This morning we headed for Big Bend. We could have stopped at a couple of points of interest along the way, like Judge Roy Beans saloon, but we wanted to get into camp early enough to explore before it got dark. Big Bend has four campgrounds. One is on a mountain road and you can’t drive anything over 24 feet long, one has no hookups and will not allow any generators, one is a full hookup (we found out later it is basically a parking lot) and the campground we chose has no hookups but will allow folks to run generators. We were concerned about running a generator because we intend to stay as long as 7 days and know we will need to charge our batteries during our stay. According to the campground host, there are only 15 campers here right now and it holds 100. Very quiet and peaceful.
The Rio Grande River is just a short walk from the campground. It’s not a really impressive river as far as width but it appears to be deep and runs really fast. Along the path to the river we spotted several colorful beaded craft items and intricately painted walking sticks. Mexican Nationals will place these items there so that people will buy them by dropping money in a jar. We were warned that Mexican Nationals are here illegally and are subject to arrest and deportation if caught and the items purchased illegally will be considered contraband and seized (if you are caught with them).
After supper I stepped out to take our trash to the dumpster and the dark night sky was amazing! I felt wrapped in a blanket with the dark, starry sky pressing down on me. There is absolutely no light pollution in this park so the stars literally explode into your vision! Big Bend has been certified by the International Dark-Sky Association as a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park. It has the darkest skies and lowest level of light pollution in the lower 48 states.
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