THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“To a land so burnt and twisted,
To a country as barren as the moon;
I hoped to find, the Eldorado,
All I found were the hollow hopes that blow…..
In these desert winds.”
–Dave Stamey, ‘Desert Winds’
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
My sons and I share a saying for special circumstance and challenge; “It was a real Louis L’Amour moment.” When I topped out through the pass and looked into the red rock studded gorge below, those words came to mind again. It was exactly where a place like this should not be, tucked away like secreted treasure.
I had saddled up as the sun was rising over Mule Ear Peaks, heading for a pinpoint on an old Army tactical map where I had never been before. In the Big Bend country of Texas, there are usually four different ways to get someplace: the hard, the easy, the short and the long.
As a general rule the long and the easy blend together, though ‘easy’ is always a relative term in this harsh, unpredictable land. Same for short and hard, and since this was hopefully a one day hike, the latter was the order for the day. Still, I had plenty of gear and supplies in case I had to stay over.
The first half was over ground I had covered many times through the decades, utilizing wild animal tracks, creek beds, eroding remnants of ancient paths and natural terrain features. But once east of the Smoky Creek divide, I only knew the area in a general sense from skirting the edges, those old maps and the family tales from long ago.
Those and the words of Tom Alex, retired park archaeologist. In casual conversation he sparked the memory of my family tales, having been there himself. I left word that if I did not return to make contact with Tom, as he alone would likely know best of where I had wandered off to.
Climbing out of the Smoky Creek basin my course followed a fold between gray shale and black volcanic rock, before dropping into a veritable maze of jinking arroyos, gaps and small canyons that twist and turn like the stardust-studded routes of frightened angels.
Following where my nose led me, I descended into a likely crag and followed along until it cut through solid formations of black rock, forming an impressive pour off that fell into the lower desert below. But there was no spring, no oasis, no cottonwoods and no ruins referred to as ‘The Casita.’
Studying my map and knowing I was close, I reoriented myself from higher ground and spied a likely pass not more than a few hundred yards away. When I topped that pass, the land laid out before me just as pictured in my mind from those same childhood tales.
Sitting where no spot like this should be, amid acres upon acres of barren rock, boulder, greasewood and mesquite, and framed by the rugged multi-hued clefts of the Sierra de la Punta beyond.
No photograph, no written word could ever adequately describe what my eyes beheld, and the stark contrasts of this singular land running away in every direction. No roads have ever been here, and only one good trail that has long since ceased to exist.
Yes, it was a real Louis L’Amour moment indeed…
God bless to all,
Ben
Ben H. English
Alpine, Texas
USMC: 1976-1983
THP: 1986-2008
Author of ‘Yonderings’ (TCU Press)
‘Destiny’s Way’ (Creative Texts Publishers)
‘Out There: Essays on the Lower Big Bend’ (Creative Texts Publishers)
‘The Uvalde Raider’ (Creative Texts Publishers)
Facebook: Ben H. English
Webpage: benhenglish.com
‘Graying but still game’
The Stable Performance Cars
Lubbock Public Library
Tom Green County Library System
Creative Texts Publishers
Medina Community Library
El Progreso Memorial Library
Far Flung Outdoor Center
Billy the Kid Museum
Front Street Books
Dan Edwards
Dave Durant
Thomas Alex
Chris Ryan
Mendell Morgan
Vicki Shroyer
Bridgit Bailey-Giedeman
Sue Land
Julie Brunson Childs
You must be logged in to post a comment.