Planning your rafting trip in Big Bend National Park

THE BEST WAY

From LAX, American, Continental, Southwest offer connecting service (change of planes) to Midland, Texas. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $318. From Midland, it’s about a five-hour drive to Terlingua.

HOW TO GET ON THE RIVER

Far Flung Outdoor Center: Terlingua/Study Butte; (800) 839-7238, www.farflungoutdoorcenter.com. Two music trips are scheduled so far this year: Butch Hancock (November dates pending) and singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves (Oct. 24 to 26). Cost is $629 per person, plus tax. The company also offers river trips with stargazing, food and wine themes, and jeep tours.

Other companies that operate in Big Bend include Big Bend River Tours, (800) 545-4240, www.bigbendrivertours.com; and Desert Sports, (888) 989-6900, www.desertsportstx.com, which also offers hiking and mountain biking.

WHERE TO STAY

Big Bend Motor Inn, (800) 848-BEND, www.bigbendmotorinntx. This is an all-purpose operation, with 49 rooms, a cafe and convenience store, an RV park, a campground, a golf course, an additional 37 rooms at the Mission Lodge across the street, and $2 showers for adventurers emerging from the park. Not much atmosphere, but great logistics. Rates $87.15 to $163.45, tax included. (The top price rents a duplex that sleeps six.)

La Posada Milagro, (432) 371-3044, www.laposadamilagro.com. This inn is a reclaimed ghost town building. Four rooms, of which one has a private bath and shower. It’s impractical and overpriced: no TVs or phones, low ceilings. But it’s also so atmospheric that you might consider it for a special occasion. Rates $145 to $210.

WHERE TO EAT

The Starlight Theatre, (432) 371-2326, www.starlighttheatre.com. This reclaimed building is the nerve center of reborn Terlingua. The “theatre” serves dinner from 5 to 10 nightly, with frequent live music. Main dishes $10.95 to $29.95 (for a 20-ounce ribeye steak).

TO LEARN MORE Brewster County Tourism Council, www.visitbigbend.com.