Spring Break 2013

For our spring break vacation we decided to take a road trip to see Big Bend.  Round trip we drove 1,000 miles, plus another 250 miles driving to parks in Big Bend.  The Big Bend parks are the least visited park system, which makes sense because the closest commercial airport is a four hour drive.  It is way out there! 

We left Austin on Monday and stayed one night in Fredericksburg.  Tuesday we got on the road early and made the drive to Lajitas, a town 50 miles from Big Bend National Park, where we stayed in a hotel.  A picture of our hotel:

Wednesday we drove into the National Park.  We drove to the tip of the park to the Santa Elena Canyon

Pictures from the hike:

Next we drove to the Chisos Mountain Lodge and ate lunch. Pics of Chisos Mountain area:

Wednesday night we went on a hayride to the Star Gazer Mesa.  This was an activity organized by the hotel that includes a great outdoor meal, drinks, and entertainment that ended with a nighttime sky full of stars. The kids LOVED it (and so did we)!

Thursday we drove into Terlingua to see the ghost town and have breakfast at the High Sierra restaurant (which we do not recommend).

Thursday afternoon we drove the Big Bend State Park, just past Lajitas.  The drive was full of beautiful views and we chose a hiking spot called Closed Canyon.  Pictures of the hike:

Views from the drive back to Lajitas:

Thursday night we drove back to Terlingua to have dinner at the Starlight Theater, a great spot with interesting history.

Overall a great vacation.  Lots of beautiful scenery, family memories, miles on the car, and good old Texas history!