By Eilene Lyon
When you think of wilderness, do you conjure a deep grove of majestic, old-growth trees surrounded by fuzzy pick-up-sticks of fallen mossy trunks? Waterfalls thundering and spongy, leaf-strewn ground cushioning your every step? Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is nothing like that.
This is the Badlands.
Some might call it barren, but that would be like saying an elaborately decorated wedding cake is “stark.” The variety of geologic forms in rainbow hues more than makes up for the lack of greenery.
You won’t find poison ivy, grizzly bears, or deep blue lakes here. Instead, find yourself walking through labyrinths carved by cloudbursts. Climbing crunchy hills coated with natural ceramic formed when underlying coal seams burned and fired the clay layer above.
Around the corner: the petrified stumps of an ancient forest that flourished 50 million years ago when this area was a delta flush with fresh water and abundant life. On a fence demarcating adjacent Navajo land, a beetle skewered on barbed wire by a passing loggerhead shrike.
There is still a bit of water – occasionally. And a little vegetation seared by the late-summer sun. But in October, the heat has departed and the Harvest Moon bathes the mammary mounds and phalic hoodoos alike in a cool, blue light.
Even in the more popular spring and fall months, people are few and far between. A visit to the Bisti will soothe your over-taxed, tech-weary mind and put you in touch with nature at its raw best.
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Fabulous. I love this kind of landscape. The picture with the lighter coloured dog on top of the rocks is so cute.
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Thanks! That’s my puppy, Sterling, named after an ancestor, of course.😉 He’s actually about five now.
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Excellent pictures! I was there once when I was in high school, would love to go back now that I’m a bit more avid of a hiker 🙂
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It’s such a nice place to hike – mostly pretty flat.
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I’ve been there! It’s enchanting. You took some excellent photos of the place, several of them postcard worthy. 😉
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I’m so glad to know you’ve been there. I bet you saw lots of great desert scenes during your Arizona period – and have the photos. Thanks for the compliment.
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Fascinating post, beautifully written…haven’t been to New Mexico in a while, need to get back down there!
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Bisti was just our first stop. We went to the Malpais and had pie at Pie Town before heading to the Gila and Silver City. Then there was the trip back. Hmm. Maybe I should share a bit more!
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And thanks for the compliment!
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So interesting! Thanks for the photos so we can virtually visit – but I think Bisti will be going on list of places I want to visit in person. Thanks for this great post!
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Thanks for stopping in! The badlands are such a unique type of geology that really needs to be appreciated in person.
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Wow, beautiful! Nature is quite the artist!
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Yes, indeed! Sometimes it’s nice to see the geology unencumbered by plant life.
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I have to say the landscape looks magical: for movie or for the book.
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Maybe something prehistoric.
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what a beauty our planet 💙
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The badlands are really cool places, for sure.
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