(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 3)

Our 2026 Wild West Wander continues with a three-day visit to Big Bend National Park.

There’s a border crossing to Mexico in the park.  After eating lunch in Boquillas, a small Mexican town across the Rio Grande River, we returned to the US.  At the US border control building, I handed the border agent our passports.   He checked a computer screen and handed my passport back to me.

“Mr. Thompson, I am sorry you don’t have a valid US passport.”  

Mild panic started to set in as I sat there.  Would I be stranded in Mexico? 

Find out below! 

Big Bend Geography

Take a look at a Texas map.  Big Bend National Park is located where the Rio Grande River makes a big U-turn through southwest Texas.  On one side is the United States, on the other, Mexico.  The headwaters of the Rio Grande are in Colorado, far from the river’s passage through Big Bend.   We were surprised that not much of the river is from US sources because of irrigation, dams, agriculture, manufacturing and evaporation.  The water in the river that one sees in the park is primarily from Mexico’s Rio Conchos.

Big Bend is remote, rugged and beautiful.  The park is more than 80 miles south of Marathon, a small town that is remote itself.  The highway takes you past Chihuahuan desert scrubs, prickly pear cactus clumps, and gangly ocotillo stands, with rugged mountains in the distance.

After nearly two hours of driving, we continued up a winding, steep road to reach an area in the midst of the mountains, the Chisos Mountains Basin. 

The basin is a popular destination during the late spring and summer because the temps are noticeably cooler than those in the desert below.   A lodge, restaurant, campground and great hiking trails are welcome amenities.

Before sunrise the next morning we arose to hike a challenging trail to the Window, a narrow, V-shaped area between the mountains that has a view of the desert below.  Sunlight touched the tops of the mountains as we ate breakfast sandwiches prepared the night before.  After admiring the view for a few minutes, we began the steep hike back to the campground.  

We took a short side trail to get a broader view of the desert and saw four Aoudads (Barbary sheep) across the canyon.  Later that day, a ranger told us that Aoudads were introduced to area game ranches in recent years and are now being removed because they are considered to be an invasive species.             

Two Canyons

On the western side of the park the Rio Grande flows through Santa Elena Canyon, an impressive limestone gorge with 1500-foot walls.  We hiked into the gorge where it is was shaded and cool.  People were wading across the river and touching the walls on the other side, thus becoming impromptu visitors to Mexico.

At the opposite side of Big Bend, the river exits through another limestone chasm, Boquillas Canyon. 

Along the trail to the canyon there were assortments of Mexican souvenirs, each with locked cashboxes for payment.   Nearby Park Service signs warn that visitors could be fined if they purchase the illegal trailside items! 

Nearing the gorge, we watched a chestnut mare and her white colt graze on underwater grasses.  They waded across the river to a beach on the Mexican side and we wondered about their country of citizenship.

That evening we camped near Boquillas Canyon in the Rio Grande Village.  As we ate dinner (inside Pap), nearly a dozen javelina wandered about nearby.  We read they can be ferocious, but these wild pigs seemed at ease among the tents and RVs.

Lunch in Mexico

Like dozens of Big Bend visitors each day, we walked from the US border control building to the Rio Grande.  A young Mexican man walked us across the river in less than five minutes. 

We were in Mexico! 

Boquillas, our lunch destination, is a small town about a half mile up a dusty dirt road from the river.   While others ride burros or horses into town, we chose to walk.

At Boquillas Restaurant, one of two restaurants in the small town, we sat with a couple from Arkansas where we shared our mutual travel experiences.  Lunch was tortilla chips, salsa and amazing guacamole, and a combo plate that included carnitas tacos. 

Carnitas?  Goat, of course.

After lunch we browsed several souvenir stands along the dusty street and made our way back to the river crossing.

Stranded in Mexico?

Back at the US border control building, we learned my passport had expired.  We wondered and prayed about the outcome.  

Would I have to return to Mexico?   Send Pat home to get my valid passport?  Pay a big fine? Something else?    

After the border agent helped several others reenter the US, he made a call and then had me enter information about myself on his computer.  He submitted the information and we waited several tense minutes for an outcome.

My US return was approved! We breathed huge sighs of relief and praised God as we were welcomed back to the US.  

(Before leaving on our Wild West Wander, I retrieved the two passports on top of the other items in our safe deposit box.  Somewhere further down is my valid passport.  We resolved to VERY carefully check passports and other documentation before future trips)

Next Week

We continue west to New Mexico.   Pat searches for rocks and I retrieve a wayward hat in the shadows of an ancient cliff dwelling.