Old Ruins

Old ruins along the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park.

This old adobe wall is slowly eroding away under the harsh desert sky of the Big Bend country.

The view from here is great, it takes in the Sierra Ponce, Santa Elena Canyon, and the Chisos.

Ocotillo Red

A companion image to a post earlier this week. This is the flowering red tip of an Ocotillo in bloom.



The sharp spines of the branch blur away below.



The scarlet of the flower is visible for a long distance and brightens the dry spring this year.

Western Chisos

The western side of the Chisos as seen from the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

Like an island in the desert, the Chisos rise up off the desert floor to well over 7,000 ft. The mass of the mountains is just great enough to create more rain and cooler temps. That milder climate supports pines, aspens, wildlife, etc. Think of it as the southernmost reaches of the Rocky Mountains.

Ocotillo Sharp

The ocotillo is a hardy desert plant (they say it is not a cactus). It has long spindly spines that are used to makes fences. It sits looking dead for months but a rain can make it bloom full of green leaves or it sens out flowering red tips so scarlet they are almost impossible to photograph.

Here is a closeup of one. This one is not in bloom, although many in the park were. Like most desert plants it is covered in sharp points to keep others away.

Watch you step and tread lightly here.

Ocotillo Moonset

Moon set through the spindly branches of an Ocotillo in Big Bend National Park.

The clear sky and full moon were made for this found image. I was there to photograph a mountain and I found this image.

Cactus

Cactus high on the canyon wall at the Big Hill. From the top of the Big Hill one stares down several hundred feet into the Rio Grande.

Down about 30 feet from the top is a small ledge with a prickly pear thriving in the vertical realm.

Across the Desert

Cerro Castellan and the Sierra Ponce as seen across the desert from Maverick.

The 1500 ft tall wall of the Sierra Ponce are visible for miles across the desert in Big Bend. Cerro Castellan is also a well known and easily spotted landmark.

Both are usually shown from the area around Santa Elena Canyon. This view is a bit different. It is in the predawn light looking south from Maverick towards Mexico. Cerro Castellan must be 12 miles as the crow flies and is some 35 miles by road.

Big West Texas Sunset

West Texas has some of the biggest and best sunsets I know of. When you are out here, you have to stop and watch them.

This is sunset off the Big Hill. It is the highpoint on the river Road, that's FM 170 that runs between Presidio and Lajitas.

I happened to be there right as the sun was setting so I scrambled to the top and caught one of those classic west Texas sunsets.

This is the view west at the very end of the light. The Rio Grande is the glowing ribbon in the dark rocky canyon below. The perfect ending to a great west Texas day.

Colorado Canyon

Colorado Canyon is a canyon of red igneous rock (Colorado is Spanish for red). This is the last free turn before the river makes the full passage of the canyon.

This is just one of many canyons on the Rio Grande in the Big Bend region. Float trips are possible on this section of the river.

Looking Toward Terlingua

A view west from Maverick toward the mining town of Terlingua. The mountains of Big Bend Ranch State Park rise in the distance.

Shafter Ghost Town

The Shafter, Texas ghost town. Sitting on the edge of the Chinati Mountains between Marfa and Presidio-Shafter was once a silver mining town.

Now there is not much there.

The High Plains of Marfa

The high plains near Marfa. This is the land of "Giant".

The big sky and open range here create a huge canvas on which to paint life. A single image just cannot do it justice.

Look at the bigger image and take it all in.