Maverick Ranch RV is a part of the Lajitas Resort tucked in between the national and state parks of Big Bend in southwest Texas. It’s an impressive resort and while the main attraction is golf/desert, we leaned into plenty of the scenery, volcanic mountains and a few of the resort activities.

First impressions say a lot and this is our RV parking spot on the resort grounds nestled up against the mesa. We all were impressed, including Charlie (puppy)! A few mesa inspired bike rides and we were awe struck but the state and national parks would have us speechless.

The mesa and desert around Lajitas was impressive but our first trip into Big Bend National Park and the Chisos Basin and Lost Mine Trail were all exhilarating, or maybe that was my heart rate climbing 🤔. So many different rock formations, copious cactus, other thorny plant life, deer, Mexican Jays, Roadrunner, a lone hawk on a volcanic dike and tracks/scat from plenty of other animals. Changes in altitude and vistas were an unexpected highlight of the park. Incredible to go from semi flat desert to towering plateaus, buttes and mountain peaks that looked like God was testing various mountain building techniques. This is why we pull a 4 wheel SUV and here is what we saw…

The Big Bend State Park doesn’t take a second seat to the NP though. It’s boundaries are less defined and you can get pulled over if you don’t buy an access pass for the day but once you do it’s like a rodeo rollercoaster driving the roads through the park. FM170 is the only east/west highway through the area and it approximates the twists and turns of the Rio Grande while twisting between some towering rock plateaus and peaks, as well as some private ranches. A neighbor RVer told us the drive is one of their favorites, not just in Texas but anywhere and they weren’t wrong! Crazy tight construction on a few bridges but some of the most iconic mountain driving I’ve ever experienced with multiple 10% and 15% grades. We did Closed Canyon and Hoodoos Trails and again, some epic views unlike anything we’ve ever seen. A great workout and some views to post about, even got a Big Horn Sheep watching us from a cliff above.

Hoodoos Trail is named for unique rock formations that resembled spirits and animals… they named it before we went so it wasn’t our kids who caused the name but we might call the boys “hoodoos” from now on! Very cool formations along the river. Some of the rocks had debris impacted between rocks about 10ft up from the river highlighting the fact that flash floods are a real big deal when it rains in southwest Texas.

FM170 continued to impress with each undulating mile, much to Jayden’s car sick lament; however, we did make it all the way to Presidio, Tx and crossed the border into Ojinaga, Mexico. We didn’t plan ahead well and didn’t have passports for the kids and no birth certificate for Peyton. Guards on both sides questioned why we didn’t have paperwork for Peyton but his SS card was eventually good enough. The boys found the masked military with ARs on their shoulders to be a highlight of the crossing. 🤪 also hard taking pictures so limited at the boarder but least we added another country to our trip! A quick stop at Fort Leaton (adobe home and trading post) and we covered the length of the state park.