Star struck

But I did not pay attention when shown where the remote for the air-conditioning unit is inside the cave. The nightlight is bouncing off the veins of vermilion crystal embedded in the craggy walls of this manmade cavern, created by blasting open an old cinnabar mining cave. I have the light on because the wall of glass separating me in my king-size bed from the expansive raw desert outside feels inadequate. Who knows what is out there under the starlit sky? I have visions of snakes, wolves, maybe even bears.

I pull the white, fluffy down comforter up to my chin, staring into the blackness outside. I’ve never been a person who liked to camp, but I figured “glamping” sounded like something I could handle. Glamping is a new buzzword, a portmanteau combining glamorous and camping. How rough could it be?

We flew here in one of the more glamorous of general aviation aircraft, a Cirrus SR22, and with a gracious and fun-loving pilot, Brent Pickette, a former corporate pilot and instructor at ATP who worked in the energy industry in Texas. His partner Carmen Vilchez and I lounged in the comfy backseats while AOPA photographer Rebecca Boone took photos of the never-ending desert landscape. Brown, gray, black, and an occasional flash of dark blue from a river were the colors below us, a world light years away from the green, green grass of home in Maryland.

Pickette and Vilchez picked us up in Fredericksburg, Texas, at Gillespie County Airport (T82) in the Texas Hill Country. But the beauty of the hill country quickly morphed into raw desert as we flew the two hours to the couple’s passion project—1,000 acres of star-gazing paradise at an adventure resort in Terlingua, Texas, near Big Bend National Park.

Our cellphones pinged as we skirted around Mexican airspace and then again as we crossed back along Texas. The Cirrus bounced hard several times in turbulence as we crossed the Chisos Mountains. Vilchez and I stopped chatting and giggling long enough to appreciate the changing landscape below us. Boone directed her camera at the runway in front of us. We landed smoothly at Lajitas International Airport (T89), surprised to see an Embraer ERJ 145 taxiing out. Pickette pulled the Cirrus into an open hangar-port where Gary, who lives and works at the airport, greeted us. Our truck was gassed up and ready for us, but we girls needed to run into the terminal for the restrooms.

The heat smacked us in the face as we exited the aircraft, and after the bathroom break, we needed the self-service bottles of water in the terminal. We lingered in the air-conditioned comfort until Pickette had packed our bags into the back of his truck and signaled we were ready to go. (We did allow our gentlemanly pilot a break himself and a bottle or two of water; we aren’t monsters.) Piled into the truck, the tires kicked up the desert dust and we headed across this Mars-like landscape to The Summit at Big Bend.

The Summit

Pickette and his friend Ian Vollers purchased the 1,000 acres of private land between Terlingua and Lajitas on Farm-to-Market Road 170 in 2021. The entrance to their resort project, The Summit, is across the road from the airport. Getting here by car from Dallas would be an eight-hour-plus drive. The airplane, as usual, is a magic carpet ride to this other-worldly landscape. Besides the raw desert landscape, what makes this area look like we’ve landed on Mars are the 25 or so geodesic dome structures on the property. Spaced out around Tres Cuevas Mountain (where my cave is located), these dome structures are the resort’s main accommodations. They are white mounds on the desert floor, some marked by triangular-shape bay windows at the front and diamond-shape windows on the roof. These are the “star-gazing domes” most guests clamor for. The windows provide the remarkable attraction to staying here: views of the spectacular sky. Sunsets that take your breath away, star gazing that humbles you, and worth-waking-up-for views of the Milky Way at 3 a.m. are just a sampling of what guests are rewarded with by staying here.

While my cave experience was phenomenal, down below me in a star-gazing dome is where Boone slept—or in her case, did not sleep. A talented photographer, as you can see from her photos, Boone was also on one of her first assignments for this magazine, and she was taking it seriously. She did not want to miss a moment, so she slept only an hour or so before waking to watch the stars come out and capture photos of the Milky Way. She also did not have the luxury I had in my cave—she had to use the outdoor bath house on the property. (The Summit has since added dome rooms with baths.)

Of course, I was up on the mountain shivering and doubting the strength of the floor-to-ceiling thick glass door against suspected critters so I closed the curtains, added an extra blanket, and snuggled comfortably into the plush mattress for a lovely night’s sleep. Under a double-head rain shower the next morning I marveled at the glistening natural cave walls no interior decorator could duplicate and appreciated the luxurious touches of hefty bath towels and thoughtful bath products; thank you Vilchez! (It’s Vilchez’s touches of luxury around the property that truly enhance the experience.)

