A few friends and I made our first trip out to Big Bend the first weekend in April. We drove into the park just in time to run into a visitor center and reserve a backcountry campsite for the following night. The first night we stay in the Chisos Basin and went on the short Window Trail before dinner. There were clear skies that night for good star pictures. The following morning we set off on the trail. We wanted a more gradual hike up into the mountains so we took the Laguna Meadow trail up to the South Rim Loop. Unfortunately we couldn't take the Northwest trail because it was closed for Peregrine Falcon nesting... so we had to head back into Boot Canyon and hike another 1.5 miles straight up the Northeast Trail to our campsite. I was bummed that the skies were really overcast... I didn't get to get good star pictures while in the backcountry. I did however wake up and catch the "sunrise"; it was just a show of black and blues.

Anyway, enjoy some of my favorite pictures below!

Below is a collection of panoramas from the trip.

Well after sifting through about two thousand pictures I have finally narrowed them down for your viewing pleasure! I grouped the pictures into 5 different galleries, so be sure to scroll down and check them all out (Especially the last gallery, a collection of panoramas from the whole trip)!

Up first is the Lauterbrunnen Valley Gallery. In this gallery you will find lots of waterfall pictures, which is to be expected from the valley of 72 waterfalls. You will also see many other amazing sites both small and large just steps away from our amazing flat in Lauterbrunnen.

Next up we have a compilation of pictures from Wengen, a ski town overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley; Murren, another ski town on the opposite side of the valley; and our journey to the Jungfraujoch, the highest elevation in Europe you can get to by train.

The next gallery is smaller in comparison to the rest, but the views make up for the lack of pictures. This gallery is mainly pictures of our hike to Lake Bachalpsee high in the swiss alps. We were afraid that there would be no view at the top due to cloud cover but as it turns out we ended up higher than the clouds so all was well! Check out the panorama gallery for even more grandiose views!

In the gallery below you will find pictures from our visits to Lucerne, Brienz, and Thun. Included are images of The Dying Lion, a gorgeous church, some very camera loving swans, and some weary train travelers. Also we happened to be in Brienz as the Tour de Swiss was passing through!

Okay, this last gallery is just a collection of panorama's from the trip. Views from Murren, others from the top of the Jungfraujoch, and also Lake Bachalpsee!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! A special thanks is due to Mike and Cheryl Clevenger, who took Lauren and I to this amazing country. If you ever have a chance to visit Switzerland, then make sure to head over to the Bernese Oberland because these pictures don't even do it justice!