The Lost Mesa-Big Sky Big Country

Late summer on the Lost Mesa is one fantastic time to be out here. Ok, who am I kidding? Anytime is a good time to be here. It is that during the late summer monsoon season there is always a pretty good chance for some afternoon thunderstorms to build, bringing both rain and big sunsets.

So on a recent weekend out on the mesa I got a chance to see some great clouds and even some rain. Summer 2009 has had some rain out here but it seems to have been a little less than normal as many of the plants that I saw in bloom during prior years were not blooming this year. Now maybe I missed them by a few weeks, but it did seem a little drier here. But who is to let a little rain, or lack of it get in the way of being out on the Lost Mesa?

I am always amazed by the big empty quality of the land here. Big empty spaces. Lonely yet teeming with some energy that cannot be described.

And the sky! That big sky. Montana has nothing on this place.

The open range goes on for miles and I drove across the vastness of it kicking up dust behind me. Open range.....

Your eyes are always looking into the distance here. Looking at distant mountains. Following the swell of the land. Catching a glimpse of pronghorn speeding away. Watching the yucca forest appear suddenly.

And the sky. The big blue sky.

Here are a few examples of that big sky. First a sunrise. The sun pops up over the rolling rangeland and brings the light of a new day. A lonely mountain pops up out of the grass.

Second image is another view of how these mountains pop out of the grass. Each a lone unique peak in a sea of grass.

Third image is one looking across the rolling vastness of 1.2 million acres of open range.

Big open range. Big open sky. Big open country.

It was good to be back.