Big Bend National Park Offers A Drastic Change From Vistas This Easterner is Accustomed To Seeing

It's not easy to get to Big Bend National Park. Located in the crook of Rio Grande River in West Texas where the river turns from a southeast to a northeastern direction, the park promises spectacular vistas, river canyons, and desert plants. But it's a 225-mile drive from Midland-Odessa and 325 miles from El Paso, the closest airports, so no one goes there on a whim.