Black Jack's Crossing Lajitas Golf Resort

From Maverick RV Park at Lajitas, Terlinqua, Texas     Oh my goodness! We've found ourselves at the outstanding Black Jack's Crossing Golf Course!  Ranked by Texas Outside as the "Number One Resort Course in Texas" this course, designed by Lanny Wadkins, winner of the 1977 PGA Championship winner, has some views that cross somewhere between "breathtaking, awesome, stupendous and unbelievable".... And we got a birds eye view from all 18 spectacular holes today.

Named after U.S. Army General, "Black Jack" Pershing who pursued Pancho Villa across the Rio Grande, Black Jack's Golf Course design embraces the historical features of the land with the stunning setting of Big Bend National Park. In short, this is a work of art.

One of our fabulous foursome, Ernie, took a little spill that left him with an sore ribcage, so we didn't play the course. Instead, three of us: Pam, Wayne and I, took a golf cart tour.

First, I'll share some of my favorites of the photos we took.

Wayne, Pam and me with the Rio Grande in the background. 

I didn't realize Pam has a phobia of heights. She held on for dear life at every incline and curve. 

With ball and T in hand, we were ready to play.....

Out of bound balls go international.... right into Mexico. 

Although the cart path was well placed and smooth concrete, the inclines were steep and the drop offs were dramatic. Pam opted to sit out the back nine. I had not realized her fear of heights was that intense and I felt bad that we had joked about it.  Wayne and I pressed on, making our way to the highest and farthest points of the "Black Tees".... Such beautiful sights...

Overlooking the Rio Grande and Mexico 

The Rio Grande and Mexico in the background here too. 

Can you see the flag? 

There is a cart on the fareway below.  Almost too small to see from here. 

Considering a border crossing..... naahhh. 

 Mexico - fifty yards to the left. 

Roadrunner. I couldn't resist. My best shot. 

Before we arrived, we watched the aerial video of Black Jack's Crossing Golf Course and knew we would need to see this course first hand.  You might like to see it the aerial video too.

Click here: Aerial video of Lajitas Golf Resort

Santa Elena Canyon at Big Bend

From Maverick RV Park Lajitas, Terlingua, Texas         Mountains, desert, river, wildlife, star gazing, hiking... all are available at Big Bend National Park. Highways end here and we reached the end of U.S. Highway 285. But we didn't stop there... We took Texas Road 118 west to Study-Butte, Terlingua and then Highway 170 to Lajitas. But all that was two days ago. Ernie, Pam, Wayne and I have just three and a half days to see the sights.  Our time is short because we want to be in Tucson for Christmas.

Near Maverick Junction

Our second day was spent exploring the western corner of Big Bend National Park. The name Big Bend refers to the great southwest Texas U-turn the Rio Grande makes here. It defines the park boundary for 118 miles.

This day, we backtracked through Study Butte, Terlingua and Maverick Junction into Big Bend National Park. Then up to the Castolon / Santa Elena Junction traveling south along Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

Sam Nail Ranch 

At the site of Sam Nail Ranch, we walked down the path from the roadway -- maybe a quarter mile. A few partial walls of the home remain and the old well still pumps water which attracts wildlife.

As we walked the trail, I began thinking about how warm the sun was on the earth and how nice it must feel to the snakes that live in this area. Snakes scare me and I was caught completely off guard when Ernie tossed a handful of stones into the brush beside me. I screamed -- loud. Ernie burst into laughter that was so hard it made his sore ribs hurt. Full of mischief, that guy is.

Ernie, the evil stone thrower and his partner in crime, PK.

The Wayner obediently stands where I tell him... then I take pictures.

Remaining walls of the Sam Nail home.

The water well at Sam Nail Ranch 

Homer Wilson Ranch

Next stop was Homer Wilson Ranch, the largest ranch in the days before this land became a National Park.

Ernie's ribs were starting to hurt a bit getting in and out of the truck so we didn't take the hike down to the ranch remains. I wished we had walked some of the trail because I wanted to pay him back for the scare he'd given me. His aching ribcage was revenge enough though.

