The Great Mikegration

Cover Photo: Big Bend of course!

• Here is our overall adventure map for this trip.

Big Bend Adventure Map Days 1-8

• And here is our adventure broken down into color coded segments! Enjoy!

Big Bend Adventure Map Days 1-2

Day 1: 01/02/23

• Exciting day as the first day of a new adventure always is.  Left the house and started towards Big Bend this morning.  We took the southerly route since we were trying to avoid the rain and were overnighting in Marathon. 
• First funny of the trip was we cut through Bellville, TX on our way and saw Trump Burger open and ready for business.  They had signs up for Trump 2024 and no joke.  The name of the burger place was Trump Burger.  Someone loves Trump!
• Continued our sojourn and stopped at Haby’s Alsatian Bakery in Castroville, TX.  The apple fritter donut was one of the best I’ve ever eaten.  Tasted like they put cinnamon in the bread and just a little bit of apple flavor but wow; it was a home run!!   The regular donut was also very good.   We didn’t care for the blueberry turnover as the bread was good however the blueberry filling tasted chemically so I think it was from a can.  In all fairness they did put a lot of filling in it so kudos to them for that.  The cherry turnover was also just ok and the cinnamon roll was definitely better than average but not the best ever.  In summary, I’d redo the apple fritter and the regular donuts.  They also had lots more donuts that we did not sample.  Also, Castroville had a old mill that you could take tours of as well as some other historic stuff that looked interesting.

• Drove through Hondo, TX and loved the vibe of the town.  There were signs that the different businesses; people, and groups had put up on the road wishing everyone Merry Christmas.  Probably fifty or more different signs.  It was really impressive and showed community involvement. 
• Next town up was D’Hanis, TX and it looked to be a very cool old hotel and saloon they had there.  Would like to go back and just go in to explore it a little bit. 
• Driving on we stopped at the Pecos River and Hwy 90 junction rest stop to look at the bridge and just admire the beauty of the river.  Make sure you stop if you go this way.  Very pretty.  You can also stop down “low” and walk on the bridge if you like. 

• On through Sanderson and on to the Gage Hotel in Marathon where we were spending the night.  Once past Sanderson started seeing a few mountain glimpses and the scenery started to change.  Very pretty! 
• Checked into the hotel and went next door to their restaurant for a filet mignon for dinner and a drink.  It was excellent so be happy to eat here again.  Room is small with no mini fridge however the bathroom is nicely sized.  People are friendly and overall a good place to stay.  Next time I’ll book earlier and get one of the rooms that aren’t in the hotel that may be a little quieter and larger.  

Day 2: 01/03/23

• Tough night’s sleep so slept in until 8am.  Seemed to be noise bleed through and then I just couldn’t get back to sleep.  Checked out of hotel and drove down to “The Chicken House” in Marathon however looks like the decorated shed with the home-made statues has been torn down much to my sorrow.   
• We ended up skipping breakfast so we could eat at Judy’s Bread & Breakfast Bakery Café in Alpine.  Imagine our sorrow when we showed up there to get breakfast and eat one of the best cinnamon rolls in existence and they were closed for the day.  Guess I should have checked Google to see if they were open on Tuesday’s…. No big deal says I “we can eat at Marfa’s Burritos in Marfa; they have awesome burritos!”  Queue driving down to Marfa music with a quick stop at the Marfa Lights viewing platform (it’s far better at night) and then a quick spin around town to view and over to the burrito place only to find that it was also closed today!!!!  Ugh..that one hurt.  Ends up most of the places were closed today so we ended up eating a quick bite at the Sentinal Coffee in Marfa.  The food was good and the cranberry hot coffee was delicious.  Showed Lisa the two main hotels in town and then realized we could have eaten at one of them…Arghhhh..  Oh well.  As a side note the drive from Alpine to Marfa was very pretty.

• Headed out of Marfa down to Presidio which is a VERY scenic drive.  Stopped at a cool historic marker about Milton Faver (see picture) and then headed on to Hwy 170 east to Chisos Mountain Lodge in Big Bend National Park.  (Don’t forget to stop at Shafter on the way. It’s where they filmed the movie The Andromeda Strain). Hwy 170 to Big Bend National Park is an exceptionally beautiful drive.  It winds through Big Bend State Park and is just a wonderful drive.  Eventually you come to Terlingua, TX (the ghost town) and then you turn and head into Big Bend.  Not sure what to say here that hasn’t already been said (or that I’ve not already posted from a previous trip) however it is stunning!!  If you’ve never been you should go…. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before in TX and almost like another world; in a good way!  

