Al Braden Photographer

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Big Bend Landscapes

Old Ore Road

6 galleries

The Old Ore Road on Big Bend's eastern flank is one of my favorites - a lightly traveled high clearance road that opens up to wide vistas of the Chisos Mountains and includes some really great back country campsites. My favorite is Camp de Leon that gives stunning sunset views - and is exactly 500 miles from home in Austin. It provides plenty of peace and quiet as a base for exploring Big Bend.

Here are four photo galleries of my favorite sights along the Old Ore Road.

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  • Old Ore Road
    Old Ore Road
    34 images
    The northern reaches of the Old Ore Road above the Ernst Tinija trailhead make high clearance 4WD and good tires a necessity. This rugged trail traverses some of the most remote regions offer great views of the Chisos Mountains and also access to some of the most remote trails in Big Bend. Photos from the Old Ore Road are often dramatic at sunset as the sky lights up over the Chisos Mountains.
  • McKinney Spring
    McKinney Spring
    10 images
    McKinney Spring is an oasis on the eastern edge of Big Bend National Park. It is the northernmost campsite on the Old Ore Road, almost an hour in along the rough trail. The camp features the spring to the north and views of the Chisos Mountains framed to the south.
  • Ernst Tinaja
    Ernst Tinaja
    26 images
    The Ernst Tinija Trail leads into an amazingly layered canyon that includes several tinijas - or waterholes. They can provide precious water - but also danger to wildlife with their steep sides. The twisted and eroded rock layers show some remarkable geologic history. Following rains, many small pools can remain in the stream bed. The photos in this gallery detail the twisted and tortured rock layers in the Ernst Tinaja Canyon.
  • Sand Paintings
    Sand Paintings
    17 images
    Nature's abstractions line the stream bed in parts of the Ernst Tinaja canyon. These sandstone erosions captured my attention for both color and design. Here are 17 of my favorite sandstone abstractions along the Ernst Tinaja trail.
  • La Noria
    La Noria
    11 images
    La Noria, along the banks of the massive wash of Tornillo Creek, was once a small settlement of subsistence farmers and ranchers. All that remains are foundation stones, rusting iron and the whisper in the desert air.
  • Juan de Leon Gravesite
    Juan de Leon Gravesite
    11 images
    The silent grave of Juan de Leon reminds me of the challenges of life and death in this remote region. His murder in 1932 is still unsolved: https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/historyculture/juan-de-leon.htm We pay homage to him when passing by on the Old Ore Road. Photos of Juan de Leon's gravesite along.