Excursions in West Texas: Camel-backing Through Time in Big Bend

The Big Bend region of West Texas hosts an intoxicating mixture of history and mystery. From the Marfa Lights to the McDonald Observatory to the vistas of Big Bend National Park, the world opens up in a way that we’re not used to seeing. So it is no surprise that the area is home to an experience unavailable anywhere else in North America: traveling through a unique piece of American history on the back of a camel.

“You’re doing what a camel is meant to do, out in a place that they’re built for,” says Doug Baum, founder and operator of Big Bend Camel Treks. “To appreciate these animals and this unique history, you truly need to be in the context of where a camel is meant to thrive. In that landscape, you gain the greatest appreciation for them. Short of going to North Africa, the Middle East or India, this is the place to do it. And I’m the only guy doing it.”