• Check in at the lodge was quick and friendly.  We were staying at one of the Stone cottage duplex’s and loved it.  It was clean, everything worked, and it was away from all the noise.  The views were great and we liked it so much we ended up having a sandwich at the cottage to enjoy the view and the quiet.  Saw a few stars on a quick walk (as well as Mars and Jupiter; thought we could see Uranus and Neptune also but may have just been our imagination).  Spent the rest of the evening doing some planning out of the next day or two.  I won’t be going into details on any of the hikes as you can look those up easily online and I’ve already addressed them in a different post along with way too many pictures.  If it’s a new hike (or I just can’t stop myself) I’ll throw in some more pictures for perusal. 

Big Bend Adventure Map Days 3-6

Day 3: 01/04/23

• Another tough night of sleep with the bed creaking every time I turned over however I’m not complaining about it as the stone cottages are so much better than the hotel and much more picturesque!  I’m happy and thrilled to be staying in them!  Had a bowel of Raisin Bran for breakfast and on our way! 
• First stop was the Visitor Center to get checked in with the Rangers and grab a map and newsletter to help plan the trip.  Looked at some pictures of bear sightings around the park on his cell phone when we asked him about activity in the area.  Great pics by the way… thanks for sharing! 
• We were able to download an app called Just Ahead last night and decided to give it a try today.  Spoiler alert as it’s pretty awesome.  It works offline and gives you lots of history as your driving.  Can’t say that I love it as it’s only been one day but I really do like it and will continue to try it out.  It has the National Parks in it; not sure what else as I’ve only looked at Big Bend info in it, but excited to try for more parks on my next trip.
• We wanted to stop by Panther Junction Visitor Center to grab a souvenir or two since I wasn’t able to stop there last trip.  Nice visitor center! 
• Drove on from there to Hot Springs Historic Trail to do a quick hike.  I do love this hike as it has a lot of history and natural beauty combined.  If you’ve not done it you need to do.  I love the story of how it came into being!  You don’t even need to take a dip in the Hot Springs to appreciate although most do.  I like the petroglyphs, fossils, and beauty of the hike especially when you are up on the high ground for the last half of the hike. We even saw some Caballero cowboys watering their horses in the Rio Grande!

• Left there and briefly stopped at the Rio Grande Overlook and Rio Grande Village to admire the trees and area. 

• Backtracked from there to the Boquillas Canyon Overlook which gives a superb overlook to the area.   Dropped down a little further to the Boquillas Canyon Trail to have a wonderful hike by the Rio Grande in the Canyon.  Very nice with great canyon walls and all the rest.  Bit steep at the beginning but well worth the effort. Make sure and check the trees out as you get to the bottom. We had a couple that were back in the trees giggling and having fun when we hiking by. We kept hearing something in the trees when we walked by and thought maybe a horse or something but then they came walking out so I guess it was just them. lol. I didn’t do a very good job of picture taking here so don’t judge the Canyon by my picture!

• Backtracking on our way to Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive we stopped by the Dugout Wells.  Not really worth it in my opinion but it was a nice quick stop.  Drove onward to Ross Maxwell to start our drive.
• First stop on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive was Sam Nail Homestead.  Short little hike but pretty.  Drove on down the road to Homer Wilson Ranch Trail.  We started to hike it and got about half way down and decided to postpone the hike so we’d have enough time to see Castolon.  Next stop was Sotol Vista Overlook to get a feel for how sunset would look then on to Castolon.  Ok… we did this part of the drive in about 20 minutes and I totally didn’t do it justice.  I need to drive it again to really appreciate as it was just stunningly beautiful.  We got to Castolon about 5:15pm and everything was closed so we ended up just driving back to Sotol Vista so we could see the sunset.  The sunset there was beautiful and I took way to many pictures so now I have to do the painstaking task of vetting them out.  Back to the Chisos Mountain Lodge where we were able to sit in the bar area and grab some dinner.   Dinner was very good.  I had the steak and it was excellent!  The waitress was wonderful and her attitude and speed of service was much appreciated after a long day out!

