Big Bend National Park

I’m headed to Big Bend National Park (Texas) in early March on a photo outing. Has anyone been there and can you give me some ideas for locations in the park to shoot wildlife, landscapes, flora or anything of interest?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Ed

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http://www.edporterphotography.com

The Chisos mountains and Santa Elena Canyon are my favorites. But honestly, you are going to love the whole place.

DIPics

EPP said:

I’m headed to Big Bend National Park (Texas) in early March on a
photo outing. Has anyone been there and can you give me some ideas
for locations in the park to shoot wildlife, landscapes, flora or
anything of interest?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Ed

--
http://www.edporterphotography.com

Click to expand...

Wildlife is sketchy, except for birds. I mean, it's THERE, it just tends to hide, unlike Yellowstone and such places. The Chisos basin is nice, you might want to take a couple of the popular hikes. In the mountains, you will definitely want to be around people, as (believe it or not) there are bears.

Boquillas Canyon and Santa Elena (as mentioned) are very nice, but apparently there are ongoing problems with car break-ins at the Boquillas Canyon parking lot.

Believe the road signs if they tell you the unpaved roads are rough or "4WD only."

Hopefully you'll get lucky and catch some good wildlife shots. The place is very beautiful, but if you aren't in the mountains, you're in the desert, so be prepared for that. It takes a long time to get anywhere in the park, too, so it pays to keep an eye on the gas gauge.
--
Joel

Make my funk the P-Funk.

Hey thanks guys!! I appreciate the input and the heads-up on theives and bears! I have to deal with black bear here in my home state so I'm not too concerned about them, but the theives are a different story!

Santa Elena & Chisos will definitely be my first stops!

Either of you have any idea what the weather "should" be like during the second week of March??

Thanks again, your info is most helpful!

Ed
--
http://www.edporterphotography.com

My hunch is that it will be warmish during the days, might get rather chilly at night. Take lots of layers and pack a warm coat, just to cover all the bases.
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Joel

Make my funk the P-Funk.

Weather in Big Bend the second week of March. It's a good time to visit. It should be somewhere between 0 and about 115 F. Maybe both in the same day. No, I'm not kidding.

DIPics

EPP said:

Hey thanks guys!! I appreciate the input and the heads-up on
theives and bears! I have to deal with black bear here in my home
state so I'm not too concerned about them, but the theives are a
different story!

Santa Elena & Chisos will definitely be my first stops!

Either of you have any idea what the weather "should" be like
during the second week of March??

Thanks again, your info is most helpful!

Ed
--
http://www.edporterphotography.com

Click to expand...

Okay, I got it!! Thanks guys!! I'll take the fleece underwear, goose down parka and shorts and sandals! (ha)

Seriously, I do appreciate the input and I get the message - the weather in a few weeks is unpredictable, but it does seem to be a good time to visit the park.

Ed

--
http://www.edporterphotography.com

It's also about the busiest time in the park. Hope you have reservations already if you plan on camping or staying overnight.

DIPics

EPP said:

Okay, I got it!! Thanks guys!! I'll take the fleece underwear,
goose down parka and shorts and sandals! (ha)

Seriously, I do appreciate the input and I get the message - the
weather in a few weeks is unpredictable, but it does seem to be a
good time to visit the park.

Ed

--
http://www.edporterphotography.com

Click to expand...

Man I was there 10 years ago this week. Ah the memories. Some great landscape shots. Not sure what kind of hiking you are planning. My wife and I hiked up into the chisos and set up camp - then we did a long day hike from camp to the south rim and back to camp. The next day we hiked back down.

We were actually above the clouds when we hiked down and due to some weird inversion it was 40 when we woke up but as we hiked down it got in the mid 20s. Later that morning the fog/clouds lifted and it warmed right up.

They have bears and mountain lions. The three days we were in the backcountry we did not see a single person. Was very cool.

Some of the roads are rough and along the paved road to the canyon was a cool abandoned farm stead that is worth checking out.

Here are some of my pics.
http://gelstoncafe.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5

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Tobias
http://gelstoncafe.com

Wow!! You guys had a great time there ten years ago!! Thanks for showing the pictures! Now I'm really excited about the trip...although I DON'T have reservations, so I'm looking at that right now.

Thank you - dipics, JEverett and tgelston - you all have been most helpful!

Ed
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http://www.edporterphotography.com