“We created a very serene atmosphere. I wanted it to feel like you’ve stepped into a spa,” said Vilchez. “It’s a contrast to the rough outdoors but uses the color of the natural surroundings.”

I brewed a Nespresso and flung open the curtains to a view only a master could create. Vilchez met me on the cliffside where Adirondack chairs circled a fire pit and overlooked the domes and the natural beauty of the canyons, limestone monoliths, and fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert. Cactus flowers in bright orange and deep yellow peek out from rocky outcrops and cottonwoods whisper in the wind. Big Bend is named for the bend in the Rio Grande, which is a natural border between the United States and Mexico. Vilchez and I watch as Pickette starts his morning hike on one of the many trails surrounding the property. He is soon lost from sight in the rock formations and towering cacti.

If you have the pleasure of being a guest at The Summit, there’s a lot to do or a lot not to do. You can raft the Rio Grande, hike the many trails, and four-wheel it through the mountains. Or you can quietly observe the natural surroundings and immense silence.

“I enjoy rafting the Rio Grande, and it’s really fun to be on the river and see the sheer cliffs all around you,” said Pickette. “But I also love hiking the trails around us. In just a moment you can be completely alone. It’s quiet and peaceful; a contrast to our city lives.”

The mayor of Lajitas

We need to find breakfast, and it’s surprising how many options there are in Lajitas and the ghost town of Terlingua, a former mining town. In fact, The Summit website has an entertaining video that explores the many restaurants and cafes there actually are in this dusty little town. But on the way to one of Pickette’s favorites, Espresso y Poco Mas, in his truck, we stop at the Lajitas General Store, which sells everything from bread and milk to local hot sauces, T-shirts, and souvenirs. Boone buys a T-shirt, I buy some hot sauce that I’ll give to my brother when I get home. He’s one of those people who rates and collects hot sauces. I am assured Yellowbird is going to be hot enough for him.

When we get back outside Pickette is by his truck acting odd. He’s practically bouncing on his feet. “Come on, I want you to meet the mayor of Lajitas!” he says. I don’t understand why the mayor would be out on the road in this heat nor why Pickette is finding this so amusing until we stop at a goat pen beside which reads a sign “World Famous Clay Henry Mayor of Lajitas.” This, however, is Clay Henry IV, a great grandson to the first Clay Henry, a beer-drinking goat who was elected mayor in the 1980s, campaigning on the slogan “You just have to give a darn.” The original Clay Henry was shot and killed in a romantic dispute at the ripe old goat age of 23 and is immortalized—stuffed—and displayed at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua. We do not have beer for this mayor who shares the pen with a lady friend, but we offer some grain from an automatic feeder. Pickette is delighted.

After a substantial Tex-Mex breakfast of burritos and salsa, we tour the area, especially enjoying the ghost town that is Terlingua and its cemetery. We stop at the 20,000-acre Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa (everything really is bigger in Texas; the Embraer 145 we saw earlier brings guests into that resort), and Pickette is supremely disappointed that the resident roadrunner is not on the grounds. (Later he sends me a text photo of the roadrunner; it looks nothing like Wile E. Coyote’s nemesis. Beep beep.)

Guest experience

“I’d heard a lot about the Big Bend National Forest but never really understood the appeal of the desert area,” said Pickette. “Now I get it, and being able to fly here is great. We use the airplane as a tool; we carry a lot of stuff out here. General aviation has really helped make this place.”

He enjoys the challenges of flying in the area, although his personal minimums mean he never takes risks. “It’s not like flying sea level in Houston or Dallas. There are 8,000-foot-tall mountains surrounding us here and it gets pretty windy. But there’s plenty of runway and I can divert to Alpine or Marfa, but I’ve never had to.”

Lajitas Airport’s Runway 7/25 is 6,501 feet long and 100 feet wide. It has fuel available. Instrument approaches are at Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (E38) and Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF). Big Bend Ranch State Park Airport (3T9) has a 5,500-foot-long paved runway. Most pilots will use Terrell County Airport (6R6) as a fix so as to not violate Mexican airspace. The Summit offers two crew cars at the airport and there are jeep rentals in town (bigbendjeeps.com).

In addition to the variety of domes and the two cave hotel rooms, there is a ranch house that sleeps six and a casita that sleeps four. Both homes have full kitchens. “If you are a foodie, you can bring your own. We have outdoor kitchen areas with sinks and propane grills, and each dome and cave room has a firepit with a grill cover so you can cook yourself,” said Vilchez. Each room has a refrigerator stocked with water and beer.

“These are the darkest skies in the lower 48. We invite you to come be bathed in the stars.”

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