Desert Camping in Big Bend

Moving back to the west side of Big Bend, we opted for a backroad campsite to be closer to a location we wanted to photograph than one of the three main campgrounds would be.  

Big Bend is one of a handful of parks that offer backroads to explore and there are some campsites along them.  Do understand campsite means a flat patch of gravel in the desert.  No shade.  No table.  Nothing but desert and a flat piece of gravel.  That is going to scare off most.

I like them as you can truly get away from the crowds and they also happen to be near great places to photograph.

The site we chose is one I had never camped at before-Rattlesnake Mountain.  It is a patch of gravel in the desert off the Old Maverick Road.  The small Rattlesnake Mountains are to the west of it.

It is also near some interesting views of the Maverick Badlands.

We set up camp there in overcast sky and watched a sunset.

I was up very early and started photographing the stars and the Milky Way which were peaking out of the cloud cover.  I made several images but then added in the campsite and got the top image here.  As soon as I saw it on the back of the camera I knew I had a good story image for what it is like to camp in Big Bend.