This morning after homeschool we drove out to the west side of the park.  We stopped at the Ocotillo Grove dispersed camping area to look for remnants of the farming community called Terlingua Abajo.  We walked along Terlingua Creek:

On top of a low hill, there’s a cable trolley that goes across the creek to the gauging station on the other side:

We eventually found an interpretive sign:

This side of the creek has a couple ruins, but most of them are on the other side of the creek:

We forded the creek and found the remnants of the old village:

Scattered across the area was evidence of prior habitation:

We headed back across the river to the truck:

Our next stop was the Santa Elena Canyon trail:

The river is banked by mud flats, so it’s easy to tell who has been here:

The Rio Grande flows through the canyon.  The left bank is Mexico:

It was a muddy trek to get to the trailhead:

M practiced his photography:

The canyon leaves no river bank here, so the trail goes up and around:

Plant life clings to the rock:

I really hope that rock doesn’t tip over:

The trail ends here:

M noticed this fellow:

We emerged from the canyon into sunset on the Chisos Mountains

Crossing the mud flats to get back to the truck:

The GPS doesn’t work well in the canyon, we did not in fact cross the Rio Grande in Mexico:

Happy fourth day of Chanukah!

See the trip map for today’s drive.