It’s a hard drive across west Texas with the sun in my eyes. Visor permanently down. One hundred miles straight shot, no services. Moving across the flats of far west Texas toward El Paso, cell coverage drops and I’m counting the miles to what I hope will bring gas in the next forty. Air conditioning …
Guadalupe Ridge Trail via Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Connecting Texas and New Mexico Riding tonight I sense a change in hoofbeats as my horse moves through the desert. A hollowness unfelt before. As I contemplate the consistency of his steps, a barn owl rises from a jagged hole of white strata. Layer on layer of rock descending into the earth. Soaring to the …
Continue reading "Guadalupe Ridge Trail via Carlsbad Caverns National Park"
Plate Tectonics in The Solitario, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas
Spring comes early to the Rio Grande. Bluebonnets sprinkling the road, framing my view into Mexico. Cliffs high along the river. Rows of chopped rocks run like balcony seats at an opera across their face. I stop to take a picture, there are so many pictures here. My dog watches through the window and my …
Continue reading "Plate Tectonics in The Solitario, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas"
Homer Wilson Ranch, Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend National Park, Texas
There is no straight line through the desert. What looks easy is hard. 'Barranco' after 'barranco', all hidden from the horizon. Impassible terrain. Snaking a path is the only way. Driving into Big Bend National Park, shades of purple compete with mounds of desert brush. Each clamoring for the win. Key notes of Freddy Fender …
Continue reading "Homer Wilson Ranch, Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend National Park, Texas"
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
The multiple faces of our Chihuahuan Desert: Sky Island, fossil reef, and four of the highest peaks in Texas Driving Highway 652 west across Texas the horizon becomes a wall and it’s not hard to imagine what the first settlers must have thought as they crested these hills in horse-drawn wagons, seeing such a roadblock …
Discover Black Gap WMA, Texas
I’m happiest when I spend my nights around campfires. Hidden in the spotted hills of the desert. In complete control, and complete surrender. Crossing Maravillas Creek south of Marathon, and approaching Double Mills, the ranches exceed imagination. Temperature rises fifteen degrees as we descend in elevation. A welcome change to this January weather. With arm …
Resurrection Fern
Blown about by the wind. Finding life in desiccation. Not to be confused by the “true” Rose of Jericho, the “false” Rose of Jericho (S. lepidophylla) is native to the Chihuahuan desert and one of the most adaptive plants here. A wanderer, persistent and tough. Tenacious. S. lepidophylla in its dormant state Resurrection plants are …
Black River, New Mexico
Campfire throwing shadows across my horse. Dog rolling in the hay - dirty of course. Ever searching for that last buried bone. It’s early morning, the sun still asleep. We sit, listening to distant sounds of highway mixed with propane flames. Coffee brewing. Color slowly unrolls to the east as I prepare to ride and …
Secrets of the Desert
There are some places kept mostly secret. More vulnerable than others. Not as stable as they seem. At Big Bend National Park horses are allowed on all gravel roads, most trails, and backcountry across the desert. In a vast land occupied by many before us, there is more to discover than most know. But you …
Horseback Riding Dog Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas
Within minutes of entering from the west I am greeted by the deep curtains of the Chisos Mountains, highlighting the center of Big Bend. One of only three sky islands in Texas, and the only mountain range in our country completely encompassed by a national park. A lush oasis soaring above the surrounding desert. The …
Continue reading "Horseback Riding Dog Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas"
Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition 