Special thanks to Dion Recachina who I met over 30 years ago at a Cooperating Associations Conference for all his help in making this film a reality. We talked about how Big Bend National Park needed a good documentary and without any cost to the park we worked together with park staff to produce this story. Since the film was released the park helped to produce three other documentaries with the most recent ones available through the Big Bend Natural History Association.
The script was a collaborative effort between Dion and his team and the park’s Interpretive Division. I was fortunate to serve as the location director and arranged to take the film crew at no cost to the park through Santa Elena Canyon. I also found a doctor in Fort Stockton with a pet mountain lion, but the most memorable moments happened in a helicopter. Thanks to the Border Patrol sector in Marfa a pilot and helicopter were donated to the park for several hours. Imagine how exciting it was after working in the park since 1975 to be able to tell the pilot where to fly to take the aerial footage.
Thanks to KZfaq and the copyright holder I was able upload this original version of the production to my channel. It was dedicated to the memory of my mother Shirley LoBello.