FM 170: Rio Grande or Bust
Temperatures along the Rio Grande were just 80F when we visited —thank goodness!
We got a tip about taking "River Road" also known as Farm to Market Road 170, which runs in a loop from Marfa, TX along the Rio Grande through to Terlingua and Big Bend National Park.
We had been putting off the trip because temperatures along the Rio Grande were hitting 105F+. But, about two weeks into our stay in Texas, monsoon season started in earnest, which brings flash floods but also dropped temperatures by 20 degrees — we took advantage and it was an incredible drive.
Terlingua
The goods news is weather does not sneak up on you in West Texas. This is what we saw on our 18 mile drive to the Terlingua Ranch where we were staying for the night.
As you can see, we really wanted to reach our destination prior to deluge. We were driving a Honda Civic...so, it was interesting.
Terlingua Ranch Lodge was founded in the 60's by race car driver Carroll Shelby and friends.
The ranch is in the middle of nowhere — it abuts Big Bend National Park. You can reach it via a 30+ mile dirt road directly from the park. We took the long way round, on mostly "paved" roads. There's a reason everyone in Texas seems to own a truck.
This is the first place we've stayed that had "deer storage". It's most popular in hunting season.
Terlingua Ghost Town
In it's hey day this was a silver mining town. It's not truly a Ghost Town as folks still live here. But it's a tough and pretty desolate place. The vibe was "Slab City" with small houses. We didn't stay long.
The cemetery is still used, although most graves looked to be from the 1930s -1950s.
There are a lot of small private residences...additionally we saw quite a few airstream/building combos in the area.
This car was just there.
Can't explain this...but it was interesting!
Rio Grande & Big Bend Ranch State Park
The majority of the road by the Rio Grande runs through Big Bend Ranch State Park (the largest state park in Texas), and has plenty of places with river-access & camping. We only saw one group on the river...and no one camping. It's not surprising given August is usually the hotttest month in Texas.
This was building was constructed for a movie — a comedy with Burl Ives. It's been used in 8 movies.
By far the nicest pit toilet we've ever used. It had windows in it where you could look out onto the river (see right). We think the movie industry was also responsible for it.
A loo with a view.
There was a fair amount of mining (silver) in the area prior to WWII. The hills in spots are quite colorful.
Rio Grande.
There is about at 15% grade on this hill...it's no joke, but the view is nothing to scoff at.
Texas has a lot of weird rest stops. It's not uncommon to see picnic tables with grills along side of remote roads. We can't figure out who would want to bbq on the side of the road in the blazing sun. And then there are...teepees.
This was interesting. There was a "hand trolley" on top a hill on the other side of the road, which apparently could be used travel across the border on this cable - like a zip line - to a ladder and cave on the other side. Ideas, anyone?
Presidio
Although it has about twice the population of Marfa (where we are staying), this border town didn't seem to have too much going on...from what we could tell from our brief drive through town.
Presidio
Lovely flowers at the gas station.
The main drag in Presidio.
Shafter to Marfa
The remainder of the drive was a lot of brush country and ranches, with some Ghost Towns mixed in. Shafter was a former ranching and mining town; it was a speck of a place. There were still a few folks living there from what we could see.
The remains of the former mining town.
A former store refurbished into a house. It was quite a nice spot.
The Catholic Church in Shafter, everything was in Spanish.
Finally, about 60 miles from the Mexican border, right outside Marfa, there was the secondary border and customs check. We have run into these in California, Arizona and Texas, but never can get used to them.