T OYO TA T R A I L S Toyota history ambling across the desert. Why did it take me so long to return? I suspect it was the same reason so few fellow Texans have made this particular journey. It’s a long way from anywhere. Life got in the way. Other opportunities came up. It's not like I had been a workaholic or a couch potato. In the interim, I had made three trips with my old Land Cruiser to the Canyonlands of Utah. The accounts of my first experience graced the pages of this very magazine. But when it came to getting off the beaten path in my own state, "Maybe next year" became an all too familiar refrain. In 2013, my good friend David Aurzada invited me down to his cabin at the base of the Christmas Mountains, which overlook the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. I photographed Dave driving his yellow FJ Cruiser one evening on a ride in those mountains. That shot made the cover of Toyota Trails. It was a great trip but one thing was missing. Instead of bringing my 29-yearold Land Cruiser that I have owned since year one, I drove my Toyota Prius. It was just a quickie trip. No muss. No fuss. No angst about whether or not my FJ60 would make it. Just get down there, see Dave, his cabin and once again, Big Bend. I had such a great time that I already started thinking about getting my Land Cruiser ready for her long overdue trip to the Big Bend area. Dave and our friend Stan Gibson had been talking about their forays into Big Bend Ranch State Park—the “other” Big Bend. Not the famous Big Bend National Park. The State Park caters to sub-cultures that the National Park does not. The State Park caters to four-wheel drive owners, mountain bikers and primitive campers. The National Park caters to hikers, backpackers and birdwatchers. Big Bend is a photographer’s paradise. 22