After lunch, I walked a short loop trail surrounding one of the few shaded areas in the Dugout Wells park as trees, shrubs, and wildflowers grow around water generated by the windmill (spring.)

There were beautiful wildflowers and even butterflies available for photos.

Across the road was the short .5 easy trail, the Chihuahuan Desert Nature trail.

This short loop winds through vegetation typical of lower elevations in the park, and small metal signs along the way introduce plants commonly found in the Chihuahuan Desert. Cactus blooms and desert and mountain landscapes were quite beautiful.

Our final stop of the day was at the Rio Grande Village Visitor Center where we hiked the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail.

The trailhead was across the campground road, and parking for hikers was at least a quarter mile away! The first part of the trail is a boardwalk over a small pond that showcases riparian plants and animals. The trail proceeds up and around a small ridge that has a 360-degree view of the Rio Grande, the Sierra del Carmens in Mexico, and the Chisos Mountains in the park. It was a landscape photographer’s paradise.

We finished up the day at a natural hot springs that was on the edge of the Rio Grande River.

The paved road turns off onto Hot Springs Road, a two-mile gravel road descending down a rough, narrow wash to the Hot Springs Historic District and trailhead area. This road was ROUGH! After parking at the the 0.25 mile trail to the hot spring. The spring is contained by the foundation remains of J.O. Langford’s bathhouse ruins, on the north bank of the Rio Grande The ruins structure could comfortably hold about a dozen people at a time.  The water temperature was around 105°.  Overflow from the structure fell into the river and the water there was probably in the 80°s.  We didn’t take any photos at the spring as it was very crowded and sandy. These photos were borrowed from internet files.