Been quiet here, I know. Off-season. So no appologies for a non-boat post: our Christmas trip to El Paso, TX.
Every Christmas morning for our whole married life, Bea and I have gotten on a plane to gather with Bea's parents, sisters and brothers, and other family and friends--a close-knit group. This year--Bea's sister being unable to get away from her position as an over-worked librarian--we were of course invited to descend upon her and her family's comfortable home in El Paso.
Gathered in the home of our hosts, Mary Helen and Art and their son Owen, were us and our three boys, Teresa and Robert and their two kids, and the Pater and Mater Familias, Ed and Vivian. Brother Ed and his wife Sheryl, and brother Chris and his wife Glenda couldn't get away.
Although these gatherings are mainly about family, full of lazy mornings around the coffee pot and evenings of good food and talk and laughter, we do get outside from time to time. Besides wandering the small arroyo near their home, we got to walk in the Franklin moountains for a few hours one day, to take a cable car ride to the top another, and to walk in an improbable wetland beside the Rio Grande on another. We also ate several nice restuarant meals in addition to the fine fare served by our hosts.
El Paso in west Texas is well into the Chihuahuan Desert--the largest desert in North America, though most of it is across the border in Mexico. Approaching by air, it presents a landscape radically different from my native New England: the landscape is pale brown dotted with green--a substrate-dominated landscape. Rainfall is scanty, averaging perhaps two inches per month in the summer "rainy season." Since this rainfall entirely evaporates rather than sinking into a water table, it leaves a crusty, calcareous "caliche" that forms a weakly-cemented layer in the pale, rocky alkaline soil. Amazing that anything can grow in it.
What does grow is plants that are no friend to the hiker: nearly every one is well-defended by spines or thorns or spiky leaves. Running into a Jumping Cholla cactus or falling into a dagger-leaved Yucca or Agave could mean a trip to the doctor. The wildlife runs from Black-tailed Jackrabbits as big as small dogs, to scorpions and tarantulas. It takes a certain amount of caution to adventure here safely!
If this isn't exciting enough, El Paso is on the Mexican border, with the city of Juarez--infamous as an epicenter of the wars between drug lords with a murder rate to match. Fortunately for us, though not for the victims in Juarez, the border here is very secure.
Every Christmas morning for our whole married life, Bea and I have gotten on a plane to gather with Bea's parents, sisters and brothers, and other family and friends--a close-knit group. This year--Bea's sister being unable to get away from her position as an over-worked librarian--we were of course invited to descend upon her and her family's comfortable home in El Paso.
Although these gatherings are mainly about family, full of lazy mornings around the coffee pot and evenings of good food and talk and laughter, we do get outside from time to time. Besides wandering the small arroyo near their home, we got to walk in the Franklin moountains for a few hours one day, to take a cable car ride to the top another, and to walk in an improbable wetland beside the Rio Grande on another. We also ate several nice restuarant meals in addition to the fine fare served by our hosts.
El Paso in west Texas is well into the Chihuahuan Desert--the largest desert in North America, though most of it is across the border in Mexico. Approaching by air, it presents a landscape radically different from my native New England: the landscape is pale brown dotted with green--a substrate-dominated landscape. Rainfall is scanty, averaging perhaps two inches per month in the summer "rainy season." Since this rainfall entirely evaporates rather than sinking into a water table, it leaves a crusty, calcareous "caliche" that forms a weakly-cemented layer in the pale, rocky alkaline soil. Amazing that anything can grow in it.
Yucca.
Agave lechugilla.
Prickly pear and the strange, gangly ocotillo.
Sotol, besides being handsome, is an unusually benign plant: the leaves, although sharply-toothed, do NOT end in two-inch daggers
What does grow is plants that are no friend to the hiker: nearly every one is well-defended by spines or thorns or spiky leaves. Running into a Jumping Cholla cactus or falling into a dagger-leaved Yucca or Agave could mean a trip to the doctor. The wildlife runs from Black-tailed Jackrabbits as big as small dogs, to scorpions and tarantulas. It takes a certain amount of caution to adventure here safely!
If this isn't exciting enough, El Paso is on the Mexican border, with the city of Juarez--infamous as an epicenter of the wars between drug lords with a murder rate to match. Fortunately for us, though not for the victims in Juarez, the border here is very secure.
Relaxing after a wonderful Christmas dinner.
Gift-giving time.
Trevor opens his gift while Mary Helen and Art look on.
The ceremonial Destruction of the Gingerbread House, an annual event.
Teresa and Robert ice skating.
Bea and Teresa hiking in the Franklins.
The valley we've walked up.
The gang's all here.
Rest stop. Lechugilla in foreground, ocotillo upper left.
Panoramic view from the upper slope.
Myself. Creosote bush all around--the most common shrub in American deserts, and a favorite of mine.
Wetland park close to the Rio Grande. The park has been suffering declining water, so effluent is being diverted from the sewage treatment plant.
The park is alive with ducks.
Tumbleweed, an alien invasive from Asia, is a problem here.
The park borders the Border. We attracted the attention of a border patrol helicopter merely by being in the park.
Don't know what this is, but it's pretty.
Wyler Aerial Tramway.
Views from the top are pretty spectacular.
Strata of the mountains dip at about 45 degrees.
Too cold and windy at the top to stand still long.
Arroyo Park (level area in center) from the top of the mountain.
In the Arroyo.
Gully in the arroyo.
Root system made visible in side of gully; also evidence of flood deposition of at least 4 layers of sediment. (Each layer begins with rocks, then grades upward into finer particles.)
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