Big Bend National Park, Texas

National Park Concessions operates Chisos Mountain Lodge which has a 72 room motel, a restaurant, snack shop, curio stand, and a camp store. At Panther Junction there is a gas station, at Castolon there is a one-man store, and at Rio Grande Village there is a store that sells gas, and a 20 space R.V. lot.

There is about 70 positions at current.

For housing there is a 2 story dorm (a male floor and a female floor) in the Chisos Basin, two people in each bedroom, and a shared living room. Housing has a shared stove, oven, refrigerator, freezer, washer and dryer, and cable T.V.

The Chisos Basin also includes a park campground, and visitor center.

At Panther Junction there is a small community. There are 2 bedroom trailers, usually 2 people for each bedroom, and R.V. spaces. Also at Panther Junction there is a post office, and a four room school, grades K-8, a small library, and fully equipped weight room. It is a community of rangers and concession employees.

Big Bend is in one of the most isolated regions in Texas. The nearest traffic light is 110 miles away in Alpine. Marathon is about 70 miles from Panther Junction, and 30 from Alpine. Study Butte is about 26 miles from Panther Junction.

The park borders Mexico for 118 miles along the Rio Grande. This is in the Chihuahuan desert.

Castolon is located on an incredibly scenic drive, this drive passes beside the Chisos Mountains, then rides up and down mountains, and onto the plains, to the Rio Grande, and a fantastic canyon, Santa Elena Canyon.

The Chisos Mountains are situated in the middle of the park, surrounded by desert land these mountains form a circle of mountains that top out at 7,825 feet at Emory Peak, the highest point in the park. the Chisos are also unique for two formations: "the window" which is a "v" in the circle of mountains which lets you see out of the basin from about 5,400 feet at the lodge down to the desert below. The other unique formation in the Chisos is Casa Grande which is a "Devils Tower shaped" flat topped mountain. The Chisos hold forests of pinyon pine, juniper, and oak. There is spectacular hiking in Chisos with spectacular views. There a a small community of Mexican black bears mountain lions and peregrine falcons.

Vegetation out of the Chisos Mountains is desert life: prickly pear cactus, ocotillo, creosote. There abound deer, lizards, scorpions, snakes, tarantulas, and 420 bird types - a birdwatchers dream, lots of roadrunners, and the Colima warbler (only place found in the United States).

The Rio Grande offers it own environment. This desert oasis is lined with reeds, cottonwoods, and salt cedar. The Rio Grande holds catfish and carp, that run to 30 pounds in this muddy waters.

The javelina is everywhere. The easiest way to describe this creature is to say it looks like a hairy pig. They are mostly non-aggressive, but do have 2 inch long tusks.

Big Bend's busiest season is during March, April, and May (spring break, also this is when the park is flowering and the weather is at the most comfortable). Slowest is July, August, and September.