A Ghost Town & A Graveyard

Just down the road from Big Bend National Park is the small town of Terlingua. Now mostly a base for tourists who want to explore the national park, it once claimed a booming quicksilver (mercury) mining community; the remains of which can still be found there today.

I hadn’t picked Terlingua as my resting place while exploring Big Bend. It had simply been the cheapest option. At my Boondocker’s stop in Del Rio, the couple asked about my plans, and when I stated where I was staying they told me about the Terlingua Ghost Town and Cemetery. Always curious (and willing to check out something when it’s free) I swung by on my way out of town.

For me, the most interesting part of the Ghost Town was that it was mixed within the main street area, next door to occupied businesses. You could also just walk around (and probably in, but I didn’t). It was a interesting to think how these building had just been left, mostly undisturbed, as the town rebuilt after the mine became unprofitable.

More fascinating was the cemetery connected to the Ghost Town. While marked as a historical landmark, it is a graveyard that still gets families caring for the plots, including full regalia on the Mexican Day of the Dead. No stone angels rise above the simple graves, but crosses, and flowers, and items for those resting there. It is a contrast in old and new.

Little stops like this on my journey keep surprising me. I keep looking forward and onward as I begin my final week in Texas before heading into New Mexico.