I’m the queen of weekend escapes. When I can find $11 flight deals, there is no limit to where I will end up. This was the year I make another dent in my quest to hike in every national park, as Big Bend hits my ticker #51 of 63 total.
This vast skyline as far as the eye can see is that extreme adventure that only the true enthusiast will go out of their way to actually experience. It’s a truly a shame, really. Being a healthy 6 hour drive from the closest international airport, it’s a brutal path just to even get to that all too well known national park welcome sign.
BUT, it is so very worth it!
There is so much peace & insight that can be gained from this rugged backcountry. Actually, there are 4 different visitor centers due to its sheer footprint. Only 1 gas station is within 60 miles & the one sit down diner is located inside it. Besides the two campgrounds within its borders that typically fill up 6 months prior, you will succumb to either primitive campimg or finding a tiny cabin to rent 20 mins away on the outskirts. Minus the threat of any light pollution, this internationally recognized Dark Sky Park makes for some of the absolute best stargazing I have ever witnessed! Multiple galaxies are plainly in this view of the Milky Way.
And I’m admittedly a sunset snob, so it takes a powerful day’s ending to really impress me. The short Window trail overlook appeared to nicely highlight a wonderful valley below upon my late arrival to the center of this park. But little did I know, the heavens would light up like a lollipop unexpectedly during twilight & my mind was seriously blown once again. Definitely a top 5 sunset in my lifetime! And literally every night thereafter, the mountains silhouette dramatically framed the horizon in every shade of the rainbow imaginable. Ranking up with Hawaii, Arizona & Santorini, the sunsets in southwest Texas were over the top mesmerizing!
Most would just see a baron wasteland, but I see stories seeping out of the earth’s crust around every bend. It’s like it is begging for our fellow citizens to venture a little further from their comfort zones & opt outside to experience this remote wonder.
Embrace the quiet!
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