The World As I See It: October 21-23, 2008 ~ Terlingua & Chinati Hot Springs

So we had been told about Chinati Hot Springs by some of our friends the last two years. We had been talking about heading down there for a while, so when Don asked what we were going to do with my 3 days off, I suggested Chinati. He thought I was crazy. But after he thought about it for a few minutes, he was up for the trip. Talk about spur of the moment!!! We threw a few things in a bag and we were off. 5 1/2 hours later and we were at our first stop in Alpine. The "resort" at Chinati doesn't suggest driving in after dark. I had not been in that part of Texas before. My eyes weren't big enough to see it all. Simply amazing. Up early the next morning and on to Chinati Springs. We made a little detour through Terlingua and Study Butte. We have been driving about 3 hours now. Not much to this area. It is an old mining town. Stopped by the Terlingua Ghost Town and toured the cemetery where a lot of the miners are buried. The ground is so hard the graves are on top of the ground, covered w/rocks. From Terlingua to Lajitas and following the Rio Grande River. Just a stones throw over to Mexico. Once we made it to Presidio we were faced w/a detour outside of Redford. There had been some flooding due to rain in September. We had to cut through Big Bend State Ranch. It was about a 15 mile detour on gravel/rock road and took about 40 minutes! It was very isolated and we only saw one other vehicle, a border patrol. Arrived at Chinati Springs about 4 pm. Glad we didn't try make the drive in the dark. NO WAY! Met the owner, David, who showed us to our cabin, "El Corizon" and also the community tubs and the big hot tub. Did I mention how remote and isolated this place is? We are anxious to take a walk-about and check everything out. David tells us that if we are interested we can hike to Mexico as it is only 14 miles away. The Chihuahua Mountains are on the horizon. Weather is perfect. Back at camp, we change into our swimsuits and hit the community hot tub. It's amazing. Natural hot springs (a steady 95 degrees) piped into a rock hot tub, under the stars! It doesn't get any better than this! Don gathered wood and built a fire in the pit. Took another little hike trying to get some good sunset pics, but the mountain range prevented that. As night fell and the stars started appearing, it was evident we were going to be in for a great night of star gazing. Neither of us had EVER seen so many stars in our lives. You can't even begin to imagine how awesome this was. We decided to call it an early night and headed in. But first we checked out another cabin that was not being used, The El Presidente. It has a private bath w/the hot water that runs about 110 degrees. I use the word "tub" loosely. It is a cement tub about 2 1/2 feet wide by 2 1/2 deep. Yes, we tried it out. We will rent the El Presidente next time. A norther had blown in during the night, so when we got up the next morning it was a little chilly. And we had a flat on the Jeep. Probably picked up a nail on the detour. Took a final walk around the property and we were off. 9:45 a.m. Took a different way out this time. We cut through Pinto Canyon Ranch and we had been told that the road was very rough but the views were worth it. Rough roads is an understatement, some of the worst I have ever been on. And very narrow. Two cars would not be able to pass one another. The views were SPECTACULAR! It was 22 miles and took 1 1/2 hours. But very much worth it. 3 hours later we are back in Alpine and getting the tire fixed and back on the Jeep. All in all, we drove 928 miles! It is a trip that I will remember a very long time. We are looking forward to going back this spring, maybe April.

As you can see, there are too many pics to post on here. So if you are interested in seeing more check them out on my gallery at ~ http://gallery.me.com/rdodd_329#100129

Coming into Alpine

The drive into Terlingua/Study Butte

The soccer field for Terlingua ISD. Yes, there's a school there...

Lot's of abandoned trailers and vehicle in Terlingua.

In the cemetery in the Terlingua Ghost Town

From an old abandoned stone building

Lajitas in the distance and the muddy Rio Grande River. Along El Camino Royal Highway

Three Dikes~From what was a volcano. The three black streaks are from lava that was embedded in the side of the mountain that are revealed as the side of the mountain erodes.