Two hours from the closest stoplight, the Rio Grande runs through rugged canyons under the darkest skies in the Lower 48 states, carving cliffs that drop 1,500 feet below the desert floor of the beautifully desolate Big Bend National Park. The few who call the region home feel a unique bond to the land. In their eyes, it’s the kind of natural barrier that steel cannot supplement. It’s one reason why the Big Bend has so far been spared from the bulldozer crews that come with new stretches of