What is it about Big Bend?

“According to Apache legend, after creating the universe, the Great Spirit tossed a large pile of leftover boulders and debris on the Big Bend.”

“Oh, so you’ve been to Big Bend . . .”

Yes. I’ve been so many times that I have lost count. I was married in Marathon, Texas, about 70 miles north of the ranger station. When I die, it is where I want my ashes spread.

Poster by Doug Leen and Brian Maebius done in the style of the WPA posters of the 1930's.
Poster by Doug Leen and Brian Maebius done in the style of the WPA posters of the 1930’s. Available through the Big Bend Natural History Association.

What is it about the Big Bend?

The park’s name comes from the 100 mile long big bend in the Rio Grande river that forms the Texas-Chihuahua-Coahuila border. At over 1,250 square miles, Big Bend is approximately the size of Rhode Island. It’s so remote that it remains the least visited of the National Parks in the United States.

I went the first time in the summer of 1993, when a dear friend from the Netherlands came to spend the summer with me. I wanted to show him a big western landscape, and I didn’t have the money to fly us out to Utah or to the Grand Canyon. Texas Monthly magazine ran an article about the Big Bend a month before my friend arrived. I was transfixed. Here was this amazing, wild space — that I had never considered — in easy driving distance from Houston. Okay, perhaps not easy. But we could get there in one long day’s drive.

I have been visiting Big Bend for twenty three years now, and I really have lost count of how many times I’ve been.

Why do I keep going?

Vast open spaces speak to me. Sky and the rocky terrain take turns dominating. The wind blows a rushing,”Shush Ssh, Ssshhhh Ssshhh,” through the needles of the juniper and pinyon pine of the Chisos mountains. I travel on the wind, up and over peaks, then fall back towards the desert floor. A cactus wren perches on a prickly pear pad and tells of the glory of the day in liquid song. Peregrine falcons call, their voices bouncing back and forth, down the walls of the canyon to mingle with the water flowing around boulders. I hear thoughts. I see time. I feel eternity. God, in all mystery — resides here.

Rosillos Mountains by James Evans
Rosillos Mountains by James Evans.

James Houston Evans has devoted his life to capturing the landscape and the people of this part of Texas. His photography is extraordinary. Sometimes grand. Often intimate. Time and true understanding of his subject make him the visual expert on this corner of the world. If you visit the Evans website, you’ll be rewarded with a wonderful collection of images. It was James Evans’ work that drew me to this wild place. His photographs in a Texas Monthly article compelled my first visit in 1993. He photographed my first wedding in 1997.

“I moved here in 1988 to dedicate my life to the Big Bend and its people. I don’t shoot pictures and leave and make a book. This work is a slow accumulation of years of being here. The mountains are familiar friends and the people my heroes. I am one of them.”

— James Evans

Link to Camping by myself in Big Bend.

Three Distinct Ecosystems and an Extraordinary Birding Area

The area along the Rio Grande, the desert, and the high alpine forest in the Chisos mountains attract many different kinds of birds. Over 450 species have been documented in the park. Because Big Bend is on the central flyway of North America, over the course of a year it is possible to see nearly 2/3 of all the birds found within the continental United States.

National Park video on the birds of the Big Bend.

Road into the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend
Road into the Chisos Mountains. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

When To Visit

The most popular time to visit the park is during the spring, when milder temperatures and flowers are the big draw. Wildflowers and blooming cactus bring rich color to the rocky desert. The two main blooming seasons are in the spring and late summer. Wildflowers begin in the lower elevations of the park near the Rio Grande in late February and continue gradually up into the higher elevations near the Chisos mountains, finishing in late April. If you want to visit in the spring, you must make lodging arrangements well ahead of time.

Prickly Pear blooms
Prickly Pear blooms. Photograph by Kevin Gassiot.

Flowers in the desert are beautiful, but during the spring people often miss the architecture – the bones of the landscape — as they are drawn to the bright colors. I love other times of the year equally well, and the huge bonus is that the park is not crowded. In the summer, the century plants bloom and and attract hummingbirds during the day and nectar-feeding bats at night. While it is very hot on the desert floor in the summer, since the Chisos mountains are from 5,300 to 7,825 feet above sea level, it is much cooler there. An early in the morning hike is in order, before relaxing during the hottest part of the day, then get back out for incredible sunsets. Often the summer heat creates massive thunderhead clouds in the afternoon, and if you’re lucky — you get a desert thunderstorm (seen James Evans’s photo below).

The winter in Big Bend is a lovely time of the year. Birds from the frozen north visit, choosing the water along the river, desert arroyos, or pines in the high elevations.

