Big Bend
Big Bend National Park and the majestic area around it represents the mythos of Texas more than any other part of the state. It is also home to some of the most beautiful vistas the state has to offer, including the Chisos and Chinati mountain ranges and a stretch of the darkest night skies in the continental United States.
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How Big Bend Ranch State Park Earned Its Dark Sky Designation
What does it take to protect the stars of West Texas? A year of persuasion, counting light fixtures, and traversing 315,000 acres under a moonless sky.
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A Love Unearthed
For many years, my grandfather’s work as a paleontologist was remote and obscure to me. Then I discovered our shared awe of West Texas.
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Bloom of the Century
Big Bend roared back to life last year after spring rains unleashed a bounty of ocotillos, bluebonnets, and yuccas. Thankfully, photographer James H. Evans was there to capture it in living color.
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Skip the Scenery and Fly to Big Bend
Why drive one of the state’s best scenic routes when you can pay a few hundred dollars to fly there instead?
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What Is Art?
When Playboy Enterprises—yes, that Playboy Enterprises—erected a forty-foot-tall sculpture near Marfa, it was convinced the town would appreciate its take on the local art scene. Instead it started a revealing debate.
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By the Starlight
You may go for the solitude, but in the stark expanses of far West Texas, you’ll still find plenty of friends.
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Marfa, Filtered through Instagram
Dallas-based photographer Allison V. Smith took over Texas Monthly’s Instagram account during her trip to Marfa this weekend. Here are some highlights from her trip.
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Gentling Cheatgrass
What does it take to break a wild mustang? Patience, horse sense, experience, and if you’re Teryn Lee Muench, no more than one hundred days.
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River Deep, Mountain High
There are any number of fun, adventurous, and unexpected things to do in the Big Bend region of far West Texas. Here are fifteen of my favorites, including scuba diving in Balmorhea, gliding over Marfa, drinking a microbrew in Alpine, horseback riding in Fort Davis, and floating through the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande.
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On the Road Again—Big Bend
South from Alpine to Study Butte, west to Presidio, north to Marfa, and east to Alpine.
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The Last Resort
After telecommunications tycoon Steve Smith bought the Big Bend town of Lajitas on a whim for $4.25 million, he spent perhaps $100 million more developing what was going to be a five-star, world-class getaway. The desert, however, had other ideas.
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The Truth Is Out There
Spoiler alert: The mythic Marfa lights may not be real. But there’s no way to know for sure, and that’s why they’re cool.
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“The Buzz About Marfa Is Just Crazy”
A century after the cowboys and ranchers moved in on the local Apaches, Comanches, and Tejanos, the West Texas town is adjusting to a new breed of excitable invaders: Hollywood fashion arbiters, New York art- world youngsters, Houston superlawyers, and the like. Cappuccino, anyone?
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Big Bend 2002
Whether you want to hike it, raft it, drive it, or all of the above, here’s everything you need to know to get the most out of a trip to Texas’ greatest treasure.
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The Crossing
If U.S. officials put an end to illegal trips across the Rio Grande at Boquillas, the enchanting border town will find itself caught between countries and cultures. Of course, that’s where it has always been.
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Big Bend Made Easy
It may be more than 800,000 acres, but you can easily cut Big Bend down to size. Here’s how.
