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I pictured my May trip to Big Bend to be picturesque and peaceful but it wasn't really. I thought I'd see the Rio Grande in all its glory, but I mostly saw a lot of dry ground. Hiking in the heat was tough, and I eventually realized this national park is not for everyone.

When my fiancé said he had a few days off from work at the end of May, we quickly planned a trip to Big Bend National Park. Summer was nearing, and I imagined the flowing waters of the Rio Grande against picturesque canyons, fields of desert cacti, and glorious mountain peaks meeting fresh blue Texas sky. We reserved a hotel in the area and drove 10 hours from Houston to the park.



Unfortunately, our trip wasn't quite what I hoped. The vastness and seclusion of the dry desert landscape were intimidating from the start When we arrived at the park, we paid $30 for an entrance pass and then traveled another 35 miles to our lodging site, Chisos Mountain Lodge. I liked that the simple rooms in our lodge provided mountain views of the heart of the park, which formed from a volcano eruption over 30 million years ago.

The surrounding Chisos Mountains looked ghostly, with eroded rough cliffs and shadowed formations that looked like mysterious creatures. Although we were in the heart of Big Bend, we quickly realized we'd have a lot more driving to do throughout this trip. The drive from our lodge to Santa Elena Canyon alone was over 90 miles there and back.

I hadn't realized just how massive Big Bend National Park wo.

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