The Nate-ure Report Big Bend: Tracking the Rio Grande through Santa Elena Canyon

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas - To the city of El Paso, the Rio Grande is just a mirage. But to the Rio Grande, El Paso is probably just the same.

If you look deeper down the river, specifically 300 miles down the international line, takes you to a one of the most beautiful places that North America has to offer: Big Bend National Park.

“This is sort of the last frontier ion the lower 48. Not a lot of people out here. Probably about one person for every square mile," says Greg Henington, owner of Far Flung Outdoor Center at Big Bend.

For over 30 years, Henington has called the Big Bend area home and organizes guided river trips on the Rio Grande along the US/Mexico Border.

Known for it's vast canyons and breathtaking scenery, Big Bend National Park sits in the southwest corner of Texas about a five-hour trip from El Paso.

But ironically, the same Rio Grande that is sided by border fencing in El Paso, is not that at Big Bend.

"This is a natural barrier," says Henington of the border at Big bend. "We thought it was silly to build walls out here, we already have walls. It’s called a canyon."

"It’s sort of a cultural experience, people don’t realize that the Rio Grande is not that wide.” 

With it's nature to change based on water levels, the Rio Grande at Big Bend represents the most flexible international border in the United States.

“The water level changes, so if we get floods it’ll erode one bank or the other," says Henington of the ever-changing border line. "And so at any given time the river’s taking a piece of Texas or a piece of Mexico. And over the years its tended to favor Texas, but that’s just however the flows are.” 

For 196 miles, the Rio Grande knifes through Big Bend’s and expansion, as one of the most protected transboundary protected areas in North America.  

Within the National Park, the river's 20-mile stretch covering Santa Elena Canyon presents some of the most breathtaking scenics in the United States National Park Service.

Accessible by river-trip, Santa Elena's biggest attraction is its 1,500-foot canyon walls, split apart by the flowing Rio Grande.

Henington's river-tour company offers year-round guided overnight river trips for individuals, couples, and families of all ages.

"Come in on the morning of the first day and go spend a couple of nights on the river. A 3 day two night trip is what we recommend,"' says Henington of Far Flung's river tours.

With fall and spring considered "peak season" for river travel, it presents the opportunity to take in a true American beauty at Big Bend.

"Its a great way to take the watch off, escape. There’s canyons that are anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 feet deep.” 

In the latest edition of "The Nate-ure Report: Big Bend," ABC-7's Nate Ryan spends a day on the river, discovering the natural beauty just 300 miles downstream from El Paso. Watch the attached video for the full report.