The sky calls us to touch it. As kids, we climb trees, fly kites, find shapes in clouds. Adults hike, and hiking upward has a unique pull on our spirits. This climb, Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend National Park, often begins in the clouds and goes up. AND UP. Halfway up the high desert peak, a saddle, a peninsula really, breaks away from the trail. Stand at the tip and you can see 360 degrees of mountains below. Catch your breath now, and climb on. Leave this island and enter the sky. This winter painting spins around unexpected color, offering tiny surprises as you enter and explore its depth.
Lost Mine Trail is a favorite hike for visitors to Big Bend National Park who don't mind the steep upward climb from the already-high Chisos Basin toward the top of Texas. About halfway to the summit, a narrow saddle spans the mountains. Detouring off the well marked path to Lost Mine Peak and across the saddle means traveling surrounded by sky, looking down on an ocean of mountains, desert and rock. Color is richer at altitude, the air crisper along this narrow island in the vast borderlands sky. Take a deep breath and enjoy this moment.
artwork: 24" x 18" oil on archival Gessobord
framed outer dimensions: 29" x 23" custom framed in dark wood burnished lightly in antiqued gold
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