Landscape

Big and Blue

The biggest feature of the ephemeral spring in Texas is the Bluebonnet. Bluebonnet is a common name given to any species of Lupines that grow in the southwestern United States, particularly in Texas. A spur of the moment decision to visit Big Bend National Park having been made, I was very fortunate to find of accommodation close to the Big Bend National Park. There was nothing available even 2 hours away because of Spring Break for most schools in the state.

On this day, Nayana and I left fairly early in the morning into the park for a rather late sunrise, 8:07am. We were driving by looking for places to shoot when I noticed another photographer had set up his tripod. I looked back toward where he was pointed and it was obvious that he had the Mule Ears Peaks in his frame. Big Bend has a variety of shapes, sizes and colors not only for its flowers but also the peaks that dot the terrain in every direction.

I pulled over and exchanged greetings with the very friendly gentleman. It turned out we both knew each other through our photography circles. So, I got to meet Robert “Bobby” Hensley several hundred miles from home. Nayana went about her stuff finding her own compositions while I tried to find something that would capture the grandeur of the Big Bend Bluebonnet, also called Chisos Bluebonnet blooming all over the sides of the hills and out in front of me in the valley. This was the first time I have seen the tall, dark and handsome Lupinus havardii. At 4 feet tall in some places, it is much bigger than the Lupinus texensis which we see commonly. I noticed that the rather stately Chisos Bluebonnet is also darker in color and has more purple as opposed to bluebonnets we normally get to enjoy.

If there was any regret this morning, it was that the sky was overcast and the sun broke through the clouds only very briefly. On the other hand, the overcast diffused light conditions also brought out the special color of the State Flower of Texas.

The Big Bend area is beautiful. It is a shame it took me 27 years to visit. I can only justify by stating the obvious. It is so far away it could be another country. The terrain is different, the vegetation different, the people, well they are different as well. One has to just visit Terlingua. I might have lucked out on visiting Big Bend during one of its best bloom seasons. One thing for sure, I will be back.

Big BendBig Bend National ParkBluebonnetNPSNPS100National Park ServiceSpringTexasbeautifulflowerflowersgreenerymountainpeaksstatetourismwildflower