bugsy running on lone rock beach with the airstream and f-150 in the background

Trip planning: looping out to Big Bend

This planning post was for a trip to Big Bend in January 2018.

rio grande

We visited Big Bend on our three-month trip two years ago and, because we were based in Ft Davis, an hour and a half from the entrance to the park, we spent just ONE DAY in the park. One measly day! We knew we’d have to go back and stay at a campground inside the national park to really be able to explore.

Soon we’ll get to! We’re working on an itinerary that will make a loop from Virginia to Big Bend, with stops in some of our favorite cities (Asheville, Nashville, Austin), a few places that have been on our wish list (Ozark Mountains/Ozark-St Francis National Forest, Terlingua TX, Alpine TX), and a couple we’ve never really thought about but are excited to check out, including Missouri’s wine country.

If you have any favorites or must-hit locations in any of the places I’ve mentioned or roughly along the route from Big Bend to St Louis, please put them in the comments!

Update: I’ve linked to our trip posts below!

Three days in Nashville

Five days in Austin

One day in Fredericksburg, TX

Two days in Alpine, TX

Three days in Big Bend National Park

One day in Terlingua, TX

One day in Abilene, TX

Two days in Medicine Park, OK

Three days in Fayetteville, AR

Two days in Branson, MO

Four days in St Louis, MO

Two days in Lexington, KY

Comments

17 responses to “Trip planning: looping out to Big Bend”

  1. Uncle Jim Avatar
    Uncle Jim

    Spent a week in Big Bend a number of years ago and you will find it takes at least that long to get a handle on the place.. You should also enjoy the horseback riding… Hubby and the dog can just run along beside you. You could spend a month in Terlingua as well.. That place is a hoot. Hope they’re having their Chili festival when you are there.. Quite a show. I also expect you to head west from there.. Lot more fun to be had out there.

    1. bugsy Avatar
      bugsy

      No time to go farther west from there this trip! I know we’re missing out on your favorite places but we’ll get out there one of these trips!

  2. […] Right off the bat, we saw a few options: Less driving but less warmth in SC and GA; beaches and sunshine in FL with potentially a million other RVers; and a long-distance adventure to TX. […]

  3. […] do from Alpine is to go to Big Bend National Park, which is our next post and the highlight of our month-plus trip. Stay tuned for details as I attempt to narrow down the number of photos to a manageable […]

  4. […] made it! Big Bend National Park was the itinerary-shaping destination for this Airstream journey, and it was absolutely the highlight of our trip. We were […]

  5. […] plotting the route for this trip, we had some definite destinations that needed to be connected by unknown intermediate points. […]

  6. […] talked about visiting. All I really knew about it was that the Arch is there. But while researching this trip’s itinerary, J discovered that St Louis is one of the rare big cities that has a campground in town, close to […]

  7. […] we spent a few days in Fredericksburg instead, and then returned for a night on a later trip to Big Bend. It’s a charming little Hill Country town with German roots, and well worth a day trip from […]

  8. […] days in Asheville, coming home from our Big Bend Loop trip in […]

  9. […] visited Fredericksburg in January 2018 as part of our Big Bend Loop trip. Read about our first visit in 2016 […]

  10. […] visited Medicine Park in January 2018 as part of our Big Bend Loop […]

  11. […] visited Fayetteville in January 2018 as part of our Big Bend Loop […]

  12. […] visited Branson in January 2018 as part of our Big Bend Loop […]

  13. […] visited Lexington in January 2018 as part of our Big Bend Loop […]

  14. […] visited Asheville in January 2018 as part of our Big Bend Loop trip. We’ve posted a bunch of times about Asheville; check out all the posts […]

  15. […] visited Carrboro in January 2018 as part of our Big Bend Loop […]

  16. […] visited Austin in early January 2018 as part of our Big Bend loop. Read about our other Austin visits […]

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