![](https://i0.wp.com/breathtakebyways.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Big-Bend-cottonwood-nps.gov_.jpg?resize=960%2C414&ssl=1)
Big Bend National Park Cottonwood Campground photo by nps.gov.
Cottonwood campground in Big Bend National Park, Texas, has many usual campground attractions and way more. We watched coyotes trot
![](https://i0.wp.com/breathtakebyways.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CAMP-ROAD-RUNNER-scaled-e1586660130575-300x202.jpg?resize=300%2C202&ssl=1)
Roadrunner, beep beep!
casually across our backyard. Roadrunners scurried a few steps, cranked their tails up and down, scurried, cranked, scurried, cranked.
Then a neighbor alerted us of spectacular nature trail sunsets–and shopping. Not just any shopping, illicit border infiltration shopping!
![](https://i0.wp.com/breathtakebyways.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/DESERT-SALES.-BIG-BEND-scaled-e1586660265581-300x153.jpg?resize=325%2C166&ssl=1)
Goods by Boquillas artisans offered at an overlook.
Before we got to the nature trail to peruse the wares, we discovered another shopping outlet on a scenic overlook. As we took in the view, Steve noticed a man across the Rio Grande who climbed into a boat and rowed our way. The boatman climbed our steep outcrop more easily than I mount our camper steps, and added another souvenir to his display.
![](https://i0.wp.com/breathtakebyways.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Big-Bend-Cottonwood-camp-hipcamp.jpg?resize=315%2C315&ssl=1)
Sunset on the Rio Grande photo by hipcamp.com.
This made me curious: is there some legal dispensation allowing cross-border merchandising visits?
No, according to a visitors center volunteer, the rangers turn a benevolent, but not blind eye. When sellers get too aggressive, park officials confiscate and destroy the painstakingly crafted mementos. The pain is heartfelt on both sides of the border.