We are staying at Far Flung Adventures, so all day trips start from there. We're not going to be doing long hikes or camping, so it is just in and out of the park each day. Stop each morning at the Panther Junction Visitor Center to prepare for the day's advenstures. 

1. Day One - visit Chisos Basin and re-visit Castelon (which was closed last year)

2. Day Two - visit Rio Grand Village

3. Day Three - visit Persimmon Gap 

Driving up to the Chisons Basin is amazing since you start in the desert and end up in the mountains in about a half-hour. Plus, there's a restaurant in Chisos Basin, so we had lunch there twice during the week. 

Our first drive was into the park and up to the Panther Junction Visitors Center. We had never made it here on our first trip, because we always went down Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. It is an impressive vistors center, since (I believe) it is the main one for the park. From there, we went to the Chisos Basin Visitors Center for lunch - there is a restaurant, because there are also rooms for rent - one of the places to stay in the park if you left your tent at home. 

While at Chisos Basin, we also did the Windows View Trail - a trail that is designed for people who don't hike. It's very short, it's circular, so you don't have to walk all the way back - you're walking back as soon as you start, and it leads to an amazing vista at the middle of the hike. 

At the end of our "hike", we encountered more wildlife in the park - there were deer feeding behind the restaurant and there was a road runner trying to get a handicapped parking space (see photos.)

The second day was a long day of driving with some sightseeing in-between. We drove to Rio Grande Village, which is the end of the road. As it was April, the visitors center was closed although the store and gas station were open. We didn't go to Mexico - there is a crossing there - but we made it to the end of the road. From there, it was back to Chisos Basin for lunch. From there, it was on to Castelon - another visitor center closed for the season (but the store was open.) The store has everything you need for camping, which means there is very little we needed. From Castelon, we made our way down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to Santa Elena Canyon. This was the center of our first visit, and when we were there with our guide, we went down to the Rio Grande and wandered the river. We weren't that energentic this time - it had been a long day of driving.