- Thread starter
- #181
Outside parks is all private. No way either place.
Big Bend July 16-18
- Thread starter wngrog
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #182
I sent my Ranger friend a TLCA membership. We will be good on reservations. I'm going to chat with him about the best truck sites. He will likely join us and if he can't we will have air cover 
- Thread starter
- #185
Be sure to select HD when you watch this.......
Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
I was there the 21st through the 23rd. I drove home on the 24th. It's 8 or 9 hours for me. I generally try to go 3 or 4 times a year. June / July is usually tourist free but they must've run a deal in Europe on BiBe. We did not meet a single person from the US during the entire trip. The Basin, as you noted, is always nice and cool. I met a bright red FJ on the west end of the River Road but nothing else when I was riding around back there.Ha! I dinked up a rim on a 2008 2500HD on the Old Ore Road in the exact spot that you shot that video (well done btw). I went straight when I should have gone left. It was a tad wet when I was there.
Pretty good quad pilot. My little one usually ends up coming down ungracefully. It'll fit in the palm of my pilot and the word stable never appears in it's manual
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Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
THIS ^^^
(1) I never thought of putting my ARB there. Awesome
(2) Water - I don't ever drain my cooler until I'm out of the park. I water plants at the roadside park near the Border Patrol checkpoint going toward Marathon or somewhere in Terlingua... I've hiked the South Rim numerous times. Year before last I went up 3 times in August, 4 days between two of the trips. All three times I had some kind of water container malfunction and only had water on the way up. Not cool... survivable but not cool... After that happened I started taking a Camelbak and a liter bottle of water in each side pocket.
Are you familiar with this site: http://www.bigbendchat.com/ There are some hard core benders on this site. Lots of info there.
Or this one (wx, as in temps in the Basin): http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/meso_base.cgi?stn=CSBT2&unit=0&time=LOCAL
Or this one (most handy of of you're a photographer or asthmatic): http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/webcams/parks/bibecam/bibecam.cfm
On the upside of summer in BiBe- when it's 95 - 100 down here (I live 100 miles in from the coast and west of Houston) and the humidity is high, it's only 85 in the Basin with very low humidity. Simply taking a shower and a nice breeze will cool you down.
- Thread starter
- #189
I watched the Basin weather app and the road closures closely. I pretty much winged it other than that.
I did find out that Big Pine is just as cool (temp wise) as the Basin and way cooler in that it is truck accessible and there are no people like up at the Basin.
If I do another Warm weather trip there I will be using that as my camp and not The Basin.
I did find out that Big Pine is just as cool (temp wise) as the Basin and way cooler in that it is truck accessible and there are no people like up at the Basin.
If I do another Warm weather trip there I will be using that as my camp and not The Basin.
Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
I drove "toward" the state park entrance on the way home Thursday. I can never seem to leave BiBe and just go straight home 
The entrance can be reached off of the River Road. Not the River Road in the park. The River road that starts in Terlingua, passes through Lajitas, to Presidio... actually... it goes all the way to El Paso in a roundabout way in some places. Or it can be reached via Presidio. Either way, from the entrance to the "visitor center" in the park it's 16 miles of road that is somewhat like the east end of the River Road in BiBe. I drove about 5 miles in and decided that if I continued I wouldn't get home until 1am. As it was I got home at 1am so I'm glad that I turned around. However, the state park is high on my list of "gotta-do's" now
The next time you drive out, assuming that you take IH10, watch for the Ft. Lancaster / Sheffield exit. Take that. There's a little picnic area at the top of the hill that overlooks the Pecos River Valley that's nice. Then cross the Pecos river and in Sheffield turn south on 349. FM349 will Y about 10 miles out. Y to the left, which is FM349, takes you to the town of Dryden. There are some cool buildings to photograph there and you get to drive in Sanderson Canyon on the way. Note that this isn't like a narrow canyon in CO or Death Valley. It's wide... VERY wide. Take the Y to the right, which is country road 2400, and you'll end up teeing into 285. Turn south and that comes out just west of the town of Sanderson. Check fuel and go east into town a short distance for fuel and a healthy fried burrito or head west to some more cool country to Marathon and then turn south. Or go to Alpine and take 118 south to Terlingua and Study Butte (pronounced Stoody Butte). Head into the park from the west. You can also head south on FM163 at Ozona. It's not as nice as the Sheffield route. It dumps you out on 90, west of Del Rio. From there you'll pass through Langtry (Judge Roy Beans place of business back in the day) and at least one Border Patrol checkpoint. Also... the drive over the Pecos River bridge is cool. If you watch for the turnout to the overlook just east of the bridge you can get some good views. Also, there is a hike below the little picnic area that's worth the time. None of these are time savers but they don't take a whole lot of extra time either. Once you've been to the park a zillion times it's a nice way to break up the drive.
