Big Bend & the Santa Elena Canyon

Santa Elena Canyon

Big Bend National Park

For Christmas 2012, the G-man and I went to West Texas to golf, hike,

and take photographs of one of the most beautiful places in Texas.

Our friends, the Noonans (from the Chicago area), went along and we enjoyed

showing them some of our favorite spots.

We tried to cram 30 years of our discovery into a few days;

I think we did a fairly good job of it.

We hiked into the Santa Elena Canyon along the trail 

leading up & down the canyon walls

where I was able to take this beautiful photograph

of the Rio Grande flowing through the canyon.

Entrance to Santa Elena Canyon

The white sand beach is at the beginning of the trail

with the Rio Grande just past the white sand.

Texas is on the right and 

Mexico is the left canyon walls.

The Rio Grande Flowing Out of the Canyon

The Rio Grande flows out of this canyon 

and meanders through the desert where it 

flows through yet another canyon, Boquilles Canyon,

on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

This land is spectacular but difficult with its

extremes in temperature, rainfall, and remoteness.

If you have never been to such a place

I hope you will one day visit one of 

Texas' true treasures... Big Bend.