Summary:
Ringtail Cabin: Economically Priced Solar Powered Cabin. Easy Access for All Vehicles.
• Small Solar Powered Cabin with Covered Parking
• Most Affordable Big Bend Vacation Rental
• Easy Access for all Vehicles. Near Pavement
• Evaporative Cooler Powered by Solar, No AC
The Space:
MPORTANT DISCLOSURES. PLEASE READ BEFORE BOOKING:
LIMITED AIR COOLING:
-Cooling is provided by an evaporative cooler. Guests expecting inside summertime temps in the low 70’s or wanting to run the evaporative cooler constantly should consider a different property. We would be happy to recommend other lodging options.
SOLAR-POWERED HOME:
-No electronic devices other than those provided or chargers for phones and consumer electronics.
-Absolutely no electric device with heating elements of any type.
-If you rely on medically necessary electronics, we would be happy to recommend a different property.
Ringtail Cabin is small, but it has a full kitchen and large bathroom.
Spend less cash and burn less carbon.
Ringtail Cabin is an ideal vacation rental for budget minded visitors, anyone wanting to conserve fossil fuels, or anyone needing access for a low clearance vehicle or motorcycle.
Don't be fooled by the low price, solar panels, or easy access. This cozy cabin is very well appointed with a full kitchen and comfortable furnishings, the solar system is backed-up by a propane generator, and the nearest neighbor is over a quarter mile away.
Enjoy the mountain views, amazing sunrises, spectacular sunsets, and stunning starry skies from the Ringtail property, or drive into the nearby parks, Terlingua, or the Ghost-Town for all the adventure and entertainment that the Big Bend has to offer.
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. Visit our website at www.BigBendVacations.com.
Interaction with Guests:
We manage several properties and live few miles away. We are available by phone, text, email, or messages through Airbnb. We are typically only on site for cleaning or maintenance issues.
