Bunkhouse Alone The De Anza Trail Between Tubac and Tumacacori in Southern Arizona– Images by kenne
Almost A Line of Poetry
— kenne
An Old Bunkhouse Near An Abandoned San Simon Valley Livestock Corral — Images by kenne
In the late eighteen hundreds, the land west of the Peloncillo Mountains, known as the San Simon Valley, had many beautiful grassy meadows with mesquite, ironwood, palo verde and other desert trees. This area was very attractive to many west Texas ranchers and by 1895 an estimated 50,000 head of cattle were grazing in the San Simon Valley. However, under the old open range conditions the great herds were devastating the San Simon Valley. Today most of the valuable grasses and forage plants are gone, left behind are many deep trails first worn by cattle, later dug deep by storm waters, easily eroding the land no longer protected by fine stock grasses.
The destruction to the valley is not an isolated picture, but serves as a poster-child for similar areas in the west that are experiencing the same destructive process in much of the western U.S.
This weekend we will be spending additional time in the valley and the Peloncillo Mountains photographing more evidence of the southwest’s disappearing water.
kenne
Abandoned Livestock Corral In The San Simon Valley — Image by kenne
Bunkhouse Windows — Images by kenne
Hidden
Under a thick mesquite bosque,
A barbwire fence
Separates
The historic Juan Bautista de Anza trail
From an old
Abandoned building,
Whose cracked adobe walls
And collapsing roof
Provide sunlight and shadow
Through yawning windows
On individual items
Of cowboys past —
Enduring whispers
From a permanent
Desert breeze
Bearing celebratory voices
After a hard day’s ride.
kenne
