Harris Hawk 18th Annual Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta Saturday, September 24, 2022 – at the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens, 10:30am to 3:00pmSunday, September 25, 2022 – at Tom Mays section of Franklin Mountains State Park and Castner Range – Pre-registration Required Jason Ricketts who is a geologist at UTEP and studies the geologic historyContinue reading "Zoo and Franklin Mountains State Park to host Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta"
Fiesta Hikes REGISTRATION CLOSED
Join a desert hiking expert on a guided hike in the Franklin Mountains Location - Tom Mays section of Franklin Mountains State Park, Sunday, September 25, 2022. The Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta is a two day event. Day one is at the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens on Saturday, September 24, Day two is atContinue reading "Fiesta Hikes REGISTRATION CLOSED"
Chihuahuan Desert Sky Island, Mt Livermore
Mt. Livermore, Davis Mountains Preserve, Texas Looking into the desert, I see waves. Cresting. One folding on the other. A land shaped by an ancient sea transformed into an arid stretch of rolling hills and mountains. Fed only by monsoon summers and dry winters. I row through this ocean of cactus and creosote to findContinue reading "Chihuahuan Desert Sky Island, Mt Livermore"
Desert thru Hiking: Texas to New Mexico
Organ Mountains National Monument, Las Cruces, New Mexico – Sierra Vista Trail There’s a wind coming off Las Cruces, I tip my head just enough. The trail is easy, a combination of gravel and loose rock. Arroyo crossings surrounded by prickly pear, fishhook cactus, lechuguilla and ocotillo in bloom. Dry desert grass dancing in theContinue reading "Desert thru Hiking: Texas to New Mexico"
Plans underway for third Chihuahuan Desert Conference
The El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition are working on plans to host a third Chihuahuan Desert Conference in El Paso in November of 2023. The conference will bring together researchers and conservation advocates from across the Chihuahuan Desert to help facilitate collaboration in the region and learn ofContinue reading "Plans underway for third Chihuahuan Desert Conference"
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, Las Cruces, New Mexico – Baylor Pass
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 conditioningContinue reading "Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, Las Cruces, New Mexico – Baylor Pass"
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 theContinue 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 myContinue 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 FenderContinue 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 roadblockContinue reading "Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas"