I was looking through my backlog of photos and came across our trip to Big Bend. I was amazed to realize it's almost been a year since we were there. It was way past time to go through them and do some editing and now I'm finally blogging about the crazy whirlwind adventure.

Our first road trip of 2016 was a drive to Big Bend National Park. Originally we'd planned to head over to the Ozark National Forest but a winter storm had moved in and the weather seemed like it would be better farther to the south. Of course with our luck it turned out to be fine in Arkansas and southern Texas was covered in ice. But the middle of December turned out to be the perfect time to visit. So if you're reading this and haven't been to this National Park, plan your trip now! It's the perfect time! 

We took state highways, lots of two lane roads, driving through cattle ranches and oil drilling farms. We stopped at a beautiful abandoned church on the way that turned out to be a favorite part of the whole trip. We love abandoned spots and this is on our list of places to revisit, especially since we'd like to go back to Big Bend and do some hiking.

From Oklahoma City to Big Bend and back it's roughly a twenty hour drive. We only had two days so most of our trip was spent in the car and we only had half a day in the park. It wasn't enough. I'm not sure a week would be enough with 801,163 acres to explore. 

While we were there Darrell picked up a National Park Passport. There are five places to get cancellation stamps in Big Bend by the way, FIVE. This park is huge. And the passport has been with us on every adventure since. If you're a fan of National Park System you need one.

Our second day we got up early and drove toward the park as the sun came up, the plants around us frozen from an overnight storm, the cacti and scrub brush and barbed wire fences frosted. It was magical.The first half of the day was cold and foggy but then the sun came out, changing the landscape completely. The gray day was suddenly blue and bright, the green in the landscape going from muted to vibrant. 

I'm not sure what I was expecting Big Bend to be. Big, I guess, and beautiful. And it was. But this place went beyond beautiful, there were flowers in December and birds and coyotes and lovely deep silences. It was wide and vast and larger than life.