Notes from the host
Classic Adobe with Modern Flair
Summary:
Big Bend Getaway: Enjoy comfort, style, and privacy in this Terlingua Ranch vacation home
The Space:
EXTRA FEES MAY APPLY. These might not appear in quote and will be added if applicable.
Dog Fee: $200 for one or two dogs.
No more than two dogs allowed.
This custom adobe vacation rental home is the perfect "getaway" when visiting the Big Bend. Located on 40 acres and at the end of a long drive, the Big Bend Getaway provides seclusion and privacy. Furnished in a western style with modern flair, the house is built for comfort and relaxation indoors and out. Thick adobe walls and efficient heat and air keep it cozy in any type of weather. The large front porch and screened dining porch provide shade from the heat and protection from flying insects. The carport will protect your car from desert sun and storms. The main bedroom has a queen bed and its own AC and heater for a perfect night's sleep. The second bedroom also has a queen bed and is located beside the living room. The kitchen is equipped with everything you would typically need to prepare and serve most meals. Enjoy your meals in the rock floored dining room or on the dining porch. Relax in the comfortable living room, the bedrooms, one of the porches, around the fire circle, or on the double hammock.
We can comfortably lodge four adults on the two queen beds. Dogs are also welcome. If you have a larger group, consider renting multiple homes. Dos Corazones, Crystal Valley, Terlingua Ranch Retreat, Ringtail Cabin, Texas Home, and Desert Aura are all just a short drive away.
We recommend bringing a good book, or select one from our bookshelves, many about Terlingua and the Big Bend region. Just kick back and enjoy the solitude inside or out. Of course, there are lots of other activities to keep your stay busy and exciting. Watch the abundant birds, wildlife, and desert plant life on our twenty acres or as you walk, bike, or drive along the hundreds of miles of dirt and rock roads of the 200,000 acre Terlingua Ranch. Sign in at the Terlingua Ranch Lodge and hike along the remote and breathtaking trails through the Christmas Mountains. Visit Big Bend National Park (just 30 minutes to the west gate) or Big Bend Ranch State Park (just 45 minutes to the Barton Warnock Visitor Center). Enjoy meals, drinks, live music and more at the various restaurants and bars in the area. Sit out at night to watch the stars, tell tall tales, or enjoy a small fire. Drive along some of the most scenic roads in Texas. Raft or canoe down the Rio Grande. Enjoy a guided horseback ride or jeep tour through the rugged west Texas landscape.
With so many options, you can return home as relaxed or exhausted as you choose. Either way, you'll “getaway” from everyday life and bring back countless memories.
The Neighborhood:
TERLINGUA RANCH: Located between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park and including much of the town of Terlingua, Terlingua Ranch is a private subdivision of over 190,000 acres, divided into 9,500 tracts owned by about 5,000 individuals and crisscrossed by 1,100 miles of dirt and rock roads. Tracts range from five acres to several hundred acres. It is some of the most rugged and scenic land in Texas.
Back in the 1960’s, the Ghost Town and much of what later became “Terlingua Ranch” was owned by racing legend and car designer extraordinaire, Carol Shelby and some of his friends. The decided to promote the area by holding a chili cook-off in the then abandoned Ghost Town. That little stunt of a cook-off grew into CASI (Chili Appreciation Society International) which now hosts nearly 500 chili cook-offs around the nation and internationally, all leading up the championship cook-off every year in Terlingua. Shelby and friends later subdivided the Ranch and started selling it off to hunters and rugged naturalists. Over the decades, the area was reborn and an eclectic community of nature lovers, artists, musicians, adventurers, and folks just wanting to escape from “civilization” has grown and started to resettle this rough country.
People have come and gone. New buildings have risen while others have fallen, Dreams have been realized and others crushed. Through it all, the land remains. The harsh desert and vast openness encourages positive development and slowly swallows up and recovers from past abuses. The old cinnabar mine sites and ranching outposts persist as relics and ghost towns, some redeveloped, some carefully preserved, and others dissolving back into the desert. Abandoned dreams eventually become points of interests for those of us that stumble upon them decades later. Terlingua Ranch is a bizarre mix of old and new, good and bad, growth and decline, all completely unregulated. Modern homes with high values and stunning designs stand beside dilapidated do-it-yourself mistakes and abandoned ruins of the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
The landscape is even more varied than the people and the structures. Rugged mountains, deep canyons, wild arroyos, dry and wet creeks, peaceful valleys, breathtaking badlands, moonscape like mud flats, the remains of ancient volcanoes, and fossilized ancient seabeds. All of it nurturing a vast array of plant life and wildlife. Around every corner and over every hill lies new and unexpected surprises.
The Ranch is now home to a few hundred hardy souls. It is also dotted with a diverse array of vacation rental lodging options and campsites. Like the diverse land, they range in quality, style, value, and price. A few are amazing dream destinations. Some are good places to sleep. Others are the stuff of nightmares. (We don’t manage any in the nightmare category.)
Big Bend Vacation Rentals started out in 2007 and initially managed three of the first four vacation rentals in the Terlingua and Terlingua Ranch area. We now manage dozens out of a couple of hundred options. We represent dozens of property owners and have hosted tens of thousands of guests. You can trust us as managers, and you can rely on the properties that we manage. We have become very selective about the properties and the property owners that we add to our portfolio.
Interaction with Guests:
We manage several properties and live several miles away. We are available by phone, text, email, or messaging. We are typically only on site for cleaning or maintenance issues.
