Address: Big Bend National Park, Texas 79834
Telephone: 915—477—2291
Known as the Last Frontier of Texas, Big Bend National Park is in the center of the western part of the state. It is a land of dramatic contrasts— from the lush vegetation of the Rio Grande flood plain to the high country of the Chisos Mountains, which rise from the surrounding stark Chihuahuan Desert. A flavor of Old Mexico pervades, especially in the village of Boquillas, with its backdrop of the Sierra del Carmen and the Fronteriza mountain ranges.
Season: Year-round.
Accommodations: Seventy-two units of varying types and prices in-
dude motel-style rooms, lodge rooms, and stone cottages that accommodate up to six people. All have mountain views.
Special Features: Dining facilities and a camp store on the premises.
Options: Rooms with two double beds and private bath in the thirty-eight room Casa Grande Motor Lodge or motel, double occupancy. "Lodge units" with one room, one double and one single bed, private bath, and covered porch, double occupancy. The most requested park accommodations are the six stone cottages, which were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and have stone or native adobe walls.
Spots, activities and attractions: Raft trips down the Rio Grande, from a short ten-mile jaunt through Colorado Canyon to a seven-day camping expedition through the park's Lower Canyons, are available through Far Flung Adventures (800—359—4138). Specialty float trips for children and their parents, from half a day to ten days, are run by Big Bend River Tours in Lajitas (800— 545—4240). The guides are very well educated about the area; families can request a specific focus such as geology or birding.
Trips that combine float trips on the Rio Grande with backcountry hiking to old ghost towns, Indian camps, cavalry camps, canyons, and springs are run by Outback Expeditions (915—371—2490). On the east boundary of the Park, the town of Lajitas on the Rio Grande has recreated the history of the Old West and has many accommodations set in realistic reconstructed buildings.
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