While my blogs began on the St. Edward’s Campus, I had the chance to extend my search for natural beauty much further while on my Easter Break. On this break, I was took a camping trip to Big Bend National Park for some hiking, swimming and even perusing art galleries. Since the drive there is quite long, we were able to make a few stops along the way. One of them was the famous little desert town of Marfa, Texas. We spent the afternoon wandering the town, perusing art set against the stark desert background, drinking iced coffees and getting dark red sun burns on necks and noses.
Our first stop was the Donald Judd exhibits at the Chinati Foundation on the outskirts of town, where his untitled works in concrete are. A series of 15, the works are huge concrete blocks arranged in symmetrical configurations each with a makeshift desert path between them. It was on this path that I spotted a Texas Horned Lizard, a tiny thing of only 2 or so inches long. With rough beige skin, the lizard blended in perfectly with its surroundings, and I was only able to catch a glimpse of it because of how fast it moved, racing between rocks and shrubs. Since I’m from Michigan and haven’t done much travel in Texas outside Austin, this felt like the first real desert animal I’d ever seen. It had spikes down its spine and was so neatly camouflaged to its environment. Though I was just barely able to snap a picture of it before it darted away, this sighting made me excited to spend the rest of my break exploring a new desert environment and all the natural wonders it had to offer.
iNaturalist Link: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5977300