Re: Big Bend trip questions

["Jonathan R. Wagner" <jonathan.r.wagner@mail.utexas.edu>]

> I'm taking off for a few days to visit Big Bend from Thursday - Sunday.
For those of you who have already been there, where do you reccommend that I
stay? I know there are hotels in Study Butte/Terlingua that would probably
fit the bill (literally). Oh, of these hotels, which one has shark teeth and
such scattered around the grounds? I know I asked this before, like last
year some time, but I can't remember what I was told... Also, to cut down on
aimless wondering, what in the Park should I make sure I go and see?

Ok, I've never gone as a tourist, but here are a few notes:

    I don't know about hotels in Big Bend, but there are campgrounds. For my
money, camping is the way to go, and that's what I have done (unless someone
else was paying). Sure it's hot, but you can't beat the view. If you have
cash to throw around, I'd stay up in the Basin in the Park. Nice hotel, I
hear the restaurant is good, and it is about twenty degrees cooler up there.
Also, there's a hotel up in Marfa that they just refurbished. They shot a
James Dean film there a long time ago, and it is supposed to be really posh,
but REALLY cheap.

    Be sure to visit Ken Barnes' private museum in Terlingua; he has some
nice material collected on private land around Terlingua, and he knows a
good bit about paleontology. The Starlight Diner in Terlingua Ghost Town
used to be a great place, but I hear it is a yuppie jazz club (!) now. The
Boathouse, just next door, has a fantastic atmosphere, and I hear the food
is good. It is a great place to mingle... the locals are friendly there, and
the Park Service people hang there too. The bartender's name is Catfish, but
he'll tell you that first thing in the door. If you can find it, there's a
little dugout bar called La Kiva... it's a little rough these days, not a
family place, but the food is ok, and the decor is a sight to behold.

    In the Park, be sure to go to Park Headquarters, where they have a
little museum with some casts and some real material. There is also the
Fossil Bone Exhibit, that USED to display the fossils _in situ_ (back before
they made it handicapped-accessible). You MUST see Santa Helena Canyon, and
the hot Springs are nice (be aware that, although the springs do not contain
river water (except immediately after a flood?), the river can be pretty
polluted. It is also entirely possible that swimming in it can lead to
collisions with floating fish corpses. The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive is
quite modestly named... the scenery is amazing... on a clear day. There are
numerous little stops along the road and ALL are worth investigating. Be
prepared for a short hike at some (bring LOTS of water, and carry it out
with you!). If you have access to a four-wheel drive vehicle, many of the
unimproved roads have interesting stops along them. Be warned, when the park
says you can't access a road for some reason, you CAN'T. Don't try anything
risky before, during, or after a rainstorm... the cavalry may not be along
for a good long time.

    I would pick up the _Naturalist's Big Bend_ by Roland H. Wauer and Carl
M. Fleming and _The Big Bend of the Rio Grande_ by Ross Maxwell, both
available at Park Headquarters and up in the Basin. Both are cheap and will
answer a lot of basic questions about the wildlife and geology of the park.
The latter actually has a copy of the geologic map of the Park (now woefully
out of date) in the back... said map is currently available nowhere else.

    That's all I can think of for now.

    Wagner