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Old 11-24-2012, 05:19 AM   #1
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Big Bend Roads

Well it looks like CountryGuy is gonna tick off a major bucket list item, Big Bend National Park.

Those of you that have been, can you tell me, what is 118 OUT of Big Bend back north west is like??

And,can we drive Panther Junction to Study Butte with the rig??
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 06:24 AM   #2
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Carol,
Three years ago we took 385 into the park and onto Rio Grande Village Campground where we stayed which is close to the river. When we left the park we went through Panther Junction and took 118 up to Alpine. The roads were good and there were no problems taking those routes. They are two lane roads. We prefer smaller roads over Interstates. That might reflect in our choices of roads we take.
Joe
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Old 11-24-2012, 06:53 AM   #3
Carl n Susan
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We drove the truck (the Montana was parked in Alpine) on 118 to Big Bend. I didn't see any reason to not take a RV on the route. As Jolu wrote, it is a two lane road but nice and scenic.
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Old 11-24-2012, 12:11 PM   #4
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Thanks guys, believe that we will be towing 118 then.

Cheers - -
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Old 11-25-2012, 11:31 AM   #5
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We went into Big Bend from the north and out to the west to Study Butte / Terlingua. We were towing our 2003 3295RK. It's good road, no problems.

Be sure to get to Santa Helena Canyon or something like that. It's a short hike. Hike to the end. You'll know the end. To go farther you either get into the water of climb the canyon wall. Straight up.
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Old 11-25-2012, 04:28 PM   #6
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Should you have the opportunity to spend the night in Alpine (Lost Alaskan RV Park is a decent choice) be sure to consider the Reata Restaurant. Michael (GOFNUTS), Ray (RPHoward) and I had the one of the best rib-eye steaks ever. Doug (DHenry) choose something else and still regrets it (we remind him periodically). Pricy but worth it.
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Old 11-25-2012, 05:16 PM   #7
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@Butch, what goes around comes around. :-) The Rib Eye is the best on the menu though.
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Old 11-26-2012, 12:01 AM   #8
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The road from Terlingua to Presidio is a real scenic drive. Follows the Rio Grande. Maybe do in your tv. Have done the trip with my rig, one long steep hill to pull, good 2 lane road. Mighty awesome country. Enjoy.
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Old 11-27-2012, 06:35 AM   #9
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Agree on the drive to Presidio. Along the way, on the south side, watch for what looks like a very small abandoned town. It was a set for The Streets of Laredo, one of the sequels to Lonesome Dove.

Not too far from Marathon is Marfa, home of the infamous "Marfa Lights." We didn't visit but hear it's interesting.

Also, when you head south from there, if you go that way, is Judge Roy Bean's place. "The Law West of the Pecos." CountryGuy probably knows who I'm talking about. A part of history. His place is at Langtry, on US 90.

And a little ways south of Langtry, also on 90, you will cross a bridge over a pretty deep canyon with the Pecos river in the bottom. You'll probably see the Rio Grande off to your right. Just past that bridge (south of it) on the right side is a short road going up to a picnic area on top of the hill overlooking the gorge and the bridge. There's a historical marker there, if I recall. Nice place to stop. We took the Montana up there. No problem.

I really liked travling US 90. We were going from south to north back when we left the RGV in 2006.

Also, up near Alpine, I agree about The Lost Alaskan. North of there is Fort Davis. We drove up from Alpine. It's a nice tour, also. Some of the buildings are still there.

Starting near Fort Davis is a nice scenic loop on highways 118 and 166. You might prefer to drop the house before taking that loop. It might be towable, I don't remember, but is more enjoyable solo.
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Old 11-27-2012, 10:21 AM   #10
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Thanks for the suggestions, will pass those along to the rest of the crew.

We are at Stillwell Store and RV something or other. What a hoot!

Dead center cowboy country! Amazing!

Thought we might be sans internet, but, some of us have managed to get on the campground wifi, even tho the antenna was hit sometime in the near past by lightening?? Actually quite fast once we connected. Who knew?? LOL

No cell phone, NONE. Expected, no surprise there.

Thanks for all the suggestions, might point out that the side road to this campground is ill marked, CountryGuy and I ran past it, OntMont saw us braking and was able to make the turn. We backed up a few hundred feet and made the turn, nice when there is NO traffic. LOL

What a fun experience so far!
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Old 11-27-2012, 10:31 AM   #11
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Stillwell Store is a great place to hang out. You have probably heard mention of Nan, who passed recently. She was a real neat person and made some good food all wrapped up in a tortilla. The book written by Hattie Stillwell, "I'll Gather My Geese" is a good read. Enjoy :-)
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Old 12-31-2012, 11:17 AM   #12
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Carl n Susan

We drove the truck (the Montana was parked in Alpine) on 118 to Big Bend. I didn't see any reason to not take a RV on the route. As Jolu wrote, it is a two lane road but nice and scenic.
Butch and Susan, try The Big Texan in Amarillo sometime! Vicki still says that's the best steak she's ever had anywhere and we haven't been there since 2003!
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Old 01-01-2013, 01:38 AM   #13
ole dude
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Steve, It's changed
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Old 01-03-2013, 03:22 PM   #14
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Did you feel safe while in Big Bend area ?
All that we hear about the bounder crossings and the drug traffic.
We were starting plans for an April trip but then had two people ask us WHY with the crime being so high,

Thanks for your reply.
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Old 01-03-2013, 04:08 PM   #15
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Joe, we felt perfectly safe and hiked within 20 feet or so of Mexican land with the Rio Grande inbetween. We never saw anything, no one trying to cross, no deflated tires, no disguarded clothing or plastic bags that are used to transport dry clothes.

You will pass through Border Patrol checks going out of the area, we passed them leaving Tombstone Arizona, Las Cruces New Mexico, etc. We never had to stop more than to say, yes, we are US citizens and nope, no one is in that 5er.

I have just about finished blogging about our experience, go have a look, here is a direct line to one of the hikes, Santa Elena, thanks to Steve R's suggestion!

Santa Elena hike.

If you snoop around you will find several more posts about Big Bend.

It might start to get warm down there in April, but, I hear that January, February and March the campgrounds are quite full all around the Big Bend area.

I cannot say you will not feel uncomfy, but, we certainly did not, and I refuse to go into Mexico at border crossings anymore, so, take it for what it is worth with that in mind. And, if you feel uncomfy, then, pick up and get out! Safety first.

But, our stay was very nice, very quiet, not many people in the park. Did I say it was quiet?? WOW, was it quiet!
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Old 01-07-2013, 12:19 PM   #16
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In case the rv park in Big Bend is full, there's another one in Terlingua, next to Study Butte, about 3 miles from the west gate to the national park. It's a combination motel / rv park. We stayed there back in 2004 or 2005.
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