Texas
On the Road: San Antonio to Big Bend National Park
Program No. 20562RJ
Immerse yourself in the best of Texas as you visit remote state and national parks, explore Fort Davis Historic Site and stargaze at the McDonald Observatory.
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Protecting the Environment
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8 days
7 nights
19 meals
7B 6L 6D
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
San Antonio, Texas
2
Travel to Big Bend Region, Amistad Recreation Area
Alpine, Texas
3
Fort Davis, CDRI, McDonald Observatory
Alpine, Texas
4
Davis Mountains State Park, Museum of the Big Bend
Terlingua, Texas
5
Big Bend National Park, Santa Elena Canyon
Terlingua, Texas
6
Big Bend Ranch State Park, Fort Davis scenic loop
Alpine, Texas
7
Transfer to San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
8
Program Concludes
San Antonio, Texas
At a Glance
Explore Texas nature and culture from San Antonio’s Riverwalk to the mountains of Big Bend National Park. Cross the Chihuahuan Desert as a naturalist interprets all you see and scale the Chisos Mountains to explore Big Bend’s rugged landscapes. Visit Terlingua ghost town, Fort Davis National Historic Site and much more.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking up to three miles a day; Hiking up to one mile over varied terrain; Standing up to two hours in museums; Climbing two flights of stairs; Getting on/off coach multiple times a day unassisted; No porterage. Elevations up to 7,000 feet.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Explore the darkest skies in the country in a star party with an expert at the McDonald Observatory.
- Travel back in time with a visit to Fort Davis National Historic Site.
- See a wide variety of plants and wildlife as you journey through deserts and mountains of Big Bend National Park.
General Notes
Consider enrolling in "San Antonio: Heart of the City, Heart of the Hill Country" (#22272) before or after this program to extend your exploration of Texas!
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Bruce Martin
Bruce Martin is a native Texan who has lived in San Antonio for more than 30 years. A master naturalist, he leads informative and entertaining explorations throughout San Antonio’s downtown, historic districts, and natural areas as well as the nearby Texas Hill Country. A keen observer of the built environment, he shares his appreciation for San Antonio’s architectural details and public artwork. Bruce tries not to take himself too seriously. He and his wife Barbara live in a 1937 white stucco house.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Bruce Martin
View biography
Bruce Martin is a native Texan who has lived in San Antonio for more than 30 years. A master naturalist, he leads informative and entertaining explorations throughout San Antonio’s downtown, historic districts, and natural areas as well as the nearby Texas Hill Country. A keen observer of the built environment, he shares his appreciation for San Antonio’s architectural details and public artwork. Bruce tries not to take himself too seriously. He and his wife Barbara live in a 1937 white stucco house.
Natallia Fodemski
View biography
Natallia Fodemski began her career as a group leader in 2009. She started a small business, and led private and group outings including hikes and adventures all over Colorado State, gradually adding other states. In 2019, she graduated from International Guide Academy in Denver with a Certificate of International Tour Director and Guide. She also has years of experience working as a program coordinator at the Center for Creative Leadership and at Colorado College Fine Art Museum.
Suggested Reading List
(12 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
On the Road: San Antonio to Big Bend National Park
Program Number: 20562
Lonesome Dove
A love story, an adventure, and an epic of the frontier, Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize— winning classic, Lonesome Dove, the third book in the Lonesome Dove tetralogy, is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America. Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers.
Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth
Reviled by some and applauded by others, this controversial popular history focuses on factors related to the history of the Alamo. A saucy, journalistic-style read, it provides a perspective on how Texans think, information about the current redesign of Alamo Plaza, and a great bibliography for further study.
Big Bend Tales
Travel deeper into the Texas outback with writer-historian Mike Cox as he recounts the lesser-known stories from Alpine, Fort Davis and Marfa. Revisit the grandeur of Alpine's Holland Hotel, peer through the telescope at the McDonald Observatory and dip your toes in the water hole at Ernst Tinaja--if you dare. Travel back to a time when the Comanche Trail stretched one thousand miles from Kansas to Mexico, making the Big Bend difficult to defend and impossible to resist trying.
Photographing Big Bend National Park: A Friendly Guide to Great Images
With its combination of desert and mountain landscapes, the dramatic canyons of the Rio Grande, ancient pictographs, and remnants of pioneer ranch life, Big Bend National Park presents a wealth of subjects to the photographic eye. Professional nature photographer and frequent Big Bend traveler Kathy Adams Clark offers this handy and beautiful guide to maximizing the photographic experience of this visually stunning landscape.
The River and the Wall
The River and the Wall is a film that follows five friends on an adventure along the Texas borderlands as they travel 1200 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes, and canoes.
Rock Art of the Lower Pecos
This author takes research on rock art and makes it concise and understandable for all of us who are interested in rock art in the Americas. But more than that, she takes us to the next level and gives us a basis for understanding WHY the images were produced in the first place and what function they served for the culture. This is must reading for anyone who wants to understand these images and who wants to go to the next level in understanding rock art world wide.
Little Big Bend: Common, Uncommon, and Rare Plants of Big Bend National Park
Plant life in Big Bend National Park is incredibly diverse. The wide range of habitats within the park—desert, foothills, mountains and moist woodlands, river canyons and floodplain—as well as the Big Bend’s three major blooming seasons of spring, summer, and fall—guarantee a stunning show of botanical variety throughout the year.
The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Immigrant Trail
Jason De León uses the four fields of anthropology to chronicle the journeys of people attempting to cross the border between the US and Mexico. This book takes a hard look at the human consequences of the US immigration policy.
Texas, My Texas: Musings of the Rambling Boy
In a collection of essays about Texas gathered from his West Texas newspaper column, Lonn Taylor traverses the very best of Texas geography, Texas history, and Texas personalities. In a state so famous for its pride, Taylor manages to write a very honest, witty, and wise book about Texas past and Texas present.
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History
S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.
Big, Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas
Written by a great story teller, this readable, monumental work is exactly what the title implies: a comprehensive history of Texas complete with wonderful historic photographs and a focus on the stories of individual people. Not for the fainthearted, the time invested in reading this is well-spent. Actually, the book is so readable that devouring it is a pleasure. It has been described as “a must read for Texas aficionados.”
Driving Southwest Texas: On the Road in Big Bend Country
Byron Browne's book is a great ride through the harsh yet beautiful landscape of the Big Bend and Davis Mountain areas of Texas. No other part of the state is as rugged, or remote, as this land nestled in the bend of the Rio Grande. Browne is thorough on his subject, knowledgeable about the rich history of the area, and thoughtful about those he encounters on his journey.