Boquillas Canyon was our destination for day 3. A short tunnel took us through a craggy mountain. The tunnel was built in 1959 to reroute traffic around a stretch of road known as "Dead Mans Curve". It was the first tunnel built in the state of Texas.
The Rio Grande looked like liquid sand paper.
The hike into the canyon rose quickly giving us a nice view into Mexico. Believe it or not there is an International Crossing into Mexico in Big Bend National Park. It is here at Boquillas. You go through a park building and walk down to the river. There you pay your $5 and that entitles you to a ride in a row boat to the other side of the river. Don't forget your passport. Since we have been to Mexico many times we didn't feel the need for a row boat ride or any of the trinkets that would have been waiting for us.
As we continued on the trail to the canyon we could see this camp across the river.
We watched as the men in the camp loaded up their trinkets to sell and rode their horse to the rivers edge, crossed into the U.S., laid out their items on the trail side along with a can to deposit money in in hopes that the hikers would buy their walking sticks or beaded items. So much for Border Security.
Boquillas Canyon is not as spectacular as Santa Elena Canyon but still impressive to see what water can do.
The cliffs are about 1300 feet high and are rugged with sandy shores below.
Today we found a nice shady table for our picnic lunch
After lunch we drove down a bumpy, windy, very narrow road to the remains of the Boquillas Hot Springs Resort.
The store was in pretty good shape considering it was built in the late 1902's.
The resort was popular until around the Depression and World War II when attendance rapidly declined. Today all that is left are the ruins and the Hot Springs.
The Hot Springs are below these fascinating cliffs. They are composed of layers of limestone, claystone, and shale.
They are home to cliff swallow nests. They look like crude pottery work.
The Hot Springs are just above the muddy water of the Rio Grande. We did not come prepared to soak in the 105 degree water. Both of us had on jeans, not even shorts that we could just wade in with.
When the resort was in operation they advertised the natural waters as The Fountain of Youth that Ponce de Leon failed to find. It was also advertised that the waters could cure such things as rheumatism, eczema, indigestion, diabetes, alcoholism, tobacco poisoning, urinary diseases, as well as liver, kidney, and bladder problems. Darn we should have fully immersed in the waters and I am sure I would have come out looking like that blonde.
Too bad this Oasis in the desert is no longer in operation.
The road is so narrow that for a portion they have made it a divided highway.
We loved our visit to Big Bend National Park. The only drawback we decided is the lack of seeing animals. Nothing larger than a jackrabbit.
A thought on Texas.