Big Bend 2010 – Day 1
The first day of our winter vacation was for making time and distance. The choice this AM was to turn left and head for the Grand Canyon or right and head for Big Bend. With the forecast showing clouds and rain in the Arizona Strip we added some warm weather clothes to our bags and made a right turn heading south to Big Bend. The drive took us through New Mexico to Carlsbad where we found a campground for the night. We set camp early enough for me to cook one of our gourmet meals.
Our morning got a late start with a trip back to Carlsbad to pickup a prescription that I had forgotten at home.
We headed south on US 285 towards Big Bend. The drive south took us through a drab section of Texas.
By mid afternoon we were admiring the mountains as we approached Big Bend from the North entrance. Once in the park we headed to the Panther Junction Ranger Station to pickup our back country camping permit.
With the permit in hand we headed to the Chisos Basin developed campground.
The drive into the Chisos Mountains is one of the more picturesque in the park. We even saw a black bear on the drive to the campground. We found a nice site and had camp set by 4:30. Plenty of time for a nice curry for dinner.
