AUTUMN IN THE CHISOSGreetings once again, folks. Well, it's finally turning autumn out here, not that you'd notice it much unless you were up in the mountains where we keep all the real trees, like these. I don't know what kind of tree this is, but its leaves are very small, about the size of a postage stamp. Still, color is color, and I'll take all of it I can get. It's certainly not the spectacular show up in Maine I'm so used to, but it'll have to do. Funny, but without my seasonal sojourns, I really have no idea what season it is anymore -- sort of like looking at a digital watch and having to visualize an analog one to "see" the time (which is why I don't own any digital watches or clocks). I'm just funny that way. Anyway, time to move along and catch y'all up on what's going on out here in West Texas.
BACK IN THE BOOTHOf course, what really says autumn to me is being back in my beloved booth (a.k.a. "The Box"), sitting in my high chair and watching faithfully for the onslaught of humanity roaring in to visit the park. And I do mean "roaring", too, as I almost got my head taken off the other day by a pair of Rio Grande Electric maintenance vehicles entering the park in a full 45mph run with no intention of stopping. I completely missed the first one -- or, rather, he barely missed me -- but I wildly gesticulated to the second one to slow the Hell down, which they did. They stopped the next time in.
OH, YEAH!But, all close calls aside, I'm still much happier to be out here in my little booth in the desert than in the Visitor Center, where the vast hordes of humanity can descend upon you without notice. I just like the peace and quiet of my own space, where I can gaze at the awesome view through my own picture window to reflect on life and all it's various permutations. And, no, I don't get bored. I can read if I wish (picture books are better, though, as you really don't have time to immerse yourself in a novel) or work on the computer (don't count on whipping anything out quickly or doing much surfing, as it's incredibly s-l-o-w) or gaze around me with my binocuclars at the various birds and other wildlife in the area. The park being on the migratory flyway the way it is insures there is no shortage of avian subjects to keep an eye out for and identify. Oh, yeah. The booth is good.
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SNOUT BUTTERFLYAnd here we have some of the other wildlife I was speaking of, the Snout Butterfly (Libytheana carinenta mexicana), a relative newcomer to the area, at least as far as I can discern. In all the years I've been coming here, I don't recall ever seeing one of these curious little creatures, but we have them in swarms around here right now. There were seven in the booth at one time the other day and I had to use my Catch-and-Release Unit (the clear glass turned upside down to my right in the preceding photo) to capture and release these little guys, at which point, of course, they merely flew back in after a bit. Might've been the same ones, I don't know. The Snout Butterfly's prominent "snout" is actually formed by its elongated mouthparts, scientifically called labial palpi. As I found out in my research, these little guys can be found in both North and South America, and the massive migrations of this species often attract attention in the Texas and Mexican newspapers. I never knew that. See how good the booth is? And educational, too.
BABY AGAVEAnother added benefit to the reopening of the booth is the concept of the Special Project Day, of which most of you are well aware. For the benefit of the newcomers to this blog -- and to life as a Visitor Use Assistant -- alternate Thursdays in our workweek are spent working on special projects, counting money with our boss, or out on hikes on popular trails, called "roving," where we make contact with visitors and answer questions and otherwise keep them entertained with stories concerning park history and discussing the various aspects of the mythology of this wonderful land. On my first Special Project Day, I was unable to find my boss for money-counting and, as I had no specific special project to work on, I hit the Lost Mine Trail for the first time this season. Upon reaching one of the switchbacks in the trail, I came across this baby agave catching some morning sun. I have a special fondness for these little guys, probably stemming from the huge example that once dwelled on the west side of my grandparents' house in Central Texas.
