We arrived in Lajitas on Thanksgiving day to see people walking around in shorts and tank tops.
However, Black Friday was cold and rainy. We heard on the news a few days later that Alpine, between Lajitas and Fort Davis, had over five inches of snow. I can’t imagine how much fell at Fort Davis.
The drive here was through the Chihuahuan Desert. When I think of a desert, I think of sand, camels, and the sheik of Arabia, etc. But here, it is rocks, scrub, and mountains.
The first picture shows the Rio Grande.
Lajitas sits between Big Bend Ranch State Park and Big Bend National Park. Our first trip out was to the state park. The Rio Grande forms the south edge of the park. We both wondered why the border patrol wasn’t about. Then we realized that to cross the Rio Grande here with rough country on both sides and little or no civilization would not be a good choice.
There are remnants of a movie set in the park. Films such as Streets of Laredo, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Dead Man's Walk, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache, and Uphill All The Way were filmed here. Thanks to floods in the Rio Grande, all that remains of the town is the cantina and a rock wall.
One of the trails we walked on was called the “Contrabando.” This was a favorite early smuggling route. The park even has “hoodoos” like Bryce Canyon in Utah.
This was a roadside picnic area in the park.
I wonder if a sign like this does discourage border crossing?
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