What's Going On

Hey, everybody! Well, it's been almost two months since my last entry (I'm getting good at this procrastination thing!), so I thought I ought to sign in and catch you up on things. One of the major events lately was the return of my friend Alexa for a personal show at Talgar's Restaurant in Alpine. Being included in Artwalk/Gallery Night a while back was big news enough, but to have your very own show is extremely exciting. And a nice, artsy setting, too, I might add. Here is Alexa and her patron of the arts/person responsible for putting all this together, Betty Gaddis Yndo. They both look dressed for the part, don't they?

As I didn't get any real good shots of the works on the wall (I'm starting to slip a little), I did get a nice shot of the spread for this little soirée. I almost made myself sick on Talgar's green sauce and homemade flour tortilla chips. OHMIGOD!!! Truly manna from Heaven! (Their fish tacos, as I found out later, are to die for!)

The next day, Alexa and my friends Jennifer and Romaldo and I headed to the Redford area for a hike to a secluded little waterfall. The way was fraught with peril at slipping into moss-infested waters, but all made it there and back again without incident.

And here's a shot of the moss-infested waters I was talking about, just so you'll know I wasn't making this stuff up. ("It's a desert, Doug! How can there be moss?")

And here's some more stuff I didn't make up. Actually, if you look at the rock formation closely, you can see the high-water mark indicating that a lot more water used to flow through here. Amazing, huh?

And at last we're here at the waterfall. It's hard to believe that such a moist and lush place exists out in the middle of a sun-baked area such as this, but it happens more often than you'd think.

Everywhere around here were longspur columbine (just budding) as well as a host of other flowers, mostly yellow in color. This shot of a yellow rock nettle turned out to be one of my best flower shots to date, although I found out its leaves pack a pretty hefty wallop. It looks like some variety of buttercup, but don't let that fool you. It did me.

Well, before we move along (you can catch the entire show at my "Alexa's Back In Town" gallery at http://highroad.smugmug.com), here's a shot of Alexa after capturing what I'm sure will be her next show-stopping, award-winning photograph. Okay, fast-forward to present day . . .

Oh, BABY!!! You never know just what you'll find in the little town of Alpine, do you? I came across this window display while walking to do some errands while Pepe (he's my very own truck now -- I just made the last payment!) got his oil changed and had his other precious bodily fluids checked. Wo! I couldn't believe my eyes. And talk about just the right light, too. On my way back to the shop, I just had to pass by and check it out again, but the lighting at that point was all wrong. Those fleeting moments . . .

Tearing myself away from the window display, I found this scene a little further down the street. Too bad no one was making use of it. (Yeah, like you, Doug!) I'll have to do that someday.

One of the best things about that outdoor café scene was this old (I think) red Schwinn bicycle, standing proudly at the curb. Old or retro, you don't see these things much anymore in this age of high-tech bicycles. This was really nice.

Perhaps one of the best things to come out of this trip into town was the acquisition of my new best friend -- this pothos ivy I obtained at Morrison's True Value. I'd recently watched Leon: The Professional and found his love of his little plant quite touching, and it made me realize I don't have a single living thing in my place, which is unusual for me. So, when I went outside to Morrison's lawn and garden area and saw this little guy hanging up there bleaching himself in the unrelenting sun (the scrim covering wasn't really doing its job, but it helped), I just couldn't resist rescuing him and bringing him home. We're both a lot happier now. It doesn't take much sometimes.

So, gang, I guess that's about it for now. Hopefully, it won't be two months until my next entry, but you know me. Until next time . . .

Weather And Stuff

THUNDERSTORM OVER THE CORAZONES
The other day, a cold front began moving into the area, bringing with it some winter thunderstorms. As I happened to be working that day, I got the opportunity to photograph some truly phenomenal weather, such as this thunderstorm out over the Terlingua Ranch area, with the Corazones (the two peaks on the left) awaiting their chance at catching a little rain. As you can see between the dark, massive clouds and the open areas of bright sunshine, the lighting was truly awesome.