Homer Wilson Ranch 

Sotol Vista   

The Sotol Vista viewpoint is just south of Homer Wilson Ranch. From here we had an unparalleled vista of the entire western side of Big Bend National Park, including magnificent Santa Elena Canyon in the distance.
Sotol plants loves the southerly sun and is an ancient plant that had a variety of uses for the early people in this region. The heart of the plant was eaten, while the blades were used for making ropes and weaving shoes.

A sotol plant.
Santa Elena Canyon can be seen in as a light colored notch in right of the mountain range.

Mule Ears

To the southwest of the Chisos Mountains, Mule Ears rise 3,881 feet above the desert floor. There's a nice spring area near the base of Mule Ears, but we didn't take the short, two-mile hike. Instead, Pam and I strolled the parking area, chatted with another tourist and walked the dogs while taking pictures in all directions.

By now, Ernie's painful ribcage has restricted him to the truck and Wayne was happy to keep him company.

Can you see why it's called "Mule Ears"?

Santa Elena Canyon 

Only half of Santa Elena Canyon is in the U.S. The other half is in Mexico. Wayne and I had taken pictures at this overlook when we were here five years ago, but we didn't go closer back then because he was unable to walk due to a bout with sciatica.  Our plan today is to take the short hike through the canyon.

Recent heavy rain throughout Texas and the release of water into the Rio Grande by Mexico has increased the water flow in the river and this, in turn, prohibited us from crossing the river at the ordinarily low water places to take the hike we've come to take. We were disappointed but in all honesty, I'm not sure Ernie's ribs would have fared too well on an uphill climb anyway.

Beautiful afternoon at Santa Elena Canyon 

For a good perspective of the depth of Elena Canyon 

The National Park volunteer in the picture below is Steve. We had crossed paths with him once already today. Again, here at Elena Canyon, we spent some time talking with Steve before he pressed on to his afternoon duties and we returned to the campground.

Steve, Ernie, Pam and Wayne 

Roadrunner! 

On our way out of Santa Elena Canyon, we saw this roadrunner and managed to get a photo. Roadrunners are everywhere at Big Bend National Park. They reach speeds of 20 mph pursuing lizards and small rattlesnakes. The roadrunner pecks it's prey to death with stunning blows of its beak.  Yikes!

High Sierra 

It was near 5 o'clock by the time reached Terlingua on our way back to Maverick Ranch RV Park.  We stopped in at El Dorado Hotel and the High Sierra Bar and Grill for a bite to eat.  Fortunately for us, another group of retiree-types was sitting at one of the tables. Otherwise, I think we would have been afraid of the place. Lots of foul mouth people and unleashed dogs wandered the property. A pen of sheep (or were they goats) were in an adjacent lot. It was a strange experience, but the food was okay.

Lajitas to Presidio: The Rio Grande Valley

Maverick RV Resort at Lajitas, Terlinqua, Texas            Our travel group is down to four.  Pam, Ernie, Wayne and me. Joyce and Charlie will rejoin us sometime after March next year, but for now, the four of us are headed to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to see Big Bend National Park and anything else near there that interests us. 

The drive from San Antonio to Terlinqua, Texas took two-days. We stopped at Sanderson, Texas to spend the first night. The campground seemed pleasant enough but became memorable for the plummeting temperature that caused the water spigots to freeze. A second, and certainly worse incident, however, was Ernie's fall that injured his ribs and made a whopper of a bruise. 

By mid-afternoon the second day we were settling into our campsites at Maverick RV Ranch.  I don't know what Wayne and I did to deserve the "Fortress Campsite" but it's ours for the few days we're here. 

Pam and Ernie's campsite was almost as nice, with a view of the Lajitas mountain we'd see time and time again while we're here.  The picture below shows both campsites. We shared a common patio area... except that ours has a 3' rock wall! 

Lajitas is on the western edge of Big Bend National Park at an altitude of 2,200 foot of a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande River. Lajitas is in the northern part of the Chichuahuan Desert and is the very southernmost extreme of the Rocky Mountain range.

Our stay here is short so we planned each day to take full advantage of the time.  The first day would be spent looking around the Lajitas property and then taking a ride down the scenic Camino Del Rio River (TX 170) Road west toward Presidio.

