In the Big Bend Backcountry – day 3

On our second day in Big Bend we started our back country tour. We broke camp in the Chisos Basin at around 9:00 and headed north on Hwy 385. We found our turn off the blacktop on to Dagger Flat Rd.  About 2 miles along the Dagger Flat rd we took the right turn on to Old Ore Road. With the rough road conditions it was time to air down and smooth the ride. We took the FJ down to 25 psi and the trailer to 15 psi. On this trip traction should not be a problem but we are sure to encounter lots of washboard.

Big Bend offers a look at the harsh environment of the Chihuahuan Desert. We were driving through a living landscape of low desert bushes and cacti. The winter colors are muted greens and browns.

The road is a graded back county track  with a surface of washboard and gravel. During today’s trek we found a few places to stop and check out the scenery. The first was an overlook of McKinney Spring where the cottonwoods where still holding there yellow leaves making  a wonderful rustle in the light breeze that was blowing.

We also stopped at an old ranching home. Constructed of local rocks some of the walls were still standing. This setting provided a great location for a little photography.

We kept rolling and made it to camp in the early afternoon. The camp for today was  Willow Tank. The site had a great view of the surrounding mountains. With no other vehicles passing through we had a quiet afternoon.

Additional Photos

Google Earth day 3 KML File