MAMMATUS CLOUDS OVER PERSIMMON PEAK
These curious-looking clouds have always fascinated me with their bulbous texture. They also can also be harbingers of turbulent weather systems, up to and including tornadoes. No tornadoes this day, but the weather was rockin'.

MAMMATUS CLOUDS
I just thought I'd include a photo of just the main mass of these unique clouds. They just look like they mean business, don't they? When they turn green, that's the time to head for shelter, as that usually means tornadic activity is right around the corner.

ALMOST INFRARED
Why I didn't think to grab my infrared filter and capture this scene in infrared is beyond me. I was just too mesmerized by the drama to think about it, I suppose. It was just perfect as it was.

CACTUS WITH A VIEW
About a week ago, I decided it was time to head down to the Hot Springs area and see what damage nature (and the Trail Crew) had wrought. It turns out that either or both of them did such a good job, I was too depressed to include any photos of the destruction. So, I decided I would concentrate on other stuff as I made my way to the Hot Springs and sought out the Hot Springs Bluff Trail. (I guess that's what it's called; I don't think it has an actual name.)

CLIFF SWALLOW NESTS
I'm always fascinated by these clay pot-shaped nests the cliff swallows make, especially in such a aesthetically-pleasing setting.

HOT SPRINGS POOL FROM OVERHEAD
Well, what do you know? I found the bluff trail, at last. I'd always heard there was one, but never knew where to pick it up. (It actually starts back behind the old General Store/Post Office.) Here's a shot of the Hot Springs pool taken from up above, with Mexico just on the other side of the Rio Grande.

HOT SPRINGS BLUFF HOUSE
I'd always heard there was an old house ruins up here, which is why I decided to find the trail at last, so I could photograph it for my collection. Not much left, as you can see, but I found it interesting it had a concrete floor. They sure had a nice view, though, didn't they?

HOT SPRINGS BLUFF HOUSE
Here we have a reverse-angle view, showing the Sierra del Carmen Mountains off in the distance. Boy, they had a nice view no matter where they looked.

HOT SPRINGS AREA FROM OVERHEAD
We're almost at the end of the trail now (I started where the trail ends up past the Hot Springs), and below we see the motel unit, the General Store/Post Office, and the parking area. Taking the draw you cross just before you get to the store will put you at the trailhead, although you won't find any markings directing you.

HOT SPRINGS MOTEL INTERIOR
After I got down off the trail, I decided to poke around the area some more, and found one of the doors to one of the units opened just enough to get my hand (with camera) inside. The cracked dirt you see is leftover silt from the October 2008 flood. This unit just hasn't gotten cleaned out yet.

HOT SPRINGS MOTEL UNIT FLOOR
I've always been a big fan of cracked earth shots, so I thought I'd take one of the motel floor for posterity's sake. They always reminds me of our backyard on Ash Street in Grand Prairie during the summer, back when I was a kid. I don't know how many Army men I lost in those cracks.

PYRRHULOXIA
And last, but not least, here we see a West Texas version of the ever-popular cardinal, called a pyrrhuloxia. This little guy comes and sits in the mesquite tree in front of the Entrance Station and keeps an eye on me, as you can see him doing now. They're so closely related to the cardinal, they even make the same peeping sound.

Well, that's all the time we have for today. As always, thanks for tuning in!

Happy New Year, 2010!!!

Well, it's the New Year now, and I decided I had to celebrate by taking a little hike I've always wanted to do -- a trek up the Persimmon Gap Draw Trail and up the side of a mountain I've come to know as Abuelo ("Grandfather"). It wasn't an overly taxing hike or a long one, but it was well worth the effort. We'll start off with some exit shots of 2009.

DRIVE TO WORK - DECEMBER 31, 2009
Well, it's the last day of the old year, and I'm off to work (my Friday!). I was so mesmerized by the full moon floating ahead of me on the drive to work, I just had to stop and give it its due. What a nice way to end the year. It was kind of a dangerous drive, though, as I couldn't take my eyes off the moon.

