Images from The Texas Ten
©Bert Gildart: Today Janie and I left Las Cruces, New Mexico, and traveled east to Fort Davis, mostly along Texas Highway 10. Fort Davis, Texas seems to offer much in the way of history and beauty so we’ll be staying for the next few days. Hollywood filmed part of Lonesome Dove at and around the fort.
THE MIGHTY RIO GRANDE — A RIVER WITHOUT WATER!
CLICK IMAGES FOR LARGER VERSIONS
But that’s not what we saw as we traveled east from Las Crucez along the Texas Ten. Draw your own conclusions from the above images of the Rio Grande as seen from a city park in Las Crucez. Click the image of the sign which will blow it up large enough to be read more easily.
In brief it says the “Rio Grande has been an integral part of the history of New Mexico.” Proudly the sign proclaims the Rio Grande to be “one of the great rivers of the world.”
That’s sad because judging from what we saw today it appears as thought the Rio Grande is about to suffer the same fate as the Colorado, which no longer reaches the Gulf. Image on the right of sign make the Rio Grande appear as though it may be a muddy river, but in fact it is only sand and mud and was taken when I turned 180 degrees. Click the image to enlarge it and you’ll better see the dessicated clumps of dirt which now fill the air when the wind blows, which it frequently does. The bright spot is that there are remedies for some of America’s environmental problems.
Borders without fences? Maybe somewhere but not here where this huge fence separates El Paso from Juarez, Mexico.
And, finally, here (above) is an image of Juarez, Mexico, taken from the shoulder of Interstate 10 in El Paso, showing the huge border fence and a little of the poverty behind the fence. Hopefully, some of the dire economic conditions will change with Mexico’s new president. On Dec. 1, Enrique Peña Nieto began a six-year term and immediately directed his Cabinet to promote Mexico’s development. We hope he is successful, because the more we travel the more we become convinced that we in the U.S. have some real problems.
Some of those were alluded to in my last few posts, and the bright spot (as mentioned) is that remedies do exist.
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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS FIVE YEARS AGO:
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4th ed. Autographed by the Authors
Hiking Shenandoah National Park
Hiking Shenandoah National Park is the 4th edition of a favorite guide book, created by Bert & Janie, a professional husband-wife journalism team. Lots of updates including more waterfall trails, updated descriptions of confusing trail junctions, and new color photographs. New text describes more of the park’s compelling natural history. Sometimes the descriptions are personal as the Gildarts have hiked virtually every single park trail, sometimes repeatedly.
Big Sky Country is beautiful
Montana Icons: 50 Classic Symbols of the Treasure State
Montana Icons is a book for lovers of the western vista. Features photographs of fifty famous landmarks from what many call the “Last Best Place.” The book will make you feel homesick for Montana even if you already live here. Bert Gildart’s varied careers in Montana (Bus driver on an Indian reservation, a teacher, backcountry ranger, as well as a newspaper reporter, and photographer) have given him a special view of Montana, which he shares in this book. Share the view; click here.
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
What makes Glacier, Glacier?
Glacier Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Crown of the Continent
Glacier Icons: What makes Glacier Park so special? In this book you can discover the story behind fifty of this park’s most amazing features. With this entertaining collection of photos, anecdotes and little known facts, Bert Gildart will be your backcountry guide. A former Glacier backcountry ranger turned writer/photographer, his hundreds of stories and images have appeared in literally dozens of periodicals including Time/Life, Smithsonian, and Field & Stream. Take a look at Glacier Icons
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
