SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: Below Carousel Mountain and off the Dodson Trail runs an ancient path few know of and even fewer venture upon. To me it is ‘The Shortcut,’ a rather unpoetic moniker for a route that has likely felt the impact…

SOMEWHERE IN THE LOWER BIG BEND: Nearly sixty years ago, the great science fiction novelist Robert A. Heinlein penned a story entitled ‘The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.’ Well, this desert is too; even for us whom others might consider this setting being our second…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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...