Perdido Overland Christmas Mtns Campsites

12/05/2022

Inaugural run to BBNP. 70° so top off!

09/01/2022

11/16/2021

FYI:

If your plans for the Thanksgiving holidays include a visit to Big Bend National Park, please read the following messages carefully. We want to help you make your vacation as enjoyable as possible!

⛺ Lodging and campgrounds inside the park are FULL from Saturday, November 20th through Saturday, November 27th. Please do not come to the park expecting to find a place to stay for the night. For a list of camping options outside the park, visit this page of our website: https://www.nps.gov/bibe/camping-options-outside-the-park.htm. For a list of lodging options outside the park, visit this page: https://visitbigbend.com/lodging/.

🚣 The Rio Grande is currently very low. Float trips into Santa Elena Canyon are challenging at this time, as the flow is only 8 cubic feet per second (cfs). Water levels are slightly higher at Hot Springs Canyon and Boquillas Canyon. River Outfitters are still offering some trips in certain stretches of river. Track current water levels at https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/weather.htm

🥾 Parking for popular hiking trails and destinations will fill up during the busiest parts of the day (typically from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm). Be prepared for long waits to park at the Chisos Mountains, Hot Springs, Santa Elena Canyon, Boquillas Canyon, and the Boquillas Port of Entry. Consider visiting these areas early in the morning or later in the afternoon, and enjoy alternative hikes and viewpoints during the middle of the day.

For more details to help you plan your trip during this busy time, please read this informative press release: https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/news/busy-thanksgiving-expected-in-big-bend.htm.

📷: NPS/C. Ballou

10/10/2021

As we dive deeper into fall, Big Bend National Park is attracting large numbers of backpackers eager to camp overnight in the Chisos Mountains. At the same time, the park's black bears are doing their best to eat as many calories as possible before the lean months of winter. To keep our black bears wild and your campsite free of bears, it is important to practice proper food storage techniques and keep your campsite clean. How do you accomplish this?

Every designated campsite in the Chisos Mountains is equipped with metal bear resistant storage lockers. All food, food trash, dirty cooking utensils, and aromatic items such as toothpaste, deodorant, and sunscreen must be stored in these lockers. The only time any of these items should be out of the lockers is when you are using them. In addition to black bears, skunks, foxes, rodents, and other animals may explore your campsite looking for food scraps. We can't state this enough - never leave your food or trash unattended.

Another way to discourage bears from entering your campsite is to flatten your tent when you are not in the area. The less that can be seen of your colorful tent, the less likely the tent is to attract a curious bear to your campsite.
For information about what to do if you encounter a bear, check out this page of our website: https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/nature/big-bend-bear-safety.htm.

📷: Big Bend Wildlife Camera

09/19/2021

It’s getting into my favorite time of the year, the days are still long but the nights are starting to cool off. Perfect camping and star watching weather!

09/16/2021

While we haven’t seen any on our property, we have seen several on the road to our property. Stay vigilant!

I spy.......something unusual in this photo. Do you?
Throughout the summer it's important to keep an eye out for our reptilian friends, but for some reason snake sightings have been especially plentiful in Big Bend the past few weeks. Park employees have experienced rattlesnakes underneath their vehicles, in their yards, and out on the trails.
If you're visiting the park, we urge you to pay attention to your surroundings. Look carefully before exiting your room, tent, or vehicle, and be sure to carry a flashlight with you when walking around after dark. And remember that all wildlife is protected in Big Bend National Park, so just give them a wide berth and keep on moving.

(Please pardon the blurriness of the photo - the photographer took this picture from a distance and with a slightly shaky hand. 😅)

📷: NPS Photo

09/11/2021

08/20/2021

We got a little rain yesterday. This is the main road to our campsites. It flashed for about an hour and then was gone.

08/11/2021

On the mostly moonless nights of August 11, 12, and 13, when the early morning is at its darkest, look up for a hero. The constellation Perseus, rising from the northeast horizon earlier in the night, brings with it an exciting opportunity. The Perseids meteor shower will be peaking during this time and if you’re lucky, you might see upwards of 50 meteors streaking across the sky.

The Perseids emanate from comet Swift-Tuttle. Each time it passes through our solar system it loses bits and pieces due to the heat of the sun. These particles trail behind the larger comet body and create the dashes of white we see striping the sky. This debris burns up in our atmosphere, and sometimes produces an impressive fireball. Comet Swift-Tuttle itself stays farther away – it won’t reach its closest point to our sun again until 2126. But Earth passes through its long debris field once a year.

If we could see the entire path of the meteors, we would see that they appear to radiate out from Perseus. In reality, the meteors and each star that makes up Perseus are very far away from each other.

Perseus is perhaps easiest to locate by finding its neighboring and often more familiar constellation of Cassiopeia. You may also be able to spot the bright binary variable star, Algol. Algol is known as the demon star. And Perseus, the Greek hero, who defeated many great monsters, carried Medusa’s head as a weapon. Ancient Greek and Arabic astronomers recognized the same story here – a hero holding a monstrous head which often appears to wink. The multiple stars that make up Algol pass in front of each other and create this blinking effect.

Whatever stories you discover or create, the Perseids shower is an unforgettable experience. Different cultures have seen different things – Chinese astronomers associate this part of the sky with a celestial boat, early Catholics saw the meteors as the tears of St. Lawrence – but we have all found significance in watching spectacular natural events.
Find a quiet spot under the pristine dark skies of Big Bend, venture out pre-dawn, and watch. The Delta Aquarid shower will still be going, too. Like John Denver said of viewing the Perseids while camping, maybe you’ll see “it raining fire in the sky.”

Photo courtesy of Sergio Garcia Rill
Image description: The windmill at Dugout Wells is silhouetted under the Milky Way and a sky full of meteors.