Big Bend Trip Report: Home Page

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
Tuff Canyon
Santa Elena Canyon
Mule Ears Overlook
Sunset @ Sotol Vista Overlook
Interactive Map

We had originally planned to go on the five mile hike out to Mule Ears for sunrise, but with the cold front blowing in we decided our attire was not suited for 30 degree weather. Instead, we opted to sleep in (sixish) and have a hearty breakfast at the restaurant next to the inn. It was a little difficult watching the dawn sky take shape from inside the restaurant. Particularly since we had been amongst it for the past several days. The talk in the restaurant was again about the weather and the biker accident.

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
Day six was dedicated to the west end of the park. There is a lot to cover and we decided to just drive down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and see what caught our eye. We asked the ranger as the western entrance if there was any snow in the Chisos and she hadn't heard anything. I started to ask her to call the Basin and get a report. We later found out from Rich and Sarah that the mountains had iced over from the rain the night before and that there were some good photo ops. Joey had told me earlier that the yuccas were blooming sporadically along Ross Maxwell so we drove until we found some. Since Dagger Flats was not in full bloom we were really hoping to find another place to photograph them. We simply pulled over on the side of the road and trekked into the desert - we were beginning to get a little more comfortable making our own trail - something neither of us had done before in the park. The buzz word on this trip for me was freedom and getting off trail became a part of that. We wondered around an area of yuccas and rocks for over an hour. The yuccas were beautiful - they almost seemed artificial when you got close to them.

Tuff Canyon (Hike: 3/4 mile)
The bluebonnets always seem to be thicker and taller at Tuff Canyon and this year was no exception. There are two nice overlooks into the canyon from the parking area. . We noticed that outside the parking area there were six or eight college students spread out sleeping. This seemed a little strange since it was around 11:30 in the morning. I later noticed a van from Wisconsin and figured they must have driven all night to get to Big Bend and were waiting for a campsite to open up? The hike down in the canyon was short and pleasant Joey photographed a bee hive and I decided to shoot video since the sun was pretty high. Again, the rock formations in the canyon were spectacular. There are exposed layers of ancient sediment along the canyon walls and the darker rocks at the end of the trail are very interesting to photograph. Evidently, Tuff Canyon is a jewel to the geology student - we found a book at the visitor center dedicated strictly to Tuff Canyon. We also noticed there had been a ranger talk scheduled one morning covering the geology of the canyon.

Santa Elena Canyon (Hike: 1.7 miles)
We stopped by the Castolon Visitor Center for a sack lunch before trekking on to Santa Elena Canyon. The canyon is a popular hike for those staying at the Cottonwood campground. The crowd was much like the one at Boquillos Canyon - lots of kids and families. Photographing Santa Elena Canyon is a bit of a challenge. There is a lot of scrub trees blocking the actual view in to the canyon; therefore, the best photographs are taken from within the canyon walls. Also, the contrast difference between the sky and the shady side of the canyon is typically beyond that of which can be captured with a camera without over or under exposing one of the areas. The best bet was to eliminate the sky all together are exclude as much of it as possible. There were a few nice possibilities looking out of the canyon with the Chisos in the background. We talked to a boy scout who had camped the night before in the Chisos Mountains in those below freezing temperatures - he didn't seem to mind; although, he had injured his ankle on the hike down. You never know what you'll find in those canyons. There was a man fly fishing with his infant son in a child pack on his back - we couldn't help but take pictures (along with his wife). My guess is that the little guy is going to be a fisherman one day.

Mule Ears Overlook
Since we missed the a.m. hike to Mule Ears due to the cold weather we decided to photograph it in the late afternoon light. We jumped out of the truck and hike out towards them until we found an are to work with compositionally. Mule Ears is a very distinctive mountain that I believe was once a volcano. Joey and I hiked out about half way on our trip in 1993 and found the trail difficult to follow.. I would like to hike out to it one day so I guess that is another thing that goes on the list for the next trip. We both got some nice shots and tried to finish up in time to get to Sotol Vista for sunset. After I returned from the trip I read a report where the skeletal remains of a New York man were found in the Mule Ears area. Evidently the man had become lost and died of dehydration. This is not a trail that you want to hike solo.

Sotol Vista Overlook
Another great place for sunsets. The sotol plants are heavly concentrated along the southwest slope of the overlook, which serves for a nice foreground looking west. There were a few families and other photographers enjoying the sunset. I was beginning to get used to using the neutral density filter and it helped to bring in some details to the foreground. Much like the other places that we chose for sunrise and suset photos, Sotol Vista offers options of shooting towards the Chisos Mountains to the west and away from them to the east. This strategy really increases your chances of getting good sunrise / sunset photographs. We still didn't have the cloud action that we were looking for, but the trip wasn't over yet. As the sun dropped so did the temperature. Another full day in Big Bend. We headed back to the motel and began discussing how we wanted to spend our last day in the park.

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Day Six