Big Bend – It’s been said that we might spend an abundance of time in west Texas on The Texas Bucket List but with serene landscapes like this, who can blame us! The Chihuahuan Desert is such a beautiful and unique part of our state from Marathon, Alpine, Marfa, Lajitas and Presidio to Terlingua. Any chance we have to tell a story from this vast and gorgeous land is a chance worth taking. And one of the most popular places for people headed out this way is Big Bend. “We are in the center, the heart of Big Bend National Park, one of our country’s most loved national parks,” said Tom Vandenberg.
Tom is the chief of interpretation and visitor services at Big Bend National Park. “I’ve worked for the Park Service for over 25 years, and I love big, wide-open spaces,” he said.
Well then Tom has the perfect office environment. “It is big, it’s wide, it’s open,” said Tom. “It is a mecca for bird watchers and star watchers and people that want to get away from the hustle and bustle and remember what it’s like to be in a quiet place.”
Now the first thing you may notice about visiting Big Bend is the journey getting there. After driving most of the day just to get to the gateway town of Marathon, you then turn south and head 40 miles to the park entrance. After that it’s another 30 miles till you’ll finally make it to the Panther Junction Visitors Center. “It looks different than the rest of Texas,” said Tom. “It looks different than the rest of the United States. There’s really nowhere else that looks like this or feels like this.”
Paleo-Indians first came to Big Bend around 10,000 B.C. and pretty much ruled the place till the Spaniards arrived around the 1600’s. It would take another 200 years before ranchers made their way this far west. “Back then, people didn’t know much about the Wild West or this part of Texas, but eyes started turning toward this area in the late 1800s,” said Tom. “The state of Texas was very interested in setting this aside as some sort of park, and then later became interested in establishing it as a national park. Took about seven years, but the state of Texas raised enough funds to purchase the lands and donate them to the federal government, specifically as Texas’s gift to the nation for the establishment of Big Bend National Park.”
On June 6th, 1944 as D-Day was taking place on the European front, Roosevelt signed a bill authorizing the establishment of Big Bend National Park. “Our president took a few minutes out of a crazy day and his thoughts traveled westward to this beautiful place and Wild West Texas and we’re glad that a lot of forward-thinking people worked hard to get this area established,” said Tom.
A prime example of the Chihuahuan desert ecosystem, you’ll find buttes, mesas, mountains and deserts along with over 100 miles of river front on the Rio Grande. And the elevation changes can be extreme. “The park itself encompasses over a vertical mile of elevation, so Emory Peak, the highest point in the park, is almost 8,000 feet and down along the Rio Grande, you’re down below 2000 feet,” said Tom.
So what exactly do people do when they get here? “Amazing and diverse opportunities for recreation and Big Bend has that for sure,” said Tom. “You could backpack for a week in the wilds of Big Bend National Park. Some people don’t want to get that wild and crazy. They want to do some scenic driving. There’s over a hundred miles of paved roads that take you through just an amazing landscapes of the American West.”
One of my favorite things about Big Bend is the night sky. It seems this part of the state must be deep in the heart of Texas because all the stars at night are big and bright. “You’ll hear people talking about night skies and how our night skies are vanishing and people haven’t been able to see the Milky Way,” said Tom. “Of course, you can see that here on any night.”
Another aspect of Big Bend that people don’t really think about is the absolute silence you can find here. The buzz of a horse fly interrupts the sound of a whisking wind like a record scratching on your favorite song. “The absence of human made sounds is becoming harder and harder to find, and Big Bend still retains that,” said Tom. “There are no airplanes here. You could be here for a week and you will not see an airplane in the sky. You won’t hear a propeller or a jet or see a con trail. Just natural soundscapes, natural landscapes. It’s got to be one of the quietest places in the world.”
Of course, in case you need a reminder, there’s not much out here. “So come prepared,” warns Tom. “Have what you need. Be prepared for sun. Be prepared for a little bit of anything. Good hiking shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses, canteens, water bottles, you’re going to need a lot of that here.”
Texans are known for standing tall and the mountains of Big Bend do the same. One of the most beautiful sights in our state and well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “It’s not just desert, it’s not just mountains. It’s not just the river,” said Tom. “It’s not just that we’re surrounded on three sides by a foreign country. There’s just this mystique to the Big Bend country, and when you add all these different things up, they just make up an amazing hole. Definitely something everybody should come and experience.”