A CannonRide Around the Bend (Big Bend Region)

Well, what a read! I live in sleepy villita Marathon, and even locals could learn from your history essays.
Boquillas del Carmen, Coahuilla, Mex., is open to US tourists now. You do need a passport. Just hold it up to the camera, leaving and entering the USA. You can take the boat, wade, or ride a burro up to the villita.
The people there have things nicely organized now, you won't be pestered and will have good food, music, and cold beers at Falcon's bar.
Ten years ago when US border hysteria had cut off the villagers from jobs, schooling, and groceries in the park, and almost all the men had left for work in the US, I organized, with motorcycle friends from Minnesota and locals here, a effort at re-opening the school down there. We got hundreds of boxes of books and school supplies sent down here, and waded to the middle of the river to give them to the residentes. The border patrol sat on their horses watching to see that we didn't step one foot over the middle of the knee-deep river...
It is widely thought here that no big time doperas would use this incredibly harsh land to smuggle, if the US would not continually squeeze the life out of the border villages by denying access to them. For hundreds of years families have seen the river as joining rather than dividing us...
Tourists can without fear visit this border land, and enjoy a day in Boquillas- it's been 20 years since the Acosta operation was broken up.

Your hard work in documenting the old roads here is fantastic. I'll sure use your research when I travel along la frontera!

Not sure if this of interest to anyone here but I spent some time researching the locations of many of the old mines & compiling them onto a Google Map. Further information or clarification would be very welcome.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yXhh3jYZ2rasTwobmupNFhUOnLo&usp=sharing

From one Wisconsinite to another, epic RR, Sir Cannonshot

Nice video Big dog..May I ask what has happened to Gaspipe?
You guys do some nice reports..

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Cannonshot (and other contributors) thanks for a great resource! Making my preps now for a run this coming February.

Wow! How have I missed this until now! I've spent a little time each day over the past several days reading this post. Outstanding! Cannonshot, I've been been going to the Big Bend since the mid 1970s when I would go camping for two weeks at a time with my parents. I've been there way more times than I can count and never tire of the area. Backpacking, hiking, glamping, Jeeping, street biking and dirt biking - even horse back riding (I still have yet to raft the Rio Grande through). I read about everything I can get my hands on about the region's history and always visit someplace new when I go. I still learned a WHOLE lot by reading this post. My next trip is in March with the TWT crew and reading this report well definitely enrich the experience. Thank you sir!

Add me to the list of 'folks who have been there but learned a lot from your report'. :) Thanks, very informative and entertaining. I'll be heading there mid Feb.

superb report CS, I wanted to visit BB in 2014 when I rode thru TX but was running short on time so I bypassed it - it remains on my list. thanks for sharing and for the .gpx goodness.

Like all the others, I thank you very much for in depth history of the region. It makes the trip much more meaningful. And thanks for the gps tracks. I will use many of them.

Question: Do you or anybody else see a problem with going here in the beginning of April? I was going to go at the end of February, but it seems that it gets colder than I like at night. I know the days might get a bit warm, but, according to historical data, the nights should be pretty nice.

Thanks, Brian

It's a dry heat. And also a dry cold.

Tongue in cheek you understand. But there is a lot to that, I was down there a few years ago, forget what month, and was not feeling overly hot until I looked at the thermometer at Rio Grande Village, it was something over 100, but I just forgot about it and went on. I've spent the night in a tent there a few times in February and didn't notice it being overly cold. I think it cools off at the higher elevations there at night most of the year?

Weather guys are actually pretty good these days, if they say no big cold front going to be there at the same time you are nights should be ok.

Thanks for your responses Cannonshot and Shawnee Bill. Ideally, I would probably go in March, but I do not want to mess with the various Spring Breaks that will bring people into the Park. So April it will probably be. I can handle high heat much better than low cold, if it happens to go that way.

Brian

Spring break in Big Bend

Maybe, don't really know, but it is the least visited of any National Park.

But then again, there can be some really interesting parties in Terlingua, Starlight Theatre!

all the schools in texas have their spring breaks over a couple week period in march and it is the busy time down there for their tourist industry. the party is happening in terlingua but its kind of a work party cause many of the locals are working and many are hold up in their places waiting for the tourists to leave.

i found visits in january and febuary to be great. also the two wheeled texans show up for some great rides sometime.

it is one of the best parks to back country camp in with a motorcycle. designated, simple camp spots spread all over the park with dirt roads connecting while crossing pavement with front country stations for water and food. very inexpensive and easy to plan on site. thanks for the great routes out of the park cannonshot and some fantastic interp that the area is ladden with.

Again thanks for the great RR. I have been going to BB since the mid 80s started by leading students backpacking in and around the Chisos. In a way it is sad to see the park getting so popular, now they are struggling with an extreme water shortage. Too many new motel rooms in the Basin. Will be heading there in a few weeks, camp at Cottonwood or in a back country site. Again, Gracias