Big Bend Ranch State Park and Big Bend National parks are one of the treasures of Texas. It is best visited when the weather is colder, as it can get really hot over there in summer. We chose to visit Big Bend during our Thanksgiving break in 2022. With regards to “Base Camp”, we picked a beautiful rental home in Alpine TX, which is around an hour away from the parks. With this being a family trip and all three generations (6 of us), traveling, I had to figure out how to accommodate all our stuff! Well an opportunity to “invest” in something new. Bought an overhead storage and I have to say, it was a really good purchase. We were able to fit all our gear without any fuss.

Day 0: Houston to Alpine (Saturday)

We headed out at 7:15 am on Saturday 11/19, and considering the usual stops for food, restroom and gas, made it to Alpine by 4pm. It was a rather enjoyable drive. Went to Natural store and bought supplies for the week. There was some lite snow in Alpine, and the weather was crisp. We were enjoying it! 

Day 1: Big Bend Ranch State Park (Sunday)

The weather is cool and foggy, 32F. We get ready, have our breakfast and head out at 9:30 am to Big Bend State Park. The plan is to enter the part thru its east entrance,drive across the park, stopping at the various points of interest, and exit the part thru its west entrance. We start by visiting Grassy plains, canyon trailhead was closed. Next we hiked at Hoodo trailhead, visited Fort Leaton and then headed back to Alpine. We experienced some really majestic views and trails today. Truly amazing! Stopped at Porters on the way back to our rental home.

Day 2: Big Bend National Park (Monday)

Had our breakfast and left our rental home at 10am, reached Big Bend National park at 11:30 am. The plan today is to enter thru the west entrance and drive all the way to the end Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. As on our previous day, the views and drive are amazing. We stop for lunch at around 1PM at Ranger Station, and also treat ourselves to some ice creme. Santa Elana Canyon is amazing! On the way out, we stop at the Dinosaur exhibit area, and make our way back to our rental home.

Day 3: Big Bend National Park (Tuesday)

Repeat as we did yesterday! Got ready, had breakfast and headed out at 9:45 am. Entered Big Bend National park around 11:30 am. Drove down to Hot Springs. had to go offloading. It was fun taking the Volvo off-road. Took a nice long hike around the area and then had lunch at picnic area. From here, we headed to  Rio Grande overlook and then hiked to Boquilla canyon (1.4 miles). Beautiful views all around. After sunset we went out and gazed at the milky way. It was amazing! Truly a dark sky experience.

Day 4: Mc Donald Observatory and back home (Wednesday)

Our final day of vacation. We had our breakfast, packed up and checked out at 10:30 am. Drove to McDonald Observatory. Watched the 1-2 pm solar show. Picked up a few things from the gift shop and head home.

Overall it was an excellent vacation. We all had a very good time. Beautiful views all around!