A Drive Into the Chisos Mountains

Wednesday,  November 9, 2022  (continued from the last post)

The Chisos Mountains, also known as the Chisos, are a mountain range located in the Big Bend area of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, United States. The mountain system covers 40 square miles (104 square km) and is contained entirely within the boundaries of Big Bend National Park, making it the only mountain range in the United States fully contained within a national park. The range of mountains extends twenty miles from Punta de la Sierra in the southwest to Panther Junction in the northeast.   The Chisos Mountains are the southernmost mountain range in the mainland United States.

The mountain area is partly forested (recovering from logging and overgrazing prior to the area's inclusion in the National Park System in the 1930s), and surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert. 

Created by volcanic activity during the Eocene Epoch 35-44 million years ago the highest point in the Chisos Mountain range is Emory Peak at 7,825 ft (2,385 m) above sea level.

Chisos may be a Native American word meaning “ghost” or “spirit,” or it may derive from the Castilian hechizos (“enchantment”). The mountains were a favored stronghold of Mescalero, Apache, and Comanche raiding parties. After these peoples were subdued, the area was used for cattle ranching until it was made part of the national park in 1944. (information found online)

The Drive Up

There were some down parts.

I saw this Century Plant across the parking area and
could not resist taking its picture.

When watching the movie about the park on Monday there was information about the Century Plant which I thought was interesting. It is part of the agave family, lives around 10 to 30 years and only flowers once at the end of its life. 

The Drive Down and yes there may be repeat pictures.

These pictures only tell part of the story of the beauty of this drive and we enjoyed all the ups and downs and twists and turns along the way. There are hikes to be taken and a campground in the Chisos Basin for those with smaller rigs. We only spent a few hours there and only saw a small piece of what is there to see.

On our way back we decided to take a ride and check out the Terilingua Ghost Town, an abandoned quicksilver mining town . Really not a lot to see but still worth the "detour".

Where we had dinner Monday night.

We could see the Teepees from the road and 
decided to check them out, also.
Not sure if there was a different way in but this was
definitely a high clearance, four wheel drive road.

Another wonderful day spent in this area. 

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.