Rain on the Open Range Country of the Lost Mesa

 The open range of the Otero Mesa is wild, wide open range country.  I love the vastness of the land, the lonely mountains, and the solitude of the place.  I was drawn back to this landscape again in what has become a regular destination and an annual trip.


It is a trip that marks the end of summer and is timed to coincide with the monsoon season in the southwest when the tropic hurricane season sends rainy into the parched southwest.

This a dry year.  Texas and New Mexico are suffering a severe drought.  Both states are way under for rain totals for the year and fires have raged across both states.  The mesa is under it's rain total for the year but still showed some signs of the wet season.


The grasses were not as green as in the past years and some areas that get seasonal pools of water were dry.  However the ocotillo were all green with leaves showing some signs of rain.

I was lucky to see some rain on this trip.  It was very distant and light but there was some rain out there on the horizon.


Here are a couple of images from the trip and showing a little of that distant rain.


Take in the vast distances here and how open the open range is.  Then marvel at how even that little bit of rain brings new life to the desert.