November, 2019 - PhotoTrice

Cinnabar Mine

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A century ago cinnabar mining was common across the Big Bend region in Texas. Thousands of people were engaged in back breaking manual labor, digging, transporting and refining red cinnabar ore into mercury. Every part of the process is dangerous; some such as handling the mercury are deadly. Even so, honest work is a rare commodity in the wild Texas/Mexico borderlands.

Today these abandoned mines are nearly as deadly as they were when in production. They are largely ignored and unmonitored. Little grows on the contaminated land. The wind blows mineral laden dust into the homes of everyone living within miles of the mines.

A short distance from this site is the historic cemetery in Terlingua. There you get a sense of the price paid by miners to feed their families. The graves, mostly hand made by relatives or friends shelter those laid to rest. They are evidence of traditions stretching back into the distant past.

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Wildflowers Pontotoc Texas

My favorite place to photograph wildflowers is the Hill Country of Central Texas. The bloom along highway 71 from Brady to Pontotoc can be spectacular. In good years flowers often stretch uninterrupted for fifty miles or more. Spring in the Hill Country is usually cool mornings and evenings with warm afternoons, perfect for visitors. Fair warning, on weekends the back roads can be busy places in the best viewing areas.

With wildflowers timing is everything. Texas is a very large geographical area encompassing multiple climate types and zones. In spring you can follow the wildflower bloom as it progresses across climate regions for several weeks. The State of Texas even operates a website to help you find the best areas to visit.

Who should we thank for all the Spring flowers? My pick is Lady Bird Johnson. She worked her whole life to make Texas a better and more beautiful place.

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Sunset on Maxwell Scenic Drive

Big Bend National Park is one of the grand places we have gifted to ourselves as a nation. Maxwell Scenic Drive captures much of the flavor of Big Bend starting in the middle of the park and ending near the sheer vertical cut in the escarpment known as Santa Elena Canyon. Unfortunately watching the sunset on Maxwell Scenic Drive is an experience few people will ever have.

The park is tucked far out of the way in remote West Texas along the international border. Few visitors ever venture here which means you are likely to have the whole place to yourself during most of the year. With about a thousand square miles of hiking, biking, mountains, rivers and desert to explore unique experiences can be found everywhere. What you won’t find are artificial lights at night because the park is a dark sky preserve or lots of tourist amenities. This is quiet and pristine country.

I get to the Bend as often as possible and miss it as soon as I leave. It is just one of those places you never forget.