The Terlingua ghost town has outstanding night photography. Especially in the cemetery. The Starlight Cafe is hit or miss on food and high on
"interesting people". High being a relative term
Every trip I make there is for photography. In the past I've made trips just for night photography (plan around a New Moon or or early setting crescent moon. One time I made a trip just because the full moon was rising in perfect alignment with Santa Elena Canyon. I drove out, shot the canyon from the bank of the river (all by myself), edited until 2 am, drove home the next day. And... I didn't really like the shot. The moon lit the canyon up so much it looks like a daylight shot Oh well... onward thru the fog. I'll see if I can PM you some images. I don't want to clog up your thread with my stuff.
The entrance can be reached off of the River Road. Not the River Road in the park. The River road that starts in Terlingua, passes through Lajitas, to Presidio... actually... it goes all the way to El Paso in a roundabout way in some places. Or it can be reached via Presidio. Either way, from the entrance to the "visitor center" in the park it's 16 miles of road that is somewhat like the east end of the River Road in BiBe. I drove about 5 miles in and decided that if I continued I wouldn't get home until 1am. As it was I got home at 1am so I'm glad that I turned around. However, the state park is high on my list of "gotta-do's" now
The next time you drive out, assuming that you take IH10, watch for the Ft. Lancaster / Sheffield exit. Take that. There's a little picnic area at the top of the hill that overlooks the Pecos River Valley that's nice. Then cross the Pecos river and in Sheffield turn south on 349. FM349 will Y about 10 miles out. Y to the left, which is FM349, takes you to the town of Dryden. There are some cool buildings to photograph there and you get to drive in Sanderson Canyon on the way. Note that this isn't like a narrow canyon in CO or Death Valley. It's wide... VERY wide. Take the Y to the right, which is country road 2400, and you'll end up teeing into 285. Turn south and that comes out just west of the town of Sanderson. Check fuel and go east into town a short distance for fuel and a healthy fried burrito or head west to some more cool country to Marathon and then turn south. Or go to Alpine and take 118 south to Terlingua and Study Butte (pronounced Stoody Butte). Head into the park from the west. You can also head south on FM163 at Ozona. It's not as nice as the Sheffield route. It dumps you out on 90, west of Del Rio. From there you'll pass through Langtry (Judge Roy Beans place of business back in the day) and at least one Border Patrol checkpoint. Also... the drive over the Pecos River bridge is cool. If you watch for the turnout to the overlook just east of the bridge you can get some good views. Also, there is a hike below the little picnic area that's worth the time. None of these are time savers but they don't take a whole lot of extra time either. Once you've been to the park a zillion times it's a nice way to break up the drive.
The Terlingua ghost town has outstanding night photography. Especially in the cemetery. The Starlight Cafe is hit or miss on food and high on
"interesting people". High being a relative term
Every trip I make there is for photography. In the past I've made trips just for night photography (plan around a New Moon or or early setting crescent moon. One time I made a trip just because the full moon was rising in perfect alignment with Santa Elena Canyon. I drove out, shot the canyon from the bank of the river (all by myself), edited until 2 am, drove home the next day. And... I didn't really like the shot
. The moon lit the canyon up so much it looks like a daylight shot Oh well... onward thru the fog. I'll see if I can PM you some images. I don't want to clog up your thread with my stuff.
- Thread starter
- #191
I love it.
Yes, The State Park is a trip of its own. Staged out of Marfa.
Check the end of my report. I went up Pinto Canyon Road.
You have to do this. Very cool.
I wish I were a better photographer. The crescent moon and planets were perfectly aligned in the Window when I made it to the Basin. It was surreal.
As for the drive out. I went via Del Rio when my wife lived in San Antonio.
Now it's fastest to go I-20 all the way to Pecos then south. I went cross country via the North Hill Country to and from. It's worth it to me to take an hour more just to get off the damn interstate.
Yes, The State Park is a trip of its own. Staged out of Marfa.
Check the end of my report. I went up Pinto Canyon Road.
You have to do this. Very cool.
I wish I were a better photographer. The crescent moon and planets were perfectly aligned in the Window when I made it to the Basin. It was surreal.
As for the drive out. I went via Del Rio when my wife lived in San Antonio.
Now it's fastest to go I-20 all the way to Pecos then south. I went cross country via the North Hill Country to and from. It's worth it to me to take an hour more just to get off the damn interstate.
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Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
Speaking of Marfa, Google Prada Marfa. It's a "sculpture" west of Marfa about 20 miles (I think). I haven't made it out there yet but I will.
