Located on the Rio Grande, which separates Mexico from Texas, Big Bend National Park has nearly everything - desert, mountains, canyons, river, wildlife, big skies, remoteness. And yeah, heat, but dry heat, fortunately. Try 106 degrees in the shade in DC...in southwest Texas, it was almost manageable. Fortunately the shade of the invasive tamarisk was never too far away. It takes 5-6 hours to get to the park from either El Paso in the west or San Antonio in the east. But it's worth it!