Del Rio, Texas February 13, 2021
Larry and I left Padre Island, driving down Texas Interstate 44 heading for Del Rio.
During our drive across lower Texas we enjoyed seeing the Texas ranch entrances.
Some entrances were extravagant with cameras and speakers.
We passed several Border Patrol Checkpoints.
Marathon, Texas February 13, 2021
The next day we continued down Interstate 90 stopping in Marathon, Texas to visit the historic Gage Hotel.
As we drove out of Marathon, an ice storm started brewing. 
Alpine, Texas February 13 and 14, 2021
We spent two nights in Alpine, Texas due to the ice/snow storm that knocked out electricity in many parts of Texas. 
We drove down treacherous roads the following morning to reach our hotel in Lajitas, Texas.
Lajitas, Texas February 15 and 16, 2021
Hotel Lobby
Our room
Our view out our front door.
Ice forming in the fountain was highly unusual for this southern Texas area.
Virginia's own Robert E Lee, the statue was taken from Dallas and placed in the Lajitas
Lajitas skyline
While Jay and Kim rode their bikes....
we were the chase van.
The road was fantastic...so full of curves that we were envious of not having our motorcycle with us.
From the Mexican border, the streets of Presidio were lined with palm trees...a nice welcome.
Picnic lunch in Presidio
Our first slot canyon
On the way back to Lajitas, we stopped to hike Closed Canyon...a fun slot canyon.
Big Bend National Park, Texas February 17 and 18, 2021
The day started off very cloudy and overcast.
We drove some picturesque roads through the park.
The Rio Grande........and Mexico on the other side.
We were thrilled when the skies turned to blue while having lunch.
Larry taking a gander at Mexico on the other side of the river.
We took off on a wonderful hike up Santa Elena Canyon....following the Rio Grande along the way.
Break time
We left our room that morning at 7:30am to meet Jay and Kim at the bottom of the mountain. The road to the lodge was being worked on and unfortunately it was closed from 8:00 till 11:00 to all traffic so we had decided the day before to rent a car together to take us down several of the dirt roads where 4 wheel drive was needed.
The early morning snow added a whole new adventure to our day. It was quite beautiful to be the first tracks in the snow but we soon found that our van did not go up the slippery roads too well. We returned to our room and waited for the the roads to clear.
In the mean time, the park rangers were discouraging folks from entering the park because only certain roads were open. Jay and Kim persevered and rescued us up on the mountain around noon. We went on a spectacular snowy, rocky hike up Grapevine Hills Trail to see Balanced Rock. We were so fortunate to have the park almost all to ourselves for the rest of the day.
The road to Grapevine Hill Trail....about 7 miles of slow going.
Kim and I took off and led the way to Balanced Rock.
The cacti probably didn't like the crust of snow that landed on them.
The climb on the slippery rocks was quite rigorous.
So slippery it took all fours to move forward.
Balanced Rock wasn't so heavy!
Kim found a second Balanced Rock! How cool was that!
We descended the mountain very carefully and had a great hike back to the car.
Icicles on rocks!
The evening sun popped out as we traveled down the park highway toward Boquillas....the Mexican border crossing that was closed due to the Covid.
We spotted a few Big Horned sheep.
I purchased a Road Runner Replica that the Mexicans were famous for making and selling in this little display. It was the honor system of paying for the souvenir. They honked their horn at us and waved a friendly thank you for the purchase from the other side of the Rio Grande.
The sun was sinking very quickly....We made it back to the lodge in time for some quick grub and jammed some tunes with Jay and Kim through the early evening.
The drive out of Chisos Basin the next morning was spectacular!
The gas station that we stopped at had these long horn cows close by. How do they carry those heavy horns around all day long?
Everyone was excited to enter Big Ben National Park. It is in the far south of Texas and right on the border of Mexico. It is not one of those places that you happen up on to visit...you really have to plan to go there since it is in a remote part of the United States.
The day started off very cloudy and overcast.
We enjoyed the great rock formations on the way back to our room at Chisos Basin Lodge. We gave up our campsites due to the frigid evening temperatures.
We woke up the next morning to a big surprise....SNOW!
We left our room that morning at 7:30am to meet Jay and Kim at the bottom of the mountain. The road to the lodge was being worked on and unfortunately it was closed from 8:00 till 11:00 to all traffic so we had decided the day before to rent a car together to take us down several of the dirt roads where 4 wheel drive was needed.
What a rock!
We were lucky to spot a family of four mule deer on the way back.
Don't they blend into the scenery well?
Marfa, Texas February 19, 2021
After passing through Alpine, we stopped in Marfa, Texas for a quick stroll through the town to stretch our legs.
All the small towns in Texas seem to have a historic hotel where someone of celebrity status stayed. We ventured into this one in Marfa....the Hotel Paisano... and its claim to fame was Elizabeth Taylor staying there during the making of the movie, Giant.
These locks of love were standing beside the store.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas February 19, 2021
Our final stop in Texas was at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
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