Big Bend and Beyond - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 752

cility also serves as a visitor center for the Big Bend Ranch State Park, a 270,000-acre
desert garden, which is traversed by the drive. With scenery that rivals that of Big Bend
National Park, the park contains—among other types of animals—the smallest and largest
bats in America.
Did you know…
Big Bend Country is named for the great curve of the Rio Grande where it
rounds the southern elbow of Texas.
11. El Camino del Rio
The ruggedness of the terrain traversed by El Camino del Rio (“The River Road”) is un-
derscored by one of the route's early nicknames, Muerte del Burro, meaning “Donkey's
Death.” At times dropping to within yards of the Rio Grande, then winding into the cliffs
above,thishighway—onceaSpanishtrail,laterasmuggler'sroute—isunquestionablyone
of the state's finest scenic drives. Passing beside steep, heavily eroded bluffs and fanci-
fully shaped rock formations, you begin to understand why ancient Native American le-
gend holds that Big Bend Country is the place where the Great Spirit dumped all the rocks
that were left over after he created the world.
12. Fort Leaton State Historic Site
Built in the late 1840s, this adobe-and-wood structure was the private fortress of Ben
Leaton, a trader who ran his empire with such ruthlessness that he earned a host of less-
than-flattering nicknames, including scalp-hunter, desperado, and un mal hombre—“a bad
man.” Overlooking the Rio Grande valley, the restored fort recalls frontier days with ex-
hibits, historic artifacts, and tours.
13. Shafter
At Presidio, the drive veers north on Rte. 67 toward Shafter. Just before you reach town,
look west for the uncanny likeness of Abraham Lincoln's profile on a nearby mountain.
Watchoutaswellfordeerlikepronghorns,whichsporttanfurandadistinctivewhitepatch
on the rump.
Shafter was once dubbed “the richest acre in Texas” because of the millions of dollars'
worth of silver that were extracted from local mines. Today, little remains of the town ex-
ceptcrumblingruins,butveinsofthepreciousmetalstillrunthroughthesurroundinghills.