In the great state of Texas, Big Bend National Park comprises 801,163 acres—about 1,251 square miles. It is named after a feature of the border on which it sits; specifically the “big bend” at which the United States and Mexico met at the Southwestern boundry of Texas.
Big Bend is also in the top 10 of national parks with the least number of annual visitors. The reason? Because Big Bend is a destination and not a thoroughfare. In other words, most other national parks can usually be visited while a traveler is en route to another destination. But the only thing on the other side of Big Bend is the desert of Mexico. Or to put it another way, if you’re going to Big Bend, it’s because are going to Big Bend—and not just passing through.
So, in other words, it is very remote and very out-of-the way.
If you intend to visit Big Bend be prepared for those remote and out-of-the-way conditions. For the unprepared it can be a place of dangerous beauty. It can be days of harsh heat and nights of bitter cold. It can be as dry as the desert of which it is a part and in the next moment filled with flash flooding. To read recommendations on clothing and supplies see the Big Bend 2011 Gallery.
As for this gallery, it is the narrative of photographs captured during a visit to Big Bend in 2012.
