Copper Breaks State Park

This weekend my dog and I got out of town for a night and roughed it. We drove about three and a half hours northwest to Copper Breaks State Park, just south of Quanah, Texas. The park has been on my radar for awhile, mostly due to its designation as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association. After a few weeks of planning and doing a ton of research on astrophotography, of course the weekend I chose to go had terrible weather for stargazing. Taking great photos of the stars involves a great deal of math and most importantly – timing. It’s best to shoot during (or near) a New Moon, which made this weekend ideal. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. I still had a great time and was shocked by how beautiful the park really was. As a South-Louisiana native, the foreignness of red rocks never gets old to me.

I set up camp on a high ridge that overlooks the appropriately named “Big Pond.” Located high up and nestled within the Group Campsite area, this spot offered up some seriously insane views of the surrounding areas.

I waited up most of the night to see if the skies would clear up so I could see some stars, but all I saw was clouds and lightning in the distance. So after a night of barely any sleep and a nice morning rain shower, I set out to get up close and personal with the surroundings.

Even though I didn’t get to see a single star, it was still great to get out of the city and explore a new park. Definitely plan on going back as soon as I can!