EL Camino del Rio...

When our campground host saw that Jeff & I were in Texas to cycle he told us we had to ride the "El Camino del Rio, the river road" which is actually Hwy 170 from Presidio to Lajitas. It is listed as a scenic drive with many sharp curves and steep grades including one at 15%, the kind of ride a we really enjoy so of course we had to take it in. On our way south we passed through the Presidio County seat, Marfa, and stopped to look at the 1886 courthouse.I thought the dome was especially beautiful.
Heading further south we passed the ghost town of Shafter which was virtually abandoned when the local silver mine closed down. I didn't stop to take photos of the ruins or the heavy equipment in town to reopen the mine but thought Abe Lincoln's profile on the hillside was blog worthy :)
Finally we made it down to the river road and enjoyed views like this...
and this as the road curved alongside the Rio Grande.
In some areas the rock formations were more tan than gray...

and this area of the desert had an abundance of pink cactus.
We enjoyed the curves through canyons...
almost always keeping the river in view.
Do you recognize this old west town?
It is an old movie set built in 1985 for the movie, Uphill all the Way, starring Roy Clark, Mel Tilis, and Burl Ives. Since then 8 more movies have been made here: 1993 - Rio Diablo, 1994 - Gambler V: Playing for Keeps, 1995 - Streets of Laredo, 1995 - My Maria (1996 music video of the year), 1996 - Dead Man's Walk and in 2000 - The Journeyman. This set is now part of the Big Bend State Park.


After the river portion of the road ends at Lajitas the hwy continues on to the west end of Big Bend National Park and the small town of Study Butte.
I took J's photo before I learned it was pronounced "Stew-dee Boo-ute" :)