After seeing some of the pictures of Tim McKenna taken at Big Bend National Park during this year’s Bluebonnet super bloom, I knew I needed to go. I quickly reserved a cabin in Terlingua and left after work a couple of days later.

That week, I decided to invite anyone from my photography group on Facebook if they wanted to go on this grueling trek across the great State of Texas. One person answered the call, so Betty Gaw went with me.

Betty and I set out after work on a Thursday and arrived 11 hours later at Big Bend National Park. The both of us were just stoked to be there and get some images of the beauty that awaited our arrival. The first night, we shot all night long and into the next day past lunch. It was so much fun, but by late afternoon, we needed a nap.

After 6 hours of sleep, we sprang out to the car to get another great night of astrophotography and shot all the way through mid-morning. After a couple trips to Alpine, TX, we ended up meeting Tim McKenna for dinner.

Tim McKenna is a salt of the earth kind of guy and he was a lot of fun to hang out with. Tim has some beautiful photography of the Big Bend area and being that he lives out there, he is able to get shots throughout the year. Tim’s motivation for his photography is to share something positive with everyone and he is doing a great job of that.

After dinner, Betty and I got another 6 hours of sleep and headed back to Houston with stops in Castroville, Poteet and Floresville. We got some shots of wildflowers along the road and finally made it back to Houston around 10:30pm.

This trip was at a dizzying pace, but it just makes me want to go back again. The images that I came home with are just phenomenal. I cannot wait to plan another trip… Maybe next year?