Our first day started with a tour of the Lajitas property, including the golf course, hotel and restaurant areas.

Ernie and Pam at Black Jack's Crossing Pro Shop.
Yep, that's our Lajitas mountain top in the background. 

Pam in the Black Jack pro shop.

First time I've seen a Texas longhorn steer in a pro shop. 

The Ivey House (circa 1946)

Wayne at the Rex Ivey house, an historic site built in 1946. Rex Ivey was responsible for much of the development in this area. He was a rancher, wax trader, cotton and alfalfa farmer, mercantile trader and commissioner.  Ivey built bullet-proof walls around the bathroom of this home to keep his wife and children safe from pistol toting drunks who had a tendency to shoot up things on Saturday night. 

View of the mountain range from Black Jack pro shop parking lot. 

In the hotel lobby.
Once again, the image of the mountain of Lajitas
Lajitas is Spanish for "little flat rocks" referring to the Boquilias limestone found here. 

In the hotel lobby.

  

An authentic photograph taken on the hotel steps. 

 A bit of wild west history:  When mercury "quicksilver" was discovered in the nearby Chisos mountains and cattle ranching gained popular, cross-border commerce brought Lajitas into popularity as travelers could enjoy a saloon stop. Cowboys, miners and regional settlers frequented this area in the 1890's.

By 1900, Lajitas was a substation port of entry and the most important U.S. - Mexico crossing between Del Rio and El Paso, Texas. (This border crossing wasn't closed until after the attacks of 9/11.)

In early 1916, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sent General "Black Jack" Pershing to this area to capture (dead or alive) Mexican bandit, Pancho Villa after Villa made two bloody raids here. Pershing and a force of 12,000 soldiers scoured the territory and made several close calls, but could not locate Villa.  In a famous telegram, Pershing cabled President Wilson that "Villa is everywhere, but Villa is no where."  In February 1917, President Wilson summoned the soldiers home.

What a thrilling place!

At the Lajitas Infirmary

Factoids: 

• Lajitas is in Brewster County, the largest county in all of Texas. 
• Brewster County has no traffic lights. 
• Brewster has the lowest population in all of Texas. 

Another view of the ever present Lajitas mountain. It's everywhere we look!
This time, with the Texas flag in the foreground. 

At lunchtime we stopped in at the Lajitas General Store for sandwiches and then started our 50 mile westward drive, in Pam and Ernie's Jeep, toward Presidio. Texas Highway 170 closely follows the Rio Grande and the U.S. Mexico border. Here are the highlights of our ride...

Ernie (Roy Rogers), Pam (Dale Evans) and their Jeep, Nellie Belle

Left of the river, Mexico.
Right of the river, U.S.A. 

He and me. 

Pam trying her luck at picking a prickly pear... cactus.

This is where we actually put our feet into the Rio Grande.  But alas! we did not cross it. 

I told them I'd turn them in as illegals.  What's that? You don't have your passports? 

Riding along we spotted a group of animals crossing the road. We knew Javelina were common in these parts. Often mistaken for pigs, Javelina are not a member of the pig family. They are herbivores and frugivores and eat stems of prickly pears, mesquite beans and anything else they find. They have poor eyesight but good noses.  Most people fear Javelina but they are timid creatures except when cornered. They often injure or kill dogs who will fight them for food. 

Our presence surely scared this group as they ran quickly off the road and into the brush along the roadside. We tried, with little success, to capture good pictures. These were as good as we could get. To our disbelief, they stopped and turned around when Wayne whistled! 

Running Javelina - two adults, one baby

Our friend, the Javelina.

 And more beautiful scenery....

We made it as far as Redford, Texas but turned around about 16 miles outside Presidio -- just after our second animal sighting: two horses and a donkey running down the road.

On the other side of the Rio Grande we can see Mexican agriculture. 

Nice view... 

Getting late in the afternoon. 

On our way back to Lajitas, we passed the location of a movie set used ten to twelve years ago. Wayne and I had stopped here in our our travel of this area in December 2010 and I wrote a post about it. Sadly, at least two of the movie set buildings have been demolished. We took a couple of pictures of the remaining building.

Our next day trip will be to see Big Bend National Park. Hope you'll join us.