We rent a Jeep!

For a day, to explore the dirt/gravel/rock roads of Big Bend National Park.  Not because we thought we'd necessarily like doing this, but what we wanted to do was to find which of the back country camp sites we could get to in our pickup and camper.

When Kathy and Bill came out to Big Bend to stay the week, they rented an SUV so we could explore and hike some areas off of the back roads.  However, we quickly found out that many of the roads are not SUV-worthy--whether they are front wheel drive or all wheel drive. 

We learned a lot by renting this Jeep.  We found a few sites we could get to in our camper/pickup, and many that would not be accessible, even though the pickup is 4-wheel drive and high clearance.  Our rig is heavy, and the tires, even though they are All Terrain, would not be able to withstand the sharp rocks because of the weight. (We also learned that Vicky does better in a Jeep with her eyes closed.  That way, she isn't gasping when I am trying to keep us from flying off of a cliff.) 

The final thing we learned is that we hated riding around on rough roads in a Jeep.  Noisy, jarring, dusty, and intense.  Such a difference from hiking where everything is peaceful and quiet.  Don't look for us to buy a Jeep anytime soon.

We went on several roads.  The main one we explored is the Old Ore Road.  If you are visiting Big Bend, and want to see the Ernst Tinaja (a wonderful rock formation), you can access the trail head to it by the the southern entrance to Old Ore Road.  However, unless you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle like a Jeep, that's about as far up this road as you should try to go.  A couple of miles past the Ernst Tinaja trail head, the road turns quite steep in places.  The photos here don't do justice to some of the places where the going requires a short wheelbase 4-wheel drive vehicle with 6-ply tires.