Sunday, January 9, 2011

Desert Grave, Chisos Mtns., Santa Elena Canyon

A Desert Grave

The grave site of Nina Hannolds



Nina Hannolds read to children on this bluff overlooking
a spring with cottonwood trees around it.
Now it is mostly desert with mountains in the distance.
This is where she wanted to be buried.

The Chisos Mountains in the distance.

Various cacti covering the desert floor.




The Chisos Mountains

Driving into the Chisos Mountains

The Window

Looking through "the window" one can see the desert floor below.

The hike to look through the window is about 2.5 miles.
It is not too difficult a hike but even in winter the hiker
must take lots of water.

Terrain near the trail head to The Window




Visiting the Santa Elena Canyon

Santa Elena Canyon from about a mile away

(double click on the images to enlarge them)

Rio Grande looking eastward.
The cliffs to the right are Mexico territory.


On the edge of the Rio Grande looking into the canyon.


Santa Elena Canyon
The Rio Grande as it empties out of the canyon.

Cliffs on the right are in Texas/US; on the left is Mexico.
There is a trail along the Texas side of the cliffs that leads into the canyon.

Above are people walking up the trail & into the canyon.


Information about the Santa Elena

6 comments:

steven said...

i can't get over how wild that country is!!! i'd really love to see it for myself. thanks so much for sharing your journeys here. it's like lighting a fire!!! steven

Unknown said...

Unbelievably beautiful for a desert. I understand why Nina Hannolds wanted to be buried on the bluff. The Chisos Mountains are beautiful and the window looks so unique. Lots of dry, hot hiking.

I'm sure the Santa Elena Canyon has been in movies. In fact, most of these terrains look very familiar when I think back to all the cowboy movies Barry liked to watch. The photography is just terrific, Lizzy! <3

Cheryl Cato said...

Thank you Steven & Linda! It is a beautiful area of the country and best of be visited during cooler months. Even in summer there is very little humidity so it can be tolerable if your skin is well protected.

Jo said...

Fabulous photos! I hiked Red Rock Canyon in Nevada last October, and it was similarly wild. Oddly enough, this midwestern girl felt very much at home in the midst of the desert mountains. SO cool.

Cheryl Cato said...

Hi Jo, I find I love the desert air. Little humidity gives me much more energy. We love going to Taos in summer. I'll have to look up Red Rock Canyon to see what it looks like. Thanks for stopping by.

Reya Mellicker said...

I look at these pics and marvel. This is SUCH a different landscape than the one in which I live. It might as well be another planet.

Wow!! Thank you!

Love the desert grave. Very cool.

(word verification: dingo. Seems right!)