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Points 9-14
9. TerlinguaTo exit the park near Maverick, either backtrack along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to Santa Elena Junction and then head west, or follow the Old Maverick Road (a well-graded dirt road that's more direct but sometimes closed after heavy rains). Once outside the park, follow Rte. 170 west until you reach Terlingua. Formerly a thriving mining center, Terlingua is a popular tourist destination. The town's two biggest claims to fame are its World Championship Chili Cookoff, a boisterous celebration held in early November, and the Cookie Chilloff, a spoof of the event, held in early February.
10. Big Bend Ranch State Park
The fast-growing town of Lajitas is the gateway to the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center, which showcases the flora and fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert. The facility also serves as a visitor center for the Big Bend Ranch State Park, a 270,000-acre desert garden, which is traversed by the drive. With scenery that rivals that of Big Bend National Park, the park contains -- among other types of animals -- the smallest and largest bats in America.
11. El Camino del Rio
The ruggedness of the terrain traversed by El Camino del Rio ("The River Road") is underscored by one of the route's early nicknames, Muerte del Burro, meaning "Donkey's Death." At times dropping to within yards of the Rio Grande, then winding into the cliffs above, this highway -- once a Spanish trail, later a smuggler's route -- is unquestionably one of the state's finest scenic drives. Passing beside steep, heavily eroded bluffs and fancifully shaped rock formations, you begin to understand why ancient Native Amer ican legend holds that Big Bend Country is the place where the Great Spirit dumped all the rocks that were left over after he created the world.
12. Fort Leaton State Historic Site
Built in the late 1840s, this adobe-and-wood structure was the private fortress of Ben Leaton, a trader who ran his empire with such ruthlessness that he earned a host of less-than-flattering nicknames, including scalp-hunter, desperado, and un mal hombre -- "a bad man." Overlooking the Rio Grande valley, the restored fort recalls frontier days with exhibits, historic artifacts, and tours.
13. Shafter
At Presidio, the drive veers north on Rte. 67 toward Shafter. Just before you reach town, look west for the uncanny likeness of Abraham Lincoln's profile on a nearby mountain. Watch out as well for deerlike pronghorns, which sport tan fur and a distinctive white patch on the rump.
Shafter was once dubbed "the richest acre in Texas" because of the millions of dollars' worth of silver that were extracted from local mines. Today, little remains of the town except crumbling ruins, but veins of the precious metal still run through the surrounding hills.
14. Marfa
Movie buffs may recall that the 1955 classic Giant was filmed on a ranch 15 miles outside Marfa. But West Texans know the town as the home of the mysterious "Marfa ghost lights," strange glowing spots that have baffled watchers and investigators since the 1880s. Explanations have ranged from UFOs to atmospheric disturbances to reflections of automobile headlights, but you can judge for yourself: an official Marfa light-viewing station is located about nine miles east of town on Rte. 90.
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