I could see that. As you know, it's vast. Neither it or BiBe are "vast" like Death Valley (spent a couple weeks out there in January) but they'll do
I thought your photography was pretty good!
Per the PM (I put that here in case someone sees me splattering my stuff all over your thread and gets upset.)
Main page: http://wildlightimagingstudio.com/
BiBe link (I think this works. This is proof that I know how to take crappy photographes
):Big Bend: http://www.zenfolio.com/wlis/e/f92834321
Terlingua: http://www.zenfolio.com/wlis/e/f941859694
This is my favorite shot from the Terlingua Cemetery. I friend blipped a second or less of light from a little LED flashlight on the backside of the cross to make it stand out. Other than that, not much editing done to the image other than noise removal.
Mariscal Mine on The River Road. I've crawled all over and around this thing looking for a good photograph. I really want to shoot this at night. There's a campsite across the road from it. The last time I was going there for night photography I was in my 2008 2500HD Diesel and a rock punctured the outer lug of a brand new tire. My buddy says "what's that sound?". I said "I don't know man, I don't hear all that great". He says "it sounds like air hissing". I said "expletive deleted"... then the low air pressure warning went off. One spare, no compressor, no repair kit. Mission aborted. BTW- I have a Viair compressor and flat repair kit in the LC... If I had aired down I probably wouldn't have had a flat. I have a set of Staun Tyre Deflators in the LC. They come set to 18 psig and I'm going to change them to 20 psig but man those things are nice. A guy in Death Valley told me about them.
The South Rim. 6 miles up the Pinnacles Trail through Boot Canyon. It's an awesome hike that I've done a number of times. Sometimes I just go up the Pinnacles and back down the same way. Sometimes I go the full 14 miles around. Most people say that it's better to go up through Laguna Meadow across and down the Pinnacles because you're in shade on the way down. I've never done that but the next trip up I definitely will. The sun beats you up pretty bad coming down Laguna Meadows in the afternoon. This is looking toward Glenn Springs Road
Sunrise on the rim. I camped in SW4 to get this shot. I still need to check out the campsites on the SE Rim.
Raining on the Rim
Santa Elena Canyon. This is the night shot I told you about in the PM. FYI- Star shots like this and Terlingua are EASY
This was made between Castolon Store (closed till Sept for the first time that I remember) and Santa Elena Canyon. I can explain how I made this elsewhere if your interested. It's an in camera technique that comes in handy at night...
I made this in the Basin. Up by the cottages. Cheapest lodging is up there. No AC. No TV. Who cares... it's BiBe. Actually, camping is the cheapest but some folks will want a place to stay. Cheapest is actually outside the park but that's a long drive every day.
Man... I could keep doing this for hours. I better stop...
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Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
Sorry... One more from the River Road. Jewell's Camp. Not hard to get to in an LC... 2WD and low clearance probably won't get there without walking a little
- Thread starter
- #194
I love love love it. There are quite a few on here that are as interested in your perspective and superb photography as I am.
I'm so time crunched to do a trip there I need to keep the hikes short and the drives long.
I'm a JPEG photographer. If the picture sucks it gets deleted.
A new iMac is in my list. I wasted 4 years sitting in front of one trying my hand at small business NOT learning how to use Lightroom/Photoshop
Anytime you have a story or a shot to share on BB it is welcome here. Love it.
I'm so time crunched to do a trip there I need to keep the hikes short and the drives long.
I'm a JPEG photographer. If the picture sucks it gets deleted.
A new iMac is in my list. I wasted 4 years sitting in front of one trying my hand at small business NOT learning how to use Lightroom/Photoshop
Anytime you have a story or a shot to share on BB it is welcome here. Love it.
More pics and stories!
Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
Gracias. But If I put them all on here it would get ridiculous.
The funny thing about my last trip is that I have spent so much time hiking / exploring that my first time to go to Pine Canyon, which a very easy side trip off of Glenn Springs road as you know, Juniper Canyon / Dodson trailhead, and Janes Camp was last week. Pine Canyon was over the top gorgeous imho. The wild flowers and blooming sage against the peaks of the Chisos were great.
I've done the Old Maverick Road in my truck and LC, Old Ore Road in the truck, Glenn Springs and River Road in both. Last week was the first time to take a side trip to Glenn Springs cemetery on Black Gap Road. Now that I have my custom Big Bend pin striping from the Black Gap Road I plan to do the full trip. It's the only alleged 4WD road in the park that I know of. Some of the side trips off of the River Road are pretty rough but nothing major as far as I know.
