A Land Worth Dying For…
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: “It’s a grand country, boys, and it’s land worth dying for.” Those words from my fourth book came to mind as I stood here, a long way from most anything else other than miles upon miles of a rugged,…
Don’t Like the Weather? Wait Awhile…
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: Among the multitudes of pitfalls and challenges found in this lonesome sort of land is the weather, especially when venturing to the out-of-way spots demanding many hours to get to and from. This is truest when covering these distances…
Looking Between the Lines
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: It was a crisp December morning when this photograph was taken, with the promise of a nigh perfect day for a long prowl through the Mule Ears area. Directly ahead was the large, golden-leafed cottonwood marking Trap Spring, though…
Finding Serenity at Muskhog Spring
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND… Muskhog Spring is a spot most know nothing about, even those who have been to the park many times. This is likely due to several reasons, including the location of the spring itself. Tucked in the confines of the…
Old Ore Road
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: A photograph portrays only the faintest representation of the subject within the frame, and this truism is no more evident than when taking in the vastness of this secretive land. The starkness of the mountain ranges and desert, the…
Almost Another Planet
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: It was a crisp December morning when this photograph was taken, with the promise of a nigh perfect day for a long prowl through the Mule Ears area. Directly ahead was the large, golden-leafed cottonwood marking Trap Spring, though…
The Struggle to Keep Living
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: There is not a single square mile in this country that does not present a challenge of some sort, and often enough more than one. From the jungle-like brush thickets found in the mouths of large arroyos along the…
Channeling My Inner Captain Ahab
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: Like gigantic mythical sea serpents encased in an ocean of sand, dirt, rock and cacti, lava vents run across the face of this country, traveling hither and yon in every direction. These natural anomalies, sometimes bordering on the surreal,…
Where the Old Feet Trod
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: When many people first come to this country, they tend to believe it is a young land mostly untouched and undiscovered by man. Something inherent to the desert and these mountains excite the imagination, causing one to feel as…
Don’t Let Darwinism Get You
SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: Like the body of a giant serpent moving to and fro on a north-south axis, Ernst Valley stretches from the river all the way to the southern slopes of Telephone Canyon. Calling it a ‘valley’ is somewhat of a…