Trip Report Update Big Bend. I took the morning to do a bit of breakfast and then to capture sunrise over Rio Grande Village. The sky was cloudless. But the early morning light helped some otherwise blah photos. After leaving the village area, I decided to drive the Old Ore Road from south to north. I made some short walks from the road….That road is pretty rough in some places but along the way I stopped and visited Ernst Tinaja, Carlotta Tinaja and McKinney Spring. All three stops revealed the presence of water and a gray fox near McKinney Spring. Finally I reached the blacktop again north of Panther Junction. Next I made a slow drive to Study Butte for a shower. Heading over to the Starlight Theater in Terlingua, I grabbed a beer and sat out on the porch with some of the colorful characters who hang out there.
After I headed back to my campsite in the Chisos Basin I had some dinner and watched the sun drop behind the Window to the west. I wanted to get some night sky pictures this week. But the the moon had been full early in the week and rising early. Finally tonight the moonrise wasn’t until about 21:30. So I took the opportunity to take a few quick star photos before all was washed out by a very bright moon. The night sky always delights me. It is a fitting end to every day spent exploring. Summer tends to be the best time for Milky Way photos. Although the air is clearer in the winter, the Milky Way is higher in the sky in the summer.
Enjoy these photos from my November 2012 Trip Report Update Big Bend