I’ve spent half of my life returning to the Big Bend, and I love taking people along. Care to join me?

Storm from Dugout Wells by James Evans
Storm from Dugout Wells by James Evans.

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Along the Ross Maxwell Drive in Big Bend
Along the Ross Maxwell Drive in Big Bend. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

 


 

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**** Opening quote at beginning of article is from:

Jameson, J. R. (1996). The story of Big Bend National Park. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Ann Fisher

Ann Fisher

Writer, traveler, and cancer fighter. Get out there and live life!

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21 thoughts on “What is it about Big Bend?

  1. kayla March 19, 2017 at 10:00 pm

    Beautiful photos! I’ve actually never visited Big Bend in the spring but would love to – it’s always been late summer, early fall for my visits. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Ann March 20, 2017 at 5:51 am

      Kayla, I don’t think there is a bad time to visit Big Bend. I see different things each time of the year — I love the blooming century plants in the summer.

      Reply
      1. kayla March 20, 2017 at 10:01 am

        Oh yes! Century plants were something new and magical to me when I first moved to West Texas. Last year we had several around town bloom. You are right, though. Each time I’ve gone it’s been a beauty. I’d just love to see the first spring wild flowers and cacti blooms! 🙂

        Reply
        1. Ann March 20, 2017 at 4:06 pm

          I love them — particularly when they bloom and have hummingbirds, bats, and moths that visit the flowers.

          Reply
  2. Michelle Malone March 19, 2017 at 9:56 am

    Such beautiful imagery, Ann…you paint a breath-taking picture of God’s landscape. I’ve always been intrigued by the desert’s beauty — even as 20 year old stationed at Edwards Air Force Base. Love this post…just followed you.

    Reply
    1. Ann March 20, 2017 at 5:50 am

      Michelle, thank you — but I want to be sure to point out that the two amazing images belong to James Evans, whose work I respect SO much.

      I do love Big Bend. Honestly, I love all big open spaces with interesting mountains. I just came back from Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, and had that same transcendental, close to God feeling. I’m making a second visit in April to take more photographs.

      Reply
      1. Michelle Malone March 20, 2017 at 7:58 pm

        I was referring to your words when I complimented you on the beautiful imagery. 😀

        Reply
        1. Ann March 24, 2017 at 6:50 am

          :-). Thank you.

          Reply
  3. dray0308 March 19, 2017 at 7:56 am

    Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often and commented:
    Ann Cavitt Fisher!

    (comment disabled here, please visit original page)

    Reply
    1. Ann March 20, 2017 at 5:52 am

      As always, thank you, Danny!

      Reply
      1. dray0308 March 21, 2017 at 12:57 pm

        You are welcome!

        Reply
  4. Celebrating My Blogversary! – Part 2 | Our Traveling Blog November 22, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    […] being alive. She looks like she is enjoying life in the picture above of her at Castolon, in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Look forward to following her this summer as she plans to head to Poland. Safe travels Ann. […]

    Reply
  5. Ann January 31, 2016 at 8:54 pm Reply
  6. the dune mouse January 31, 2016 at 8:54 pm

    stunning images, beautiful thoughts- to feel eternity!! I love the sepia storm!

    Reply
    1. Ann January 31, 2016 at 8:58 pm

      It’s James Evans — God, what work — if you haven’t done it, go to his site: http://www.jameshevans.com/ — he has so very many images up. Try Landscapes if you’d like more like that cloud.

      Reply
      1. the dune mouse January 31, 2016 at 11:28 pm

        wonderful!

        Reply
  7. Peter Harvard January 31, 2016 at 5:58 pm

    Ann, I first heard about Big Bend NP from Dr. Dennis Paulson when we were on the design team for the Woodland Park Zoo Master Plan, here in Seattle. Thanks for “taking” me there with you.

    Reply
    1. Ann January 31, 2016 at 8:55 pm

      It’s a part of me, Peter, in a way that my family really doesn’t understand.

      Reply
      1. Peter Harvard February 2, 2016 at 9:18 pm

        Some of your family does…

        Reply
  8. ralietravels January 31, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    We are not birders but I had binoculars with me in Big Bend. Everytime I paused to look at something, people would crowd around to see what bird I spotted — we had not planned it, but were there during migration. Having four wheel drive, we later went off just a little ways and were all alone.

    Reply
    1. Ann January 31, 2016 at 5:45 pm

      Big Bend has turned me into more of a birder than I ever would have been. I always have a guide with me, though often I use my telephoto lens on the camera, rather than binoculars, to try to get a closer look.

      Reply

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