I have to make one little caveat. If someone reads this and decides to spend some time in BiBe bear in mind that if you decide to do a South Rim overnight, it gets cold up there at night. My one and only overnite up there was in Sept. I took a 20° bag and split a trash bag in half for a ground cloth. I left the tent behind (long story). Around 10pm I was watching lightning from a storm moving my way. It skirted me and I only got a few drops of rain. When I woke up the next morning there was frost on my bag and everything around me. That was at midnight (the moon was full and shining in my eyes). I walked out to the rim and why I didn't take a camera or tripod I have no idea. The Sierra Quemeda was lit up by the moon and gorgeous. Missed opportunity... When I woke up for real the frost was still there, I was cold, and it hit me... holy crap... if it had rained the night before I would've been in trouble. Lessons learned and all that.
Last thing- I'm probably a tad older than a lot of people that hike here. I'm 57. Not in bad shape. But 57. If I can do the south rim in a day... it should be doable for about anyone. I was hiking up the Pinnacles to the rim with a buddy of mine (I think he's around 35 and in decent shape) and we were clipping along pretty good without a pack, just water and cameras, and he says "we're fixing to get lapped". I turned around and a woman that was at least 65 passed us like nothing. This was the same guy that asked me what that sound was our on the River Road.
The funny thing about my last trip is that I have spent so much time hiking / exploring that my first time to go to Pine Canyon, which a very easy side trip off of Glenn Springs road as you know, Juniper Canyon / Dodson trailhead, and Janes Camp was last week. Pine Canyon was over the top gorgeous imho. The wild flowers and blooming sage against the peaks of the Chisos were great.
I've done the Old Maverick Road in my truck and LC, Old Ore Road in the truck, Glenn Springs and River Road in both. Last week was the first time to take a side trip to Glenn Springs cemetery on Black Gap Road. Now that I have my custom Big Bend pin striping from the Black Gap Road I plan to do the full trip. It's the only alleged 4WD road in the park that I know of. Some of the side trips off of the River Road are pretty rough but nothing major as far as I know.
I have to make one little caveat. If someone reads this and decides to spend some time in BiBe bear in mind that if you decide to do a South Rim overnight, it gets cold up there at night. My one and only overnite up there was in Sept. I took a 20° bag and split a trash bag in half for a ground cloth. I left the tent behind (long story). Around 10pm I was watching lightning from a storm moving my way. It skirted me and I only got a few drops of rain. When I woke up the next morning there was frost on my bag and everything around me. That was at midnight (the moon was full and shining in my eyes). I walked out to the rim and why I didn't take a camera or tripod I have no idea. The Sierra Quemeda was lit up by the moon and gorgeous. Missed opportunity... When I woke up for real the frost was still there, I was cold, and it hit me... holy crap... if it had rained the night before I would've been in trouble. Lessons learned and all that.
Last thing- I'm probably a tad older than a lot of people that hike here. I'm 57. Not in bad shape. But 57. If I can do the south rim in a day... it should be doable for about anyone. I was hiking up the Pinnacles to the rim with a buddy of mine (I think he's around 35 and in decent shape) and we were clipping along pretty good without a pack, just water and cameras, and he says "we're fixing to get lapped". I turned around and a woman that was at least 65 passed us like nothing. This was the same guy that asked me what that sound was our on the River Road.
Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
There are mountain lions and bears in the Chisos. I've seen a bear cross the trail in front of me. My cousin walked up to the restaurant one afternoon and a sow with 3 cubs walked by the window just outside of the restaurant. I've never seen a mountain lion. I have a few friends that have full frame head shots of mountain lions that the saw there (those people suck ). One guy spotted a female walking away so he ran into the brush (DUH!) to head her off at the pass so to speak. He stopped to see if he could find her... really dude... you were looking for a freakin mountain lion in the brush with nothing but a camera? heard something, turned, and there was a male, looking toward the female. He was between them. The first thing he did was make a full frame face shot of a mountain lion about 10' away and looking toward a female... and then slowly exited the area. Taking pictures of course
It's been so wet lately that I think the bears and mountain lions are up in the Chisos.
). One guy spotted a female walking away so he ran into the brush (DUH!) to head her off at the pass so to speak. He stopped to see if he could find her... really dude... you were looking for a freakin mountain lion in the brush with nothing but a camera? heard something, turned, and there was a male, looking toward the female. He was between them. The first thing he did was make a full frame face shot of a mountain lion about 10' away and looking toward a female... and then slowly exited the area. Taking pictures of course It's been so wet lately that I think the bears and mountain lions are up in the Chisos.
Mike6158
Random Pixel Generator
Sotol Vista. Best sunsets in the park:
So is everybody bringing there own vehicles on this expo? I will be traveling solo in the 200, maybe the 4Runner.