• Back to the room where someone parked in front of our duplex….ARGH….. and then just chilling and chores before bed.  Have to say we were both really happy with the day but very tired!

Day 4: 01/05/23

• Up at 6:30am today to do Lost Mine Trail.  Stunningly beautiful trail and probably my favorite trail of all the ones I’ve done at Big Bend.  Take your time on it so you can really enjoy it.  We like the trail best early in the morning with the way the light plays off everything.  I’m sure others have their own preferences however that’s how we like it. I even planted my “flag” at the top to claim it!

• Back to the room to eat some lunch and do a couple short hikes around the cottages.  Ended up we decided to do the Window Trail after we did the Window View Trail.  In retrospect we shouldn’t have done this as it made for a long afternoon and we didn’t really enjoy the hike like we should have been able to.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s a beautiful hike; we just pushed it to far today with the amount of hiking and then we should have left a little bit earlier to do the trail so we wouldn’t be worried about it getting dark on us.

• Back to the room for quick dinner and to stretch out.   Dinner was Dr Pepper beans and tortillas.  Tortillas were good; not so much on the Dr Pepper beans but hey….we were hungry so they went down just fine.  Today’s total was 33,414 steps or 12.7 miles with having climbed 359 floors according to my phone app.  Ready for some serious sleep tonight!!

Day 5: 01/06/23

• Pretty good nights sleep and loving the view from our cottage.  Didn’t get up until 8am and had some breakfast in the room.  Some residual soreness from our hike yesterday so we took it pretty easy.  Around 10am I went out for a walk to do the Lower Basin and ended up doing a little more and a little more and a little more and viola! I hiked Emory Peak via Pinnacles and Laguna Meadow from our Stone Cottages today.  The hike itself is beautiful however lots of elevation. 

• There is a resting spot at Pinnacle Pass (elevation 6995 ft) where you can store your backpack before you do the final mile and a half to Emory Peak via Emory Peak trail.  The trail also splits off to Boot Canyon Trail at Pinnacle Pass so it was surprisingly busy.

• Emory Peak trail has some beautiful views as you hike along it so make sure you take your time to enjoy it.  It’s not a long trail as it’s only a mile and a half long however it is filled with beautiful views. The last little bit is pretty much a rock scramble with the last 20 feet or so having to do some rock climbing.  I stopped at the last 20 feet mark as I didn’t feel it was worth it or safe as I could see where you could get up but coming down would be very challenging and not worth the risk to me personally.  Some people did go on up and some did not.  It’s a personal choice you’ll have to make if you get there. No matter what you decide the views are stunning and kudos to you for doing the hike. It’s a lot of elevation and steps to get here! You should be proud!

• The way back down to the cottages went quickly overall.  Lots of stairs down so while not as tiring as going up my feet did get sore, and my knees started getting achy.  Overall, it was a great hike and I’d have no qualms redoing it.  As a side note there looked to be some nice camping spots on the trail up to Pinnacle Pass.  Next time I may try to snag one of them.  Also, don’t forget to take plenty of water on this hike (or any hike at Big Bend) as you’ll not want to get dehydrated.  Don’t forget the snacks also.  Remember to only do what you are comfortable doing.  It’s about having fun not about how many trails you hike.

• Total hiking today was 27,636 steps or 11.7 miles and climbing 217 floors total.  I feel every step this evening so think I’ll take it a little easier tomorrow.  Had some refried beans, tortilla, and cheese for dinner and watched the sunset from our front porch.  Great day!!!!

Day 6: 01/07/23

• Woke up feeling refreshed this morning.  Still a little sore but much better overall.   Ate some Wolf Brand chili for my breakfast and just walked around a little bit to the Window View, Visitor Center and came back to the room.  Met another couple from where we live and had a great conversation with them.  I’m very jealous of his rig.  He’s put a lot of work and thought into it and it looks great.  They spent the last three days off grid at a remote camping spot here at Big Bend.  Again, I’m so jealous!!!   Thank you to him by the way for giving me some pointers to give me a starting point. 
• Got back to the room and decided to do a short hike of the Basin Rim Trail.  It’s only about 1.4 miles in length so didn’t take long however still had some great views.  Back to the cottage again.

