June 2025_Strawberry Moon
**Dear Friends and the people who love Big Bend National Park**
As you may or may not know, there is a plan to demolish and build a new restaurant as well as rebuilding the water infrastucture in the Chisos basin. The proposed cost is 22 million plus dollars for the restaurant and another 20 million plus for the water. The project shuts down the basin and campgrounds for a minimum of two years.
My knee jerk reaction is don’t do it, and so I felt like what I needed to do was explore the details more. So I called Bob Krumenaker, the park superintendant who is the face of this proposal, but not the sole decider.
There has not been much public forum or discussion or opposition about it.
There will be no visitor traffic or basin camping while the construction happens. I was opposed to that, but it make sense. There is potential for accidents.
You can still hike the basin trails, but you would have to start from Blue Creek or Juniper Canyon. A more difficult hike.
The order of things as I understand it would be to deconstruct the building, and start the water line replacement in the campground about the same time. Getting that done first could allow for re-opening the campground while the new building is being built.
Mr. Krumenaker explained to me that the building is beyond repair and we would be spending good money on a bad building, so much so, that it is better to replace it.
A thinking out of the box idea. Level the old restaurant and remove it. Build a pad or site to facilitate a space for food trucks and picnic benches. With some phone calls and coordination you could begin a cycle of five food trucks per week. This would give visitors the opportunity for diverse food every week. The food truck owners would get to spend a week in the park. Best of all, it would not cost very much compared to the 22 million dollar proposal.
Then I think out how difficult that would actually be. Food trucks travelling hundreds of miles, and getting into the basin with only what they have in their truck. They could get supplies in Study Butte if needed, but is it really practical?
The best of idea is to remove all the buildings. No hotel rooms. No restaurant in the basin with the exception of the CC built cottages and employee housing. But is that a possibility? It is nearly impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Aramark corporation, the biggest winner in this reconstruction pays from 2 to 10 percent of their earnings to the park.
The new restaurant has slightly more capacity than the restaurant now, which contributes to one of the main issues that the basin has had since the pandemic, and that is parking. Already one car has to leave before another is admitted. There is no resolution to this at the moment.
What about the wildlife? Every year they close off Casa Grande for nesting Peregrine Falcons and other wildlife. Do we not care about their lives and habitat for a few years?
Maybe closing the basin for a minimum of two years will make visitation drop off dramatically. It may be the quietest time ever until the basin re-opens.
I learned also, that while the funds had been allocated years ago, the Trump administration has everything at a standstill. A construction company has not been acquired. It may be in a holding pattern for a long time. I just heard on the news as I was writing this how the administration is cutting park budgets dramatically.
Park employees work hard, live in basic housing and do not earn a whole lot of money. To take any funds away from them and the national parks seems criminal. In fact If I had my say, I would rebuild the necessary water lines in the basin campground, and spend the rest on employee raises and housing.
Big Bend should remain rugged and difficult. Hotel rooms and restaurants in the park water down the true spirit of the connection humans have with nature. Big Bend should not be easy and not be for everybody. Learning how to the take care of your needs, hiking in a desert, seeing and identifying animals, flowers and sleeping under the stars set up an opportunity to soul search and learn more about the kind of person you are. The majesty of being one with the earth can be achieved here.
No matter how it plays out, it is going to be a difficult time for the park, and surrounding towns.
Rick Lobello, a former park employee has a grass roots organization, that opposes the closing of the basin. You can learn more at www.oneearthonetime.com.
You can also learn what the park is saying: https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/chisos-basin-construction-timelines.htm
**It's Not Dark Yet**
I am working on a series. Digital cameras are extremely sensitive to low light. Film was never that sensitive. I am exploring the differences. I don't know where it is going to lead me, but the title itself from a Bob Dylan song is revealing.
I am proud to say that this image is currently on display at the Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi. I wrote about this image in the April Full Moon. You can access it on my website.