Big Bend Home & Garden
Far West Texas is one of Earth’s truly extraordinary landscapes, inhabited by equally
unique communities. The climate, flora, and fauna of Big Bend are at the same time
entrancing and austere. It’s a place where “remote” is hardly accurate to describe the
distances. All this, and more, combine to attract and produce the creative, resourceful,
and tenacious people who make home here. Here is a look into some of those homes.
by Kleo Belay
Terlingua Off-Grid:
Zoey and Kevin Sexton
In the mid-1990s Zoey and
Kevin Sexton were living and
traveling in their RV when
they discovered Big Bend
National Park and fell in love
with the area. During one
memorable soak in the
National Park hot springs they
met Angie Dean, the original
owner of the Starlight Theatre
in the Terlingua Ghost town.
Mid-soak, Angie offered them
part-time work, one small part
of a menagerie of (post-
(semi)retirement) odd jobs and
community projects around
Terlingua they’ve engaged in
throughout the years. From
waitressing to bartending and
guiding
from
Jeep
and
horseback, to helping establish
a community garden and
recycling program for South
Brewster County, the Sextons
quickly
became
valuable
members of Terlingua’s remote
and unique community.
For a while, they continued
living in their intrepid RV, first
in the park campgrounds and
later for three years amongst
the
cottonwoods
and
eucalyptus at La Kiva RV
Park. When they landed a long
term
caretaking
job
on
Terlingua Creek, they knew
the Big Bend was more than
just a temporary stomping
ground. For some time, they
continued to spend summers in
their native Minnesota, and
more recently pieces of the
hottest months in Virginia,
28
Except for the coldest winter nights or in times of extreme wind and rain, when they
move into the main house, the Sexton’s bedroom is an open-air stand alone building.
Zoey and Kevin Sexton
where their son lives with his
family. In 1999 they bought 40
acres bordering Big Bend
National Park and made the
Chihuahuan
desert
their
permanent home. They moved
the RV onto a magnificent
piece of the raw undeveloped
desert, which through their
persistent ingenuity grew to
encompass 200 acres and five
structures.
Since the 70s, the Sextons
developed and sustained an
interest in alternative energy
and natural building. They
were eager to manifest their
vision of a home ensconced in
the solitude, peace, and rugged
beauty of a remote location,
without
sacrificing
the
comforts of modern life.
Homesteading in pre- “boom”
Their water needs are provided for entirely from rain water catchment, which
includes a flush toilet, drinking water, bathing, cooking, cleaning, and gardening.
Terlingua, before the town
hosted even a hardware store,
the goal was to utilize their
savings in building a compound
which would be self-supporting
and require very little in the
way of monthly bills.
More than 20 years later,
they are a testament to the
power of vision and dedication
as they enjoy a comfortable
existence in a home they built
slowly over the years, without
heavy machinery and far from
the supply chain of box stores.
As Kevin likes to muse, “We
are not rich in money, but we
are rich in time.” n
Big Bend Real Estate Guide • May 2020