Big Bend National Park: Friday

 

On Friday, we were so excited to go to MEXICO! There is a port of entry in Big Bend, managed by the National Park Service in conjunction with US Border Patrol.

This was Jamie's FIRST TIME out of the USA, and Drew's first time as an adult--both of their first time to Mexico. The kids, Chris and I have never crossed the border--we've only been to ports in Mexico via a cruise ship.

We were given some brief instructions and then headed down to the Rio Grande to cross into Mexico!

We paid $5 per person for a round-trip rowboat ride across.

Then, we had the option to ride burros, horses, or pickup trucks to town--or to walk. A few of us wanted the burro experience!

We had a wonderful tour guide who walked us into town and then guided us around, giving us history of Boquillas, answering questions, introducing us to the locals, and making sure we returned to the boats safely.

The older part of Boquillas, without any electricity. A few people still live down in that valley, which floods occasionally.

It was misting and drizzling on us, but we still wanted to take in the town.

The Sierra del Carmen mountain range

We did some souvenir shopping, and laughed at how persistent all the kids are--they run up to you with their bracelets for sale and they keep coming back!

We ate a delicious lunch of 4 chicken tamalas, rice, a bean tostada, and a Mexican Coke. The meal was $8 and the Coke was $2. What a deal!

The bathroom situation was less than desirable...

A few of the shops as we headed back toward Texas

After lunch, back to the burros!

This time, Jamie let Mom ride in her place

You can see Chris' souvenir

The skies started to clear as we got back to the Rio Grande to cross back to TX!

We spoke with customs officers over video conference and showed our passports, and just like that, we were back on U.S. soil.

After that adventure, we wanted to do some hiking in Boquillas Canyon on the Texas side of the river.

The views were worth the climb!

The Rio Grande

As we continued hiking, the sky began to darken...

Sure enough, we finished the trail and headed back and it began to rain... and then pour! We were pretty soaked by the time we got back to the car.

The storm passed over pretty quickly, and we headed on to the nearby Hot Springs district of Big Bend.

I had to get this photo because I had recently read on instagram about floods exposing this 100-year-old wall along the trail. They didn't know it was there, apparently, but now it is cleaned off and a beautiful part of the scenery.

Petroglyphs

We didn't try the hot springs, but plenty of people did!

We hiked the Hot Springs trail, which was a bit challenging after all the other activities of the day.

On the drive back to camp, we saw a rainbow!

That wraps up our variety of unique experiences that day in Big Bend National Park!