• Sat at a picnic bench outside our cottage and just in general enjoyed the peace and quiet of the afternoon surrounded by mountains, clean air, and beauty.  It was magnificent and restful!!!  Wow!  Just as I’m typing this several deer just ran down a slope in front of me.  Not sure what spooked them but they were really moving.  A couple minutes later they circled back and ran down the road behind me and a huge buck ran behind the cottage we are staying in. He was running at full speed so I was happy to even get him in the photo.

• Called it an early night so we could get up in the morning and head on out for our road trip back home.  It’s not going to be a direct route as we are going to divert some to make sure we visit several counties on our way back.  It’s a goal of the wife to visit every county in TX so we are working our way back to make sure and hit several in the area. 

Big Bend Adventure Map Days 7-8

Day 7: 01/08/23

• Up early to get started at daylight which is about 7am.   Had a beautiful drive out of the park with the morning sunlight reflecting off the mountains.

•  Driving out of the park we saw a couple of coyotes cross the road in front of the vehicle so seemed like an appropriate finale for our time in Big Bend National Park. 

• Headed on up to Alpine for a quick stop at Judy’s Bread and Breakfast where we picked up a to-go order for a couple of burritos and of course some of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever tasted.  Always stop in Alpine to get the cinnamon rolls!!!  While there I had them throw in a lemon poppy seed muffin just because..  The cinnamon rolls were awesome as they always are while the burritos had loads of ingredients but didn’t seem to have that zest of flavor I enjoy.  Didn’t care for the lemon poppy seed muffin either. 

• Heading north out of Alpine I spotted Donuts Baker’s Dozen where I had to stop since it was on the way.  I was not impressed with the service as it was just not very good at all however the glaze donut and the old fashioned donut were phenomenally great as in some of the best donuts I’ve ever had.  I’d compare them to the bear claws I get in Vicksburg. 

• The drive from Big Bend up to Alpine along Hwy 118 was very scenic and we spotted a bentonite mine along the way (no picture sadly). Bentonite makes liquids clump together and it is a main ingredient in cat litter so…. You guessed it. We found the cat litter plant outside Terlingua.  The drive from Alpine up to Fort Davis was also very pretty and repeatable. 
• Circled around Fort Davis on the scenic loop and made plans to come back and spend a couple days there and visit the McDonalds Observatory for a star party one night.  The scenic drive was pretty but not as pretty as Big Bend in my opinion.   We did see a red tailed hawk and several deer on the loop.  Stopped at Kent Mercantile at Ft Davis and realized it was abandoned.  This would be the second time I’ve made that mistake.  Lol. 
• You can see the rest of our crazy drive on the map if you want to follow it.  One thing that was fun was stopping at the convenience store in Tarzan, TX and taking my picture there!  Funny story that they sent in several names to the post office to pick a name for their town.  The post office department picked Tarzan.  This was back in the 1920’s when Tarzan was strong.  Lol.   Guess you have to be a Tarzan fan to appreciate all that.

• Drove more and them more and had a great time doing it all.  Saw some neat countryside.  Ended up picking up a salad at McCallisters for our evening meal and eating it in our hotel room at The Town Place Suites in Big Springs.

Day 8: 01/09/23

• Great night’s sleep at the Town Suites in Big Springs.  The hotel is about 5 years old however it looks like a new hotel.  Not much to go into on the way home.  We drove and hit several more counties that were in the area (and a few that weren’t, lol).  I didn’t really care for the countryside around the Odessa/Midland area as it was pretty much scrub brush with oil stuff going on everywhere.  Happy for the people it’s just not the type of geography I personally enjoy.  We did go back through some of the Hill Country on our county quest and I have to stop here and say that Garven Store is a must stop in Camp Wood.  It’s located at the junction of TX 41 and Hwy 83.  It’s a great store that sells many kinds of jerky, great home-made sandwiches, beer, and lots of other stuff.  I’ve been there twice now and enjoyed it both times.    It’s my new go to stop if I’m ever in the area. 

• From Garven’s we headed the rest of the way home.  Not much to write about as it all gets pretty familiar after Garven’s.   Overall, a great trip of 1800 driving miles in 8 days!  Lots of hiking and sightseeing at Big Bend, several new counties visited, found a great new donut place, and a whole lot of fun and adventure were had by us. Make sure you check out our crazy driving route!