Notice Flat Henry on the sign?
On one side of us was the National Park and on the other side was the State Park. The girls and I visited the State Park as well. See our other post on the National Park.
You have to check in at the Big Bend Ranch State Park visitors center, Barton Warnock, mile from Lajitas, where we were parked. We bought our $5 permit to hike and then headed to Closed Canyon. It was about a 45 minute drive to the trail head.. On the way we saw three teepee’s (on the map it was spelled ‘tipi’) set up for picnics along side the road.
The hike was beautiful. The girls discovered that even a dead prickly pear can prick you with their almost invisible red thorns. FYI…Duct tape takes them out! We came across a puddle of deep water that was surrounded by steep slick rock. I helped the girls shimmy up the rock and over the puddle. I however could not do it, so I let them hike alone. There were no cars parked at the trail head so I knew there weren’t any people on the trail and they had their camelbacks. We hollered back and forth until they couldn’t hear me any longer at which point they turned and came back. I enjoyed the peace and quiet while I looked for bats in all the crevices.
On the way home we found an old movie set that was used for 7 different films from 1993 to 2000. There is contraversy on whether or not it needs to be torn down. Some feel it is not natural and needs to come down and others feel it is good for the economy, bringing tourists and movie studios. It’s a major attraction on FM 170. They have already torn down the church but two buildings remain.
Adams American Adventure 