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 the …
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 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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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 …
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Why are Desert Sunsets so Colorful?
Cover me with your wildness Drench me in your thirstScratch me with your thorns Shower me with color Sunset over Kokernot Mesa, Brewster County, Texas Clean air, enhanced filtering, and longer wavelengths result in phenomenal sunsets over pristine desert areas. Big Bend National Park, Texas "And though their warm beauty is expected, not all sunsets …
Lean into Big Bend National Park: Desert Horseback Riding
Arriving at camp, time slows to a trickle. I sit in the desert waiting for the sun to lower and cool the air. Dog snapping at flies, the sound of my horse munching on hay –a Sergio Leone western comes to mind. Views of the Chisos and Dead Horse Mountains frame Hannold Draw. Pens with …
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Footprints in the Sand: Horseback Riding White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Blinding white in all directions. Footprints erased by wind. Every route the same. Driving south from Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico the land greets us with open arms. Ranges and ranches go on for miles. I can breathe. I can see. The chaos of Alamogordo gives way to White Sands National Park, sitting pristine at …
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