In November 2022, Big Bend National Park topped National Geographic’s Best of the World Travel List. Located in the vast Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend also boasts the darkest night skies in the nation. It’s one of the places that affirms “the stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.”

In 2018, my wife Cheryl and I purchased the first of our off-grid tracts deep in the heart of Texas. Beckoned by the wide open spaces, distant mesas, deafening silence, and endless skies, we established Dos Arbolitos, our off-grid base camp for solitude and adventure in the Big Bend Valley section of the vast Terlingua Ranch.

One of our dreams for Dos Arbolitos was to host adventures for boys and dads and also for boys without dads. That dream came true three years ago when we hosted our first Big Bend Adventure for boys from fatherless homes in partnership with The Hangar, a Christian nonprofit situated in Brookshire.

The Brookshire community, located west of Houston, has the highest percentage of fatherless homes in the greater Houston area. The Hangar, a ministry of Eyes on Me, exists to mentor, disciple, and serve at-risk youth and their families.

This week, we hosted the third annual Big Bend Adventure for boys (and their mentors) from Brookshire. This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. The adventure is designed to provide opportunities for good conversations between the boys and mentors around the campfire and on the trails.

One of the key things we focus on is teaching the boys that it is better to do life in community with others because alone is dangerous. We teach them the importance of watching out for one another on the trails. And, the work projects we plan can only be accomplished by cooperating and working well with others.

The boys arrived at Dos Arbolitos on Sunday afternoon. The first order of business was pitching tents and setting up their respective campsites. For many of the first-timers, this was the first time they had set up a tent. It was nice to see the older boys teaching the younger boys how it’s done.

James Meredith returned for the third time to serve as camp chef. I don’t know of a better guy to cook for a campout than James. He is a master at cooking on grills, griddles, Dutch ovens, and campfires — and usually uses all of these to prepare a single delicious meal. James is, understandably, a very popular guy on the campout.

On the first night of the adventure, we sat around the campfire and presented the boys with their hiking gear. We gave each boy their own hydration backpack, first aid kit, headlamp and flashlight, survival blanket, whistle, compass, and more. We explained each item and why they are necessary for the adventure — and then used each item as a metaphor to talk about an aspect of their walk with Christ.

After giving the boys their gear, one of the youngest guys on the team sat wide-eyed at all that he had received. He looked at one of the mentors and asked, “Do I have to give all of this back after the hike?” He was blown away to hear that this was now his own personal gear and that he dId not have to return it after the adventure. I don’t think he took off his backpack the whole time we were together.

I invited my friend Joseph Bear, known as Yogi to locals, to do a star party for the boys. Yogi and my Big Bend neighbors Chris and Ken were kind enough to set up one of his large telescopes. Yogi told stories about the night sky. The boys enjoyed looking the moon, planets, and stars. My neighbor Chris took a great pic of the moon through lens of the telescope.

As in previous years, the boys spent two days on day-hikes in Big Bend National Park. This is always an eye-opening, jaw-dropping experience for these boys who live in tough urban settings. The hikes are also an opportunity for mentors to talk about outdoor preparedness and safety and why adventuring alone can be dangerous.

We also set aside one day to do tasks around the property — jobs that can only be done by communicating and cooperating well with others. These included clearing fence line, bracing corner posts for a new section of fencing, addressing some erosion, and adding t-posts for future fencing.

These tasks are hard and require attention to detail and looking out for the guys working beside you. After working on a section of fencing, one boy shared his thoughts around the campfire. “This was one of the hardest things I have ever done,” he said. “And now I know that I can do hard things.” Wow! That is a valuable take-away for a young man.

One of the boys worked beside Ian, one of the mentors. As they cleared brush for a future fence, Ian shared the story of Jesus with Gavin. After a long conversation, Gavin placed his faith in Christ for salvation and was later baptized in the Rio Grande River along with four other boys.

My favorite night was our final night around the campfire. On that night Dennis, the executive director of Eyes On Me, the non-profit that directs the outreach to at-risk homes in Brookshire, asked the boys to affirm one another. The boys then took turns speaking words of encouragement and affirmation to one another. The words spoken were better than food for many of these boys who seldom receive such affirmation.

This Third Annual Big Bend Adventure was so much fun and a huge success. The boys were so appreciative of the opportunity to participate in the adventure and returned home tired but encouraged by their time under the vast Big Bend skies, deep in the heart of Texas.