One place my family and I kept going back to was the Big Bend of Texas , a rural and beautiful paradise in the Chihuahuan Desert where , back in the 1800s , my family ’ s roots ran deep .
While many members of my family are from the Big Bend , my cousin Ivie Pool Avery is from Marfa . She grew up working cattle on the largest ranches west of the Pecos before the ranches began to split up . She and her husband also resided in and provided horse tours to visitors of the Chisos Basin in Big Bend National Park , during an era of being able to legally cross the international border to and from Mexico at any time . “ Never would I have imagined that the Big Bend would change so drastically ,” she explicated . “ Bill and I eventually realized we were at the end of an era . We were naive that one day the huge ranches we worked on would eventually be broken up , we didn ' t know the horseback riding would be discontinued , we didn ' t know people would start moving to this area from all over the world - we realized we were not the only ones who loved the desert . If anyone loved the desert , it was Bill and I - We LOVED it .” Ivie
and Bill both graduated in Marathon , while Bill ’ s family occupied the Rosillos Mountains . They have been married for 46 years and now live in Barnhart . They think about the desert every day .
When Ivie and Bill were growing up in the 60s , Big Bend was just then finding its new identity , transforming from a desolate territory to a worldwide destination for outdoorsmen . “ The
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Cenizo Spring 2022