As always we wish we had more time in big remote parks like this. Vehicle troubles cut our stay down to 2 days, but we lucked out with our first real cold weather of the trip here in Southwest Texas, freezing mornings and highs in the 60s at the river. Real mountains in Texas, desert that looks like the ocean floor with ocotillo towering bizarrely, and the Rio Grande splitting Mexico from the USA.
Ocotillo along Old Maverick RdSanta Elena Canyon appears cut into the mesa far away.
Santa Elena Canyon beautiful up close too, but the trail start was only passable to the steady stream of hikers willing to get muddy up to their hips.So we climbed 3000ft into the Chisos Mountains basin to stay for the night.
And hiked the next morning with burros and roadrunners in Boquillas Canyon at the other end of the park’s stretch of Rio Grande.