Big Bend National Park
It's Grand: Big Bend National Park Is a Spot Worth Singing About
Butch Hancock probably isn't the first singer-songwriter to wind up, 35 years after that first promising album, sleeping under a tarp down by the river.
But he is the first one I've ever watched wake up.
When I crawled out of my tent that chilly morning, he lay a few yards away, flopped near the water's edge, barefaced under the sky. Soon the two of us were lined up with the others for coffee from the camp stove.
We had covered 13 miles of the Rio Grande in our rafts the previous day, then camped at the mouth of a canyon, 400-foot limestone walls suddenly jutting into the sky. After dinner, we circled the campfire -- eight customers, three river guides and Hancock, strumming and singing about "bare footprints on the desert sand" and "blue moonlight on the Rio Grande."
- Login or register to post comments
- Original News Article
Big Bend In Depth
- Big Bend National Park
- Activities at Big Bend
- After Dark in the Park
- At Your Fingertips
- Average Temperature & Rainfall
- Backcountry Regulations
- Before You Visit Big Bend
- Big Bend Rules & Regulations
- Bike Rides Around the Park
- Camping at Big Bend
- Flora & Fauna
- History of Big Bend
- International Boundary
- Javalina
- Just For Kids
- Lodging & Dining
- Only A Day
- Park Safety
- Places to Go in Big Bend
- Planning Your Visit to Big Bend
- River Equipment
- Self Guided Hiking Trails
- Visitor Services
- Walking & Hiking in Big Bend
- Welcome to Big Bend National Park
- Who's Who in the Park
- Animals
- At A Glance
- Camping
- Geology
- History
- In A Nutshell
- Just For Kids
- Lodging & Dining
- Natural World
- Park Regulations & Safety
- Photography
- Plants
- Preservation
- Sights to See
- Things To Do
- Visitor Services
- Walking & Hiking
- Big Bend Map
- Big Bend Photos
- Recent Big Bend News
News from the Parks
December 4, 2008 - 3:10pm
Civil rights leaders gathered Wednesday to declare that they had finally overcome their money obstacles and raised more than $100 million to build the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial near the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall.
December 4, 2008 - 3:08pm
Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildlife biologist Bill Stiver said bear management and education of the public must take place in order to decrease harmful bear and human encounters.
December 4, 2008 - 3:05pm
Shenandoah National Park asked for comments on a study it did on how people affect rock outcrops and the rare vegetation that grows on them. Visitors have damaged some popular rock outcrops and the park is trying to decide how to best protect pristine areas while still allowing visitors to enjoy them.
December 4, 2008 - 3:04pm
D.C. police are warning travelers of street closures near the White House during the afternoon rush hour for the lighting of the National Christmas tree.
December 4, 2008 - 3:01pm
Chronic wasting disease, a contagious neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, could devastate local deer populations, and National Park Service officials want to be prepared if the disease makes its way inside the boundaries of Monocacy and Antietam national battlefields.


