking of cars, there’s the Dagger Flat Auto Trail, which is really going to pay off most when the yucca are blooming.
Heather Y
What is that April or we have we still have a little bit before it’ll be in full Bloom, right?
Tom V
It’s not quite happening yet. And some years, it’s more than others, but it’s more of an April event, and that can be tremendously cool to see that it’s kind of a hidden Valley filled with a type of Yucca called a giant dagger yucca. And they have these massive inflorescences that they all kind of Bloom at the same time and each one of these inflorescences can be like the size of a person. It looks like the desert is full of giant candles out into the distance. Pretty cool.
Heather Y
Well, that’s another one that is a dirt road, but I’ve done it in a regular car. I think that’s one that you can do in a regular car. It’s not too bad.
Chris R
And so obviously we could point out so many favorite spots to visit at the park, but I think the best thing to do is to get there and start exploring.
I think we’re out of time for today. But thanks so much, Tom, for talking to us today and sharing with our local folks as well as our visitors a little bit about what makes Big Bend National Park special. And in two weeks join us again and we’ll talk a little more in detail about what you can expect and how to access the park. Thanks again, Tom.
Tom V
You bet.
Chris R
So, folks, thank you so much for joining us for part of the Big Bend. You can get more information about this show at visitalpinetx.com/podcast or search for Heart of the Big Bend on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most other podcast apps. Thanks everybody again for joining us and we’ll be back with you in two weeks.
Outro
You’ve been listening to the heart of the Big Bend. Hope you liked what you heard and that you’ll find the time to experience all that the Big Bend has to offer. See you soon, partner.