Where Canyons Touch the Sky

Lens-Artists Challenge #388: Your Journey in 5-10 Images

Anne-Christine asked us to consider these questions for this week’s challenge about a trip we took: “What were the highlights, what are the memories that will stay with me forever? Maybe the big surprises? The animals, the people, the culture, the landscapes?” You can see her gorgeous photos from Zimbabwe and South Africa here. As for my take on the challenge, I’ll take the easy way out and focus on my last journey.

If you’ve seen my recent posts, you know I have just returned from a week away at Big Bend Ranch State Park. I’ve been to that park several times, and this was the right time to go back. I was more prepared to venture off-road. My Jeep Wrangler — aptly named Onyx — finally traded the pavement for the prehistoric dust of Big Bend Ranch State Park. In the featured photo, Onyx appears on the lower left, already covered in dust in only the first ten miles of the journey.

The moment I crossed into the park boundaries, the scale of the landscape took my breath away. Seeing those towering, multi-layered peaks rising above the desert floor from behind the wheel of Onyx felt like a true homecoming. I was home, out in the wide-open skies.

I went chasing trails and canyons. I didn’t just stick to the dirt roads; I took my hiking shoes to explore the park’s rugged interior, such as at Cinco Tinajas. Standing above the canyon, I marveled at how the ancient “rock basins” have carved their way through the desert over millennia.

The Puerta Chilicote Loop was a hike that offered sweeping vistas of volcanic peaks and spiked yuccas standing like desert sentinels. Nature presented itself in every careful step I took. Being the only human being along that trail — as it happens in most hikes inside the park — I felt in complete harmony with Nature and her gifts.

At Closed Canyon, perhaps the most intimate experience of the trip, I was squeezing through the narrow, cool shadows of the slot canyon where the walls glow like molten gold when the light hits just right. It’s an unforgettable hike that I repeat every time I visit this park. Each time, there is a new discovery.

No trip to this region is complete without driving FM 170, also known as the “River Road.” Stretching between Presidio and Lajitas (50 miles / 80 km), it is arguably the most scenic drive in Texas. Onyx handled the hairpin turns and steep grades with ease, offering me a front-row seat to the Colorado Canyon. Looking down at the green ribbon of the Rio Grande snaking through the dark volcanic rock, you realize just how vast and untamed this border country remains.

After the dust settled each evening, I retreated to the Sauceda Bunkhouse. There is no better way to end a desert day than sitting on that porch, watching the sky ignite. The sunsets here aren’t just colors; they are an event. Seeing the horizon turn a fiery, bruised purple against the silhouette of the mountains was the perfect “welcome to the family” moment for Onyx. The Big Bend back country is tough, beautiful, and unforgiving—the perfect place for a Jeep to find its soul.

I am grateful for the beautiful images you share week after week, such as the ones for John’s Shadowed challenge last week. I hope you will join this challenge, too. Please don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag in your posts to help people find your wonderful challenge entries.

Next week, Anne will feature a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out more about the challenge then. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history. If you don’t want to miss any future challenges, please consider subscribing to the team members’ websites. Here they are:

• Tina of Travels and Trifles.
• Patti of P.A. Moed.
• Ann-Christine of Leya.
• John of Journeys with Johnbo.
• Anne of Slow Shutter Speed.
• Sofia of Photographias.
• Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes.
• Ritva of Ritva Sillanmäki Photography.
• Beth of Wandering Dawgs.

That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in others featuring Big Bend Ranch SP, Cinco Tinajas, Closed Canyon, Colorado Canyon, FM 170, Landscapes, Lens-Artists, Parks, Puerta Chilicote Loop, Rio Grande, River Road, Sauceda Bunkhouse, Sunset, Texas. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.