Just driving!
The road to Big Bend national park from El Paso is long, about 5 hours if not stopping. So we leave at 8 on the dot and just drive all day long (road works slowed us and we lost an hour going into the central time zone). In El Paso we drive along the very well secured border, we can see Mexico through the fences. Then the landscape is just desert with a few mountains. On the way we can see an artist installation in the middle of nowhere: a Prada shop -a tongue in cheek commentary on consumerism. Further away, Marfa is an artistic hub with the minimalist installations of Donald Judd (the Chinati foundation). It would take us about two hours to see it, so we skipped it, but got advice from the receptionist there to take highway 67 south that leads to Farm to Market Road 170. And she was right, the drive was stunning, up and down winding through canyons following the Rio Grande river. We finally arrived in Terlingua, a ghost town just before Big Bend. There, the remaining residents meet at the general store to have beers in the afternoon, guitars are played and dogs run around the porch. Next to the store the Starlight Theater plays live music every night while serving local food. At 9pm we head to the park where all campgrounds are full because spring break is starting. We try our luck and find a spot in a primitive area (which turned out to be accessible with a permit only, fingers crossed they won’t mail us a fine).
