31 January 1923
1.31.2006
1.30.2006
A Whole Nother Desert
Conde Nast Traveler has a feature on the Chihuahuan Desert (Web content lags the print version by a month), including the author's trip to Big Bend.
It was a vacation in 1997 to visit Steffen in Marfa at The Chinati Foundation that first brought us to the West. And our first afternoon in that small town showed us a double rainbow where we could see both ends.
It's fair to say that that first trip we took to the region, and then the two subsequent ones, were pretty magical, eye-opening experiences. Spending time in Marfa and Chinati, traveling around Alpine and Fort Davis, hiking and canoeing in Big Bend really exposed us for the first time to the beauty of the open desert. An appreciation for the land and the way of life set the stage for our continued trips the desert southwest, and, ultimately, our move.
The author looks to have had a different kind of experience, covering more ground and experiencing (as could be expected with that publication) fancier accommodations than we did. From his stories and what we've heard from other folks, things have changed a lot in Marfa and around Big Bend — but seems that the power of the desert to change people is still stronger than people's power to change the desert.
It was a vacation in 1997 to visit Steffen in Marfa at The Chinati Foundation that first brought us to the West. And our first afternoon in that small town showed us a double rainbow where we could see both ends.
It's fair to say that that first trip we took to the region, and then the two subsequent ones, were pretty magical, eye-opening experiences. Spending time in Marfa and Chinati, traveling around Alpine and Fort Davis, hiking and canoeing in Big Bend really exposed us for the first time to the beauty of the open desert. An appreciation for the land and the way of life set the stage for our continued trips the desert southwest, and, ultimately, our move.
The author looks to have had a different kind of experience, covering more ground and experiencing (as could be expected with that publication) fancier accommodations than we did. From his stories and what we've heard from other folks, things have changed a lot in Marfa and around Big Bend — but seems that the power of the desert to change people is still stronger than people's power to change the desert.
1.28.2006
1.24.2006
Ojito Wilderness
Started Sunday morning with mutant-sized breakfast burritos at the Santa Fe Baking Company. Managed to score Mary-Charlotte's corner table:
The latest newsletter from the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance had an article featuring the most recently-designated wilderness area: Ojito Wilderness. It's only about 25 miles north-northwest of Albuquerque, as the crow flies, but the route took us down I-25, out 550, through Bernalillo, skirting the northernmost edges of Rio Rancho, then 11 miles of unpaved dirt road out onto public land near Zia Pueblo. The "Hoodoo-Pines" hike is recommended for its tent rock-like stacks and unusual-for-this-elevation Ponderosa pines.
Upon arriving, we set out along an old two-track:
The trail skirted north of the mesa, and kind of disappeared. There were trails of other footprints in the sand, though; easy enough to follow to the hoodoos:
At about halfway, we climbed up to a rock outcropping that was partway up the mesa. That's it above Bram:
Our view included the Jemez, Sandia, and Sangre de Christo Mountains.
(click for larger pic)
Headed back after about an hour; 2 hours overall.
The latest newsletter from the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance had an article featuring the most recently-designated wilderness area: Ojito Wilderness. It's only about 25 miles north-northwest of Albuquerque, as the crow flies, but the route took us down I-25, out 550, through Bernalillo, skirting the northernmost edges of Rio Rancho, then 11 miles of unpaved dirt road out onto public land near Zia Pueblo. The "Hoodoo-Pines" hike is recommended for its tent rock-like stacks and unusual-for-this-elevation Ponderosa pines.
Upon arriving, we set out along an old two-track:
The trail skirted north of the mesa, and kind of disappeared. There were trails of other footprints in the sand, though; easy enough to follow to the hoodoos:
At about halfway, we climbed up to a rock outcropping that was partway up the mesa. That's it above Bram:
Our view included the Jemez, Sandia, and Sangre de Christo Mountains.
(click for larger pic)
Headed back after about an hour; 2 hours overall.
1.21.2006
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