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| A crude Cowboy built corral with Mount San Antonio looming to the north. |
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| The cattle chute to nowhere |
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| Looking west toward the Cruces Basin Wilderness |
One of evocative western icons is the lowly corral. I’ve never met a corral I didn’t love. The ones strewn across the high desert of New Mexico are usually made of the materials readily at hand and, as such, are crude affairs that bend and yaw with age and the unsparing elements at 7,500 feet. This individual represents that cheap and resourceful ethos. Make it cheap, fast, and lasting. Make it easy to repair by a cowboy or shepherd with nothing but nothing but pliers, wire cutters and a length of wire, barbed or otherwise. The corral in this tale sits akimbo on the west side of my beloved US 285, a two-lane road that cuts a diagonal route across New Mexico from West Texas and into Colorado. The soft-shouldered form of volcanic San Antonio Mountain lies just beyond. Beyond Mount San Antone, sometimes called Mount Baldy, a sign says, “Welcome to Beautiful Colorado.” I will be so greeted this morning as I drive north to Leadville.
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| Framed by barbed wire |
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| Empty in the big empty |
This tidbit is a warm-up for my November-December article in Shadow and Light magazine. That’s unless I’m deterred by the proceeds of my photo safari to Leadville’s silver mines.
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2 comments:
No corral too small or large makes for a terrific blog, and entry in your upcoming article in Shadow and Light Magazine. Love the dusting of snow on San Antonio and the corral framed by barbed wire. Thanks for teasing us with those before the publication of your article. Will look forward to see the piece.
Thanks Daryl. I didn’t see a post from you today. Did I miss it?
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