THE LAST SUNSET OF 2009
Nothing too spectacular, as sunsets go out here, just a lot of nice, warm light due to a high, thin overcast. Adios, 2009!!! Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

ABUELO AWAITS
Believe it or not, this is a very important piece of geology, as this mountain is composed of the oldest rocks of any in the park -- 500,000,000 million years old, dating back to the Ordovician Period. This mountain was formed at the same time and by the same forces that created the Appalachian Mountains, when the earth here got folded over and layers of rock that had been slumbering deep underground were suddenly thrust upward and laid atop the land. Pretty amazing stuff, huh? Since no one had taken the initiative to name this particular geological feature, I had been calling it The Old Man, but have now opted for Abuelo (Spanish for "Grandfather"), since it is indeed the grandfather of all rocks in Big Bend.

The small cairn of rocks in the foreground is the start of the Persimmon Gap Draw Trail, which will lead us up to the top of the mountain -- sort of. Some bushwhacking (or cactuswhacking, I guess you'd have to say) will be involved.

COLORS AND FOLDS
You can see evidence of the folding process that went on by looking at the various directions the rock strata takes. The different colorations in the rock are quite striking.

LAYERS IN TIME
I came upon this rock with the prettiest colors in its layers. The striking light-colored layers truly fascinated me. Geology rocks!!! (Ha ha)

LOOKING BACK
For the most part, the Persimmon Gap Draw Trail follows (or is) a dry waterway called a draw, hence the name. There's not much to see as far as views go while following this draw, but occasionally one pops up, such as this one here. I finally found the side trail just before the first bowl that was hidden by a huge catclaw bush. Much perforation -- as usual -- was involved in clearing the trail entrance. This was the view from up above the bowl.

THE CORAZONES
The two prominent peaks off in the distance are called the Corazones ("The Hearts"). We've now left the draw and are heading up the mountain. There's no trail per se from here on, just picking the best route through all the prickly stuff -- an ocean of lechugilla, tasajillo, ocotillo, pitaya, prickly pear, and other such desert delights, as seen here. Again with the perforation.

PERSIMMON PEAK - NORTH FACE
Here's another little hill I intend to climb someday, Persimmon Peak. Even though this mountain sits right next to Abuelo, It's but a youngster -- a mere 65,000,000 years old, dating from the Cretaceous Period. The trick to climbing this fellow is finding the route up without getting "cliffed out." Not an easy trick, from what I can see.

MY DESTINATION
It was funny, but I could see the top getting closer and closer, only to find that once I achieved it, the real summit still lay ahead. Well, it's not like it was a whole mountain over, as I've encountered in the past. It was an "easy" walk from here. Just look at all that lechugilla out there -- the sharp pointy bushes -- just waiting for a tender, unsuspecting ankle to bite. They are one nasty customer, believe you me.

PERSIMMON GAP BELOW
And here we have the view from Abuelo's summit. If you click on the photo, you can make out the Visitor Center, the Entrance Station (with a car driving up), and the as-yet-completed housing unit to the right, 582' below. According to my GPS unit, we're at 3552' right now, in case you're interested. You can also see the draw that is the trail snaking from the VC through the lower left corner of the photo. Not a bad view for lunch, huh?

RAVEN ON THE WING
This is either George or Gracie, one of a mated pair of Chihuahuan Ravens who have taken up residence in Persimmon Gap. When I first saw them, they were flying below me, but after they found out I was up here, they came up and put on an aerobatic display. It could possibly have been a mating ritual. I've got a video I'll put up on my video blog.

MOUNTAIN MAN
Well, no New Year's Day hike would be complete without a New Year's self-portrait. I look pretty happy with myself, don't I? Well, I should be, as this is something I've wanted to do for a very long time, and it was the perfect time to do it. Happy New Year, folks!!!