Old Hot Springs Resort at Rio Grand Hot Springs trailhead, Big Bend National Park. (Jeff Sartain, courtesy of National Park Service)


Above & below: parking lot at Rio Grande Hot Springs trailhead; see Erik Walker's photos on our website, from less than a week earlier, to compare water levels at same place. (Jeff Sartain, courtesy NPS)



Editor's Note: The following photos (below) were taken over the weekend as well. Publisher John Waters and I decided to go down to the Rio Grande and see for ourselves the flooding, or, as the Spanish word for it goes, la inundacion. -Marlys Hersey

At Lajitas Resort, the Rio Grande has swallowed the parking lot, picnic area, and normal launch point (or "put-in") for boat trips through Santa Elena Canyon. (Photo taken evening of Sat., Sept 20). Besides the width of the river and fast-moving current, what struck me as soon as I stepped out of the car was the sound of all that water rushing by.


The golf course at Lajitas Resort is now largely submerged as well. (Sat., 9/21)


We decided to take a raft trip through Boquillas Canyon, in Big Bend National Park, my first time through that section. Even without a low-water trip for reference, it was obvious that the river was engulfing much more than its normal course. On the morning of Sunday, Sept. 21, at about 8:30 a.m., we put in just past the Rio Grande Village RV Campground (flooded), where the river gauge (above) read just above 24 feet.


Getting into the river current seemed a bit daunting....


...though I was spared that responsibility, as Wayne (above) our river guide, a la Big Bend River Tours, rowed the entire 33 miles - in just under 6 hours. Normally, a trip through Boquillas Canyon is a 2-3 day affair - or longer. Along with a much faster current, nearly all possible campsites are submerged.


Look through the trees for a glimpse of BBNP's Rio Grande Village campground, as seen from the river.


A wave train in the river, just across from RGV.


The Barker House at Rio Grande Village.


The small town of Boquillas del Carmen, in Coahuila, Mexico (above and below) appears to be just above the high water line, for now. Since I moved to TX, all of the Class B border crossings have been closed, so, unfortunately, this is the closest I have ever been to the oft-talked about village of our Mexican neighbors just across the river, and it took flooding for me to see it even this close.







Going into Boquillas Canyon...


Normally, this (above) is where the a short trail leads to the mouth of Boquillas Canyon. For now, it appears that much of that trail is submerged. Besides the current flooding, another issue facing us when the river finally recedes: where is the river now? The Rio Grande may occupy a very different channel than it did prior to this month's flooding; former riverfront property may turn out to be part of the river's new course, and new silty banks may reveal themselves where the main river channel used to cut.


While the river itself may not look familiar, the canyon walls are as mind-blowing as ever.




Looking back upriver, with Mexico's Sierra del Carmen range looming in the distance. Lord of the Rings, anyone?


Finding any land on which stop for lunch was tricky. Our guides found this spot, just a bit beyond where the national park's Marufo Vega trail intersects the river.


We had lunch amidst the sharp rocks, spiny and thorny plants galore, and lots of frantic ants. I imagine that with so many critters scrambling for dry land, the animal population density has greatly increased. At several points along the journey, we also saw horses and burros on steep slopes.

Another challenge which faced our guides once we got out of the canyon and the river was able to spread far and wide (forming, as Wayne called it, "Lake Boquillas") was knowing where in the vast expanse of water the real channel lay; it all looked like swiftly flowing water to me, but as Wayne mentioned, if a boater chooses the wrong course, he/she could end up hung up on the tops of submerged trees. One group that followed the wrong channel is reported to have taken their boat out of the river entirley, and had to walk it back upriver for four hours - far enough where they could relaunch and be sure to catch the right channel.


Approaching the (now closed) international bridge at La Linda, Coahuila, MX, a town now abandoned.


La Linda bridge (with barrier to prevent crossings): note all the flotsam (a.k.a. river garbage of all sorts) backed up against the middle of the bridge (above and below). That was another striking thing about the river as is and a real challenge to our guide - all the stuff in the river: branches, rootwads, reeds, weeds that would seem to grab the oars. The most pleasing floater was a big gourd.


Here's where we took out, 33 river miles from the put-in back at RGV. The ride in the air-conditioned van from La Linda back to Terlingua, through Black Gap Wildlife Management Area and Big Bend National Park, with a stop at the Stillwell Store, was an added bonus.