It wasn’t the first time someone named Pancho trotted through Lajitas, Texas. The most famous was Mexican bandit Pancho Villa, as he made forays across the Rio Grande River at Lajitas nearly 100 years ago. But last week the Appaloosa gelding Pancho, one of a string of mounts owned by Lajitas Resort, carried me down the dry bed of Comanche Creek and into one of the most scenic areas of the Southwest.

The River Road or FM 170, between Lajitas and Castolon, has been noted by National Geographic as one of the most scenic highways in North America. Famous Westerns such as 2008 Oscar winners No Country for Old Men and There will be Blood, as well as classics like Giant, All the Pretty Horses, Barbarosa, Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and Paris, Texas, were all filmed near this region in the Chihuahan Desert.

Lajitas Resort, which maintains its own airport, sits at an apex on the Rio Grande between Big Bend National and Big Bend Ranch State Parks. It encompasses the entire town of Lajitas from the original bullet-riddled adobe trading post to the luxury Lajitas Resort and Spa to the world’s only international golf course – there’s a 19th hole across the Rio Grande into Mexico.

For horse lovers, the rugged beauty and breath-taking vistas surrounding Lajitas are best experienced by guided excursions. My own trip culminated with a gourmet dinner served high atop a mesa with a 360-degree view of the Chisos Mountains, lit by the Milky Way. But there are a variety of other daylight and overnight options.

Although Lajitas furnishes mounts, they also accommodate guests’ horses at the Lajitas Equestrian Center, managed by O.K. Estes (pictured). Estes, who has wrangled horses for Hollywood productions, produced horse shows and exhibitions from Las Vegas, NV to Saratoga, NY, and served as a National Cutting Horse Association judge, is assisted by cutting horse competitor Kathy Hoadley.

Two-legged guests who prefer a cozy bed to a bedroll have a variety of options, including the Badlands Hotel, the Cavalry Post Motel, built on the original foundation of General “Black Jack” Pershing’s U.S. Cavalry post, and luxury condos along the Boardwalk

In addition to trail rides and golf, Lajitas offers river rafting; biking and hiking trails; jeep tours; five-stand skeet shooting, and the ultimate “cowboy action” with six-shooters, lever-action rifles, and double barrel shotguns. The Lajitas Hunt Club also offers white-wing dove and blue quail hunting.

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