2026 #5E – BB – Terlingua Ruins – Fossils – Marathon

February 14 – 16

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High winds were forecast on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, so I stayed near the RV park and explored the Pueblo Ruins in Terlingua Ghost Town which was close by, west of Study Butte. There are a number of modern structures right next to the ruins. Spent a lot of time getting ready to leave the RV park and headed north out of Big Bend the next day.

The route to the Visitor’s Center in the middle of BB at Panther Junction was very familiar, I had driven through it every day! From there I headed north along the Main Park Rd. toward the entrance to BB at Persimmon Gap, the northernmost point in BB. The main attraction along the way was the Fossil Bone Exhibit. I’ve included some of the information signs to give you a sense of the uniqueness of the history of the dinosaurs and why this is such a unique place exposing many unique fossils.

The road continued north, passed Dog Canyon, and the last Visitor Center in Big Bend at Persimmon Gap. I said goodbye to Big Bend, heading north to the town of Marathon, about 45 more miles. I had made a reservation for an RV park there, and walked around it to enjoy the beautiful sunset. My next destination was San Antonio — to meet up with several of my RV friends who both live east of SA, Marty and Patricia. I drove one more day to Del Rio which was about half the distance to San Antonio. It was a lot of wide open and flat spaces, very few small towns, nothing notable except another gentler sunset.

As I said earlier, I was last in Big Bend NP in 2014, so it was a treat to have so many days there.

Hover over any photo (below) to see the caption. Click on any photo below and you can scroll back and forth thru them. Use the arrows at the bottom of each photo.

Terlingua Ghost Town. You can see some of the ruins and some modern buildings and trucks as well.
This was a pretty complete building.
This one was perched on the side of a valley.
You can see that this was a large building with multiple rooms.
You can see modern buildings in the background across the valley.
These look like they may have been reconstructed...
My last evening at the RV park in Study Butte.
Another wonderful sunset.
Sun almost finished for the day.
Outside the Panther Junction Visitor Center in Big Bend, before I head north.
I love the various colors of the Prickly Pear Cactus.
Even though it's a dry desert, there's a lot of plants and scenery!
This is a different cactus: Ocotillo.
More lovely Prickly Pear colors.
This is kind of sad, looks like it's dying.
Fascinating Rock formations as I drove along.
Light and dark colors, the dark ones are mostly volcanic, the light ones are either limestone or volcanic ash.
Light formations in front, dark mountains in back.
Still more interesting formations.
Again, such interesting layers and colors!
Fossil Discovery Exhibit - Big Bend rocks preserve one of the most diverse fossil records in North America.
Large dinosaur skulls...
Bravoceratops skull
Big Bend is one of the best places to see the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and the evolution of mammals and other creatures..
Raven on the roof.
Following the Age of the Dinosaurs, there was a lot of volcanic activity, especially in the Chisos Basin.
I walked out on to a ledge that showed a huge, empty valley.
This is the view from the opposite end.
See the pair of Ravens on the top of the wall?
A section of fossilized tree.
One more Raven close up (Yes, I love ravens! I have lots of them in the forest around my house on Lopez Island)
This is the same view as the rock before I entered the Fossil Exhibit, now back to the road heading north.
Looks like a dry river bed.
White rock formations (likely volcanic ash) as I headed north.
View of Dog Canyon in the distance.
Dog Canyon up closer.
The Camel Experiment - in 1859 and 1860 - Camels and handlers from Africa were brought to the desert, but then the Civil War and Railroads made it end.
Left Big Bend and arrived at Marathon RV park in late afternoon, this was later as the sun was setting. .
Incredible sunset in Marathon.
Sign for Marathon Motel and RV park.
Setting sun in Del Rio TX, after a long driving day.
Going down...
Looking east, colors are lighter
Final lights of the day