Big Bend National Park: Dagger Flat Auto Trail

The last day of my spring break road trip with Zak was mainly a driving day. It was a long eight hours in the car from Terlingua to home. But we made time for one more swing into Big Bend National Park to do the Dagger Flat Auto Trail -- a 14-mile round-trip drive through the Chihuahuan Desert.

There's a little stand at the start of the drive with a 16-page guide that you can get for a dollar donation.  Totally worth it.  The guide corresponds to numbered posts along the route, most of which align with specific flora like this strawberry pitaya.

The drive is named for a unique forest of Giant Dagger Yuccas, which can reach 30 feet in height.  I asked Zak to pose by one to provide some scale.  Then I asked him to look like he was enjoying himself.

As good as the guide is, I couldn't find an ID for this cactus.  I'll e-mail the park and see if a ranger can help.

EDIT: The National Park Service says it's a rainbow cactus.

When you wander off trail a bit -- or off-road, in this case -- you often see stuff that you'd otherwise miss such as this spider web.  I'll also ask for some help identifying who the builder might be.

EDIT: NPS says probably a trap-door spider.

With the Giant Dagger Yuccas being so big and tall, it's fairly easy to position them between yourself and the sun to get nice silhouettes like this ...

... or like this, if you prefer some context.

Yet another image of something I can't positively identify -- a red-flowered yucca, the specific species of which I'm not sure.  Torrey Yucca, perhaps?

EDIT: NPS confirms: Torrey Yucca.

This one I know -- Ocotillo.  Most of the year the plant appears to be nothing but a cluster of thorny stalks like these.  But with adequate rain, they produce bright green leaves that allow for a growth spurt.  When the soil dries, the leaves drop off to conserve moisture.  Nature!

The drive takes about two hours on a narrow, winding dirt road.  And we didn't see another soul the entire time.  A great end to a great trip!