Texas national park established June 12, 1944

Today marks the establishment of Big Bend National Park, one of the most amazing places I've ever visited. This piece of Chihuahuan desert along the Mexican border enthralled me with its stark beauty and stunning night skies.

My wife and I made the long drive to the Texas Big Bend region in December 2019 to spend time together after my busy travel season that kept us separated much of the year. We arrived with winds howling, and that night temperatures plummeted into the 30s.

We huddled in our mini camper and thought we were going to freeze to death. Honestly, my wife wanted to pack it in.

Thank goodness we stuck it out!

The winds subsided and we enjoyed three wonderful days of exploring the park. We still laugh about that first night and talk about the memories we made there.

And one of the most amazing experiences we had was when we went to the Langford Hot Springs one evening to relax in the springs and watch the Milky Way rise. Big Bend is listed as a Dark Sky Park, and that means you can see every single star in the sky. It's incredible!

After an hour or so of soaking in the hot springs, which is separated from the Rio Grande by a low stone wall, we walked back to my truck and I grabbed my gear to create my favorite Big Bend print — and one of my favorite prints in my entire online gallery.

The Milky Way by this time had moved into the perfect position to frame the old hot springs resort's old post office/store and the palm tree standing nearby. It was the perfect scene. 

I used a small LED panel to light up the store front and tree to create this single-image exposure I titled "Desert Stardust."

I did, however, create more prints during my time there. 

The arid desert was actually alive with vegetation. Cacti and soaptree yucca dotted the landscape, so I searched out compositions to highlight those signs of life in an otherwise harsh land.

And then there was the hallmark Chisos Mountains that protrude from the largely flat landscape and the snaking Rio Grande marking the boundary between the United States and Mexico.

Click here to see the full Big Bend National Park Collection!