We currently live in Austin,Tx which is a nice city so why would we want to move to the desert, hours from any sizeable city? Jude and I have both been coming to Big Bend National Park for more than 15 years and fell in love with the beauty, diversity, and openess of the park. Jude had met some of the Terlingua locals so when we met, we started spending time in the Terlingua Ghost Town with friends as well as hiking and camping. After multiple trips, we decided we wanted to do more than just visit and started looking for land.
Local Attractions
Big Bend National Park – 1250 square miles of high desert terrain. The Chisos mountains form a basin that traps moisture and support a woodland environment. This shot is near the top of the Lost Mine Trail in the basin.
Extreme Desert Disc Golf – I met Pete on a river trip with our longtime friend Sandi and he mentioned he was building a disc golf course. It wasn’t a full 18 holes at the time and a bit raw but amazing. Since then it has been completed with 18 PDGA quality holes, amazing views, and play. It’s a Private course but the fees include a personal guide and the RTV rides up some of those hills is so nice. https://extremedesertdiscgolf.com/
Boquillas, Mexico – There is a border crossing within Big Bend National Park that takes you to the small village of Boquillas Del Carmen (after a short donkey ride). It’s a great place to spend an afternoon walking the town buying souveneers from the kids and having a margarita and tacos at one of the several restauraunts.
Terlingua Ghost Town – Our property is ~ 40 miles from the Terlingua Ghost Town. Originally a quicksilver (mercury) mining town that operated from the late 1800s to 1940. The town started to regiain prominance with the Terlingua Chili Cookoff and its proximity to the national park. Now it’s the home to around 1000 people with several restauraunts, bars, and shops.
On September 28, 2019 Jude and I got married at the Church of Santa Inez located in the Ghost Town. R.I.P. Ed Sullivan and Jeff Haislip.
Rafting the Rio Grande – Our friend Sandi was a river guide years ago and still takes friends down the river in her raft. We drive into Big Bend Ranch State park and get picked back up down river.
Mountain biking – As long as you avoid the heat, the mountain biking it incredible here.
We are in the middle of nowhere but there are still places to get the goods and services we need to live.
- Grocery
- Little Burrow – Convenience store ~ 20 minute drive North on US-118
- Alon – Convenience store ~ 40 minutes South in Study Butte
- Cottonwood – Small grocery store ~ 45 minutes South in Study Butte
- Lowes – Medium grocery store ~ 75 minutes in Alpine
- Walmart – 90 minutes in Fort Stockton
- Gas
- Alon – 40 minutes South in Study Butte
- Lajitas – Last gas before Big Bend State Park ~ 90 minutes
- Panther Junction – Big Bend National Park. ~ 90 minutes
- Alpine – Several gas stations, ~ 90 minutes
- Medical Care
- Terlingua EMS station – located in Terlingua ~ 60 minutes
- Big Bend Regional Medical Center – 25 bed Critical Access hospital in Alpine ~ 90 minutes
- El Paso – closest trauma center ~ 250 miles
- AirMedCare – In the event we need urgent medical care we purchased AirMedCare life flight insurance. Coverage for our entire family is <80$/year. https://www.airmedcarenetwork.com/
It gets hot but its usually not much hotter than Austin.
Rainwater collection will be our primary water source. 10-13 inches per year is average.