PINE CANYON VISTAAnd what this trail is noted for is its staggering vistas along the way and at the end, most notably the view down Pine Canyon toward Mexico, barely discernable here due to the rather heavy haze this morning. Still, any vista is a good vista, I always say -- except maybe for that one back in Acadia with the Jackson Lab stuck squarely in it. This is the view at the one-mile point, at marker post 10 along this self-guided trail. At this point I took off down a side trail that supposedly leads up to the top of Casa Grande, one of the most prominent features here in the Chisos Mountains. For even a seasoned trail worker, that little side trail was somewhat of a challenge, and I eventually just sat down and took a break and watched the view to make sure it didn't get away. That is one nasty little trail, let me tell you.
CASA GRANDE LOOMINGDue to this blog entry taking on a life of its own and growing larger by the minute, I hadn't planned on including a shot of Casa Grande, but since I mentioned it, I figured I'd better. Here we see it doing what it does best, according to the self-tour brochure -- looming. This was taken from the side trail, at the point where I stopped to eat my peanuts.
PAINTED HILLSIDE 1My reverie was interrupted by the hooting and hollering of a large pack of yammerheads heading up the trail, so I decided that I would sit still for a while until they proceeded past the viewpoint and, after chatting for about a half-hour with a batch of folks there, I called off the rest of the hike and took off to see what was happening in the Rio Grande Village area. Just as you cross over the long, curved Tornillo Creek bridge, you see this dazzlingly pretty rock strata just to the left of the road. There was a nice pull-out on either side of the road (apparently, the park figured it was a nice place to stop), so pull off I did and got out to capture this beautiful formation at last.
PAINTED HILLSIDE 2Okay, even though this blog is getting a little long-winded, I just felt you should get the full treatment. After capturing the hillside in a documentary style, I moved in -- or zoomed in -- for a closer look, attempting to render it in somewhat of a "color field" style, somewhere between Mark Rothko and Georgia O'Keefe. Of course, this isn't nearly as abstract as either of those artists' work, but I could take it and play with it later. The possibility is here.
PAINTED HILLSIDE 3Then, as I was pulling away, I found the view I was looking for, with these great, deep shadows between the "toes" of the hillside and it's colors. Oh, yes. This will do nicely. Photoshop, here I come!
SIERRA DEL CARMENOne of the things that most likely cause a lot of wrecks (not really) upon nearing Rio Grande Village is the stunning vista of the Sierra del Carmen Mountains of our friends across the water, Mexico. I've seen these mountains in all kinds of light, but never in light so clear. On my first visit to the park on a photo workshop in 1986, our instructor asked us to pick out the Sleeping Indian Prince in the formation, which of course I did right away, having had practice in such things from an early age. Can you see him? Click on the photo to enlarge.
SLEEPING INDIAN PRINCE REVEALEDA lot of the other people had picked the formation to the right for the prince's nose, for some reason, but I could see the prince right away, and I can't not see him to this day. (That's one of my favorite misuses of grammar, if in fact it is a misuse.) I'll have to add a cropped shot of the prince to my "What Do You See?" file of observations from the natural world.
BOQUILLAS GOODSMoving on to do a hike into Boquillas Canyon (bad idea; hot day), we come across what is one of the sorest points to life here in Big Bend -- the closure of the border thanks to the 9/11 attacks. Due to that closure, the poor folks over in the little village of Boquillas, Mexico, who relied so heavily on our trade to make a living, now illegally cross over and set up these wares stands in the hopes that some unknowing visitor will drop their money in the jar for a sotol stalk hiking stick or wire sculpture. We at the park discourage any such activity -- and there is a pretty stiff fine for doing so, along with confiscation of the article -- but I can't help but feel for the artisans whose livelihood was taken away in such a drastic knee-jerk response to a situation they had nothing at all to do with. And such nice work, too. You can buy these very same articles in the Chisos Mountain Lodge gift shop, due to a trade agreement worked out with a woman from Marathon, but be sure to keep your receipt.
RIO GRANDE VISTAAnd so, with a view over the river of our neighbors a country away, I say Adios, amigos for now. I hope to see you all somewhere on down the trail. As always, thanks for tuning in.
