Panther Junction to Persimmon Gap; Black Gap Wildlife Management Area; and the Chisos Basin Road
Blog Post
Big Bend region
June 8, 2023
A trip to Southwest Texas
After a lengthy delay due to medical issues, we recently resumed the traveling we had planned since retirement. We have just completed a three-week, 1,483 mile round trip to the Big Bend region of Texas. Stops on the way to Big Bend included Frdericksburg, Texas and Fort Stockton, Texas.
We stayed for 11 days in Terlingua, Texas due to its location half-way between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. The entire region is a Dark Sky region, and both the National Park and the State Park have been designated International Dark Sky Parks.
Even before traveling to either park, the views from the RV Park in Terlingua were impressive:
A "night train" of satellites
Although many nights while we were in Big Bend were cloudy, there were a couple with mostly clear skies. While sitting outside our RV looking at the sky on one of those nights, we unexpectedly saw something we had never before seen: a satellite train.
We noticed a train of bright lights moving across the sky in a straight line. These lights were actually a group of Starlink satellites, a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites being deployed by SpaceX to provide global internet access. Starlink satellites are launched in groups of 60 at a time, and when they first launch, they are arranged in a line. This is done to make it easier for them to reach their final orbit. As the satellites spread out, they become more difficult to see as individual objects. However, if you're lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, you can still see them as a train of lights.
The best time to see a Starlink satellite train is shortly after sunset or before sunrise. This is because the satellites are illuminated by the sun, while the rest of the sky is dark. You can use a satellite tracker to find out when and where to look for a Starlink satellite train.
Here is a YouTube video showing the Starllnk satellite train:
A map of our route:
Because of the distance covered in this trip, we made multiple stops going to and from the Big Bend area. I typically drive 2 to 4 hours, then stop at a State Park or private RV park for 2 to 3 nights in route. Going to Big Bend, we stopped at ArchRay RV Resort in Fredericksbug, Texas (2 nights); Fort Stockton Resort & RV Park in Fort Stockton, Texas (2 nights), then stayed at Raodrunner Travelers in Terlingua, Texas (11 nights).
On our return to Tool, Texas from the Big Bend area we stopped at Sleeping Lady RV Park in Del Rio, Texas (2 nights); Garner State Park in Concan, Texas (3 nights); the Fitz RV Resort in Dripping Springs, Texas (3 nights); and Lake Whitney State Park in Whitney, Texas (2 nights).
For those who are interested in maps, here is one of our travel route:
The upcoming blog posts will cover our visits to Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.
