As the saying goes, When in Rome ... staying at BJs RV park was like an immersion experience to living in Terlingua. You feel the history and past of days gone by, with the ghost town of Terlingua and the junk yard behind the RV camping area. Both the town and the junk yard take on a mysterious magical quality in the light at the end of the day. Lots to learn about the history of the place and one great way to learn is to talk with the locals, both in the town and those living in the RV park (temporarily or long term-in addition to those passing through like us). Besides the history of the place, you also learn about the hopes and dreams of the locals - such as the artist cooperative gallery, the RV park manager who hopes to open a cafe / outdoor music spot, and so forth.
The RV sites are all clean and level with electricity, water etc. There’s also a shower house. One note: the wifi doesn’t reach the tent sites (but works fine in RV sites) so we let a young woman traveling alone move her car from her tent site to park overnight on our site so she could use the wifi and check in with her loved ones. We enjoyed sharing some food and conversation with her, as well as meeting other campers and residents.
Terlingua ghost town itself is fun to explore. Many visitors flock to the Starlight Theater (which used to have no roof other than the stars in the sky above). The line to get in is hours long (apparently great menu), but we relished the Frito Pie at the cafe on the side (no wait for that). The art gallery is also worth the visit, and it’s fun to just walk around the ghost town. Of course it’s also a great location for visiting Big Bend NP. We especially loved hiking into Santa Elena Canyon - spectacular.
Terlingua and BJs RV park are hopeful places, with lots of history in a beautiful remote setting that feels like a crossroads in time and place. Really enjoyed it. Would be happy to return.
