A recent trip to El Paso, Texas, allowed me to temporarily escape the final blasts of our northeast winter. This is where Eric, a dear friend and neighbor, spends his winters. He grew up there, and was a great tour guide and generous host. I got to see landmarks and history and there was so much to learn. The sketches so far are from the places we went hiking.
Coming from NE Pennsylvania (elev= 900’) I was concerned about altitude adjustment. (El Paso elev = 3,760’) So before leaving, I went on slightly longer hikes and even added a few pounds to my pack. That seemed to do the trick, and there were no issues with altitude.
Our first hike was in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces, NM, just over the border.
An online description: The Organ Mountains are a steep, angular mountain range with rocky spires that jut majestically above the Chihuahuan Desert floor. They range from 4,600 to just over 9,000 feet, and are so named because of the steep, needle-like spires that resemble the pipes of an organ.
Coming from the Poconos, the first views of these were awe inspiring.
We did a 3+ mile hike on the La Cueva trail, a great introduction, with deep blue skies and a cave to explore. Stopping to sketch made the hike take longer, but I could’ve spent all day here!
La Cueva/ The Cave
On a recent sunny day, a neighbor joined me for a nearly 7 mile hike that went from Raymondskill Falls to Milford Knob. We sat and sketched the view, but decided next time we’d return with small seats to avoid snakes. While we’re not afraid of them, we did see 2 black rat snakes on the trail, one was 3’ long. It’s possible this one that looked curly was in fact full of eggs! 
