Big Bend has my heart. This place is stunning, with great views, good people and such fun energy. Since this is such a small park, I have found that the community here is super welcoming and there’s always events going on if you want to join in.

Burger night was a hit. The beef was super fresh, there was great beer and fun live music. The gentleman had Scottish roots and played some bagpipes in addition to some classic songs!

One of the things I have been loving most about my job is the amount of independence and opportunities for exploring I have been given on the clock. There’s tons of moderate trails within the 3-4 mile range which is perfect for a short hike and getting to talk to visitors. Here are some of the fun places I’ve gotten to explore:

In addition to doing some great trails, we have gotten into the swing of giving programs again! Big Bend is known for its ranching history, and we have a lot of historic homes that visitors can explore and enter. For my program, I decided to give a 1 mile guided walk to the Homer Wilson ranch, talk about his impact on the land and the park. People seemed to enjoy it and it’s always fun to start giving programs at a new place!

In addition to my morning program, I’ve started helping out and learning more about the night sky. One of my plans for this park is to be able to give a constellation talk by the end of the season. Going out with Ranger Jason was a great way to get a taste of the night sky and start learning more constellations and chatting with the public. We had a great turnout of about 85 people which was great!

Speaking of fun group events, one of my colleagues & friend Christy, recently had a birthday, and a group of us went out for a fun off trail hike paralleling Devils Den and exiting out of Dog Canyon. I clocked it right around 7 miles and it was scary but fun to climb some hills, do some scrambling and find artifacts along the way. And I even got to have my fun NPS Boundary moment where the hike took us out of the park briefly, and then we circled back into it! It’s a fun personal moment of pride to enter the park in a more “unconventional” manner.

Christy is the true off-trail adventure mastermind. She grew up near San Antonio, has been coming to Big Bend since she was a kid, and now has worked in the park for the last 5 years. She always suggests the coolest things, and this time it was Bruja Canyon. It was a 7.5 mile hike roundtrip which involved exploring old ranching homes and gravesites, plenty of brush crashing, scrambling over boulders and getting walled out at the mouth of Bruja Canyon, but man was it a blast. It made the 5:30AM departure time so worth it!

As fun as all these hikes and socializing is, it’s always good for me to do some solo things too, such as a overnight camping trip in the backcountry of the park, and hiking more popular trails to some gorgeous pouroffs!

As the holidays rapidly approach, the season is going to ramp up quicker than ever, but I am super excited for more busy days ahead, more adventure and lots of visitors. Until then, Ranger On!