Pedernales Falls State Park

With classes done, I spent this past Wednesday at Pedernales Falls State Park, about an hour west of Austin in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Although draught conditions reduced the waters flowing through the lengthy, twisted falls to a trickle, the beautifully carved limestone alone is worth the trip. After wandering around the falls, I hiked up Wolf Mountain, named for the prairie wolves--coyotes--that inhabit the rolling hills.

What's Left Are Hills

I'm proud to debut my cinematic tribute to the Texas Hill Country, a documentary short titled "What's Left Are Hills." In many ways, this represents the capstone of my last two years here. I'll be moving on shortly but will remember these places.

Guadalupe Mountains

After spending the night in Alamogordo, New Mexico it was on to the last stop of my trip, Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far northwest Texas. Initially, my plan was to re-hike Guadalupe Peak, the highest mountain in Texas, but the park was relatively crowded on the spring break weekend so I asked a ranger about some alternatives. I settled on the Tejas Trail up into the mountains on the opposite side of the valley as Guadalupe Peak. Once it climbed up the mountain side, the route wound along the tops of the peaks through a rolling meadow called The Bowl, then down steep, sharp Bear Canyon (I didn't see any).

Tularosa Basin

After dropping my dad off at the airport early Thursday morning, I started making my way back toward Texas. Driving south from Albuquerque, I headed into New Mexico's strange and historic Tularosa Basin.

Just after passing through San Antonio, New Mexico, I saw flashing lights and signs indicating the road ahead was closed. Confused, I turned back to the small town and got a cup of coffee. 

The woman behind the counter said it was a missile test at the White Sands Range. The road would reopen in an hour or two. She suggested I visit the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge eight miles away. I followed her advice and did some birdwatching in the marshes while I imagined missiles soaring overhead.

Once the road had reopened, I continued east past the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated, to Valley of Fires Recreation Area. A pitch black lava flow dominates the landscape, accented with sharp green leaves adept at finding ways to survive. It was the maximum contrast with White Sands National Monument, my last stop of the night, where everything glowed with an ethereal brightness.

In between the black and the white landscapes, I stopped at the Three Rivers Petroglyph site, home to over ten thousand etchings made by Mogollon Indians. No one knows exactly what they say or mean, but the site host told me a number of theories. Her theory is that the etchings are an ancient version of Facebook--people telling stories about who they see and what they do on a daily basis.