The road to the Big Bend is long, no matter where you begin, but it shouldn't matter because it leads to one of the most magical places I've ever lived, and believe me you should see it no matter how far you have to drive /1 You have to drive through a lot of oil patch to get here, a land ravaged by the endless pursuit, but the skies eventually open up and the roads get so long you can't see the end and it takes forever to get to whatever you're looking at, every time /2

UPDATE on the #governmentshutdown as it pertains to @BigBendNPS. Per the official statement: "During the government shutdown, Big Bend National Park will remain open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as always". However, overnight camping is prohibited at this time. #visitbigbend For day use at @BigBendNPS you can still hike most trails, scenic drive on most paved and unpaved park roads, cycle, take awesome photos, see the Río Grande, get gas and snacks at park stores, and much more. #bigbendnationalpark

I'm a few days late on this, but I live 10 miles from the border in the Big Bend and I spend a lot of time on both sides of the Río. In this thread, I'd like to share some photos I've captured of the beautiful people, landscape, and experience that would be jeopardized by a wall.

https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1075971737597161473

My wife, daughter and I joined a group of friends from Terlingua this week paddling canoes with Santa from Big Bend NP to Boquillas to hand out gifts to every child and a ham for every family. This is the 17th year of this tradition of spreading some cheer to our neighbors in MX