04/04/2025
Everything is story.
Whether it’s passed down, lived & shared, or told through photos. Stories make us time travelers, enabling us to cross cultures and generations so we can connect with people we don’t know and feel a little closer to the folks that have come before us.
I’ve helped document many love stories here in West Texas, but Mandy & Chris’s wedding in Big Bend National Park is a story I am especially honored to have been a part of.
If you’ve spent any amount of time learning about the cowboy history of West Texas, you’ll know the name Apache Adams. He’s an iconic Texas cowboy; growing up on the Rio Grande, first in a cave and then in a tent while his parent’s built their house on their ranch, he was riding horses before he could walk. There are many stories of his ranching experiences and adventures in the region, and two of my favorites are that he roped a mountain lion and a bear during his time cowboying in Big Bend.
On Wednesday, his grandson got married in the national park. A nod not only to his deep personal love of the region, but all the generations before him that called this place home. I joked all day that I was hanging out with West Texas royalty — but it did seem like Big Bend felt the same. From sunrise on the Rio Grande, to a cloud-covered ceremony near Mules Ears, and finally one of the haziest, glowiest sunsets I’ve ever seen at Sotol Vista, I told him I thought the glorious day we spent felt in a way like a homecoming, like the land recognized him through his grandfather’s legacy.
It was an honor to bear witness to the next chapter of his family’s legacy in the region, and so special to spend time with folks who know in their bones how incredible this corner of Texas really is.
[ Check out their Wedding Day Previews Below ]
Apache Adams grandson carried on his family legacy by getting married in Big Bend National Park.
