 | Day 4 - Van Horn, TX to Big Bend, TX |
Day 4 - Tue Dec 23, 2008Van Horn, TX to Big Bend, TX - 207 mi
Just east of Marfa is the ruins of Marfa Air Base, a WWII era base that has been closed. From the satellite view the runways and roads and such are easily seen, so I was hoping I could get out and explore the area. Unfortunately, they have a visitor center by the highway and the whole area is fenced off. Disappointing.
Heading south is a ghost town that sounded promising. Unfortunately, they built a modern town in the ghost town, so there's ruins around, but it's also full of current residents. Just outside town was an interesting ruin that I was able to explore though.
At the Mexico border is a city called Presidio. Very dirty, seemed to be very poor area. I got out of there as quickly as possible. My goal that night was to camp at Big Bend State Park, unfortunately there were signs up that said the road I needed was closed! So I checked the map, and found an entrance to the park that seemed to be before the closure. It ended up being a 30 mile graded dirt road which was the main entrance to the park. Just where I wanted to be.
The only camping is "primitive", no bathrooms, no water, no food, no services at all. The first site I looked at had a huge windmill that was pumping water for livestock. It was really windy and it made quite a racket. The ground was also covered with cow manure, so I moved on to another site. The Group Site was much better, but had no shielding from the wind so I pitched the tent right up against the car.
At sunset I hiked straight up the hill and got some nice shots. When I got back I got some star photos, but went to bed before it got really dark.
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