Look Closer

New Mexico is a nexus of many landscapes.  The Chihuahuan Desert creeps in from the south, the Colorado Plateau dominates the west, and the Rocky Mountains make their last gasp by diving in from the north.

The eastern half of the state is special.  It is the southern end of the Great Plains. It is dissected by many great rivers that begin as trickles in the mountains.  The land is incredibly diverse with prairies, canyons, mesas, and volcanic fields.  It is, perhaps, the most spectacular part of the Land of Enchantment.  But most people never really see the plains.

This is for two reasons.

First of all, while mountains and mesas are scenic, from an ecological standpoint they are relatively simple... alpine, sub-alpine, forests, then foothills. Beyond the foothills, the land becomes flat. People love jagged topography.  They can drive through at 70 miles per hour with a sense of wonder at the topography.  But the plains aren't that way.  At 70 mph, they simply look flat.

Secondly, our corridors through the plains confound our appreciation of the plains. Engineers design our highways through the flattest parts of the plains (avoiding the mesas, valleys and other wonders) where construction costs are low, the roads are straight, and from the inside of a windshield, 70 miles per hour seems slow.  This is a terrible tragedy because you can't see the world when you are protected by glass at high speeds.

Thus, folks whiz through the Plains thinking there's nothing out there.

Gawd they're wrong.

Think about it... a car has one windshield, one steering wheel, one gas pedal, and one brake pedal.  (1+1+1+1=4)

People have two feet, two hands, two eyes, two ears, and a pair of nostrils. (2+2+2+2+2=10)

The math is simple.  If you get our of your car and walk around, you are two and a half times more likely to see the world.

And you have to walk, feel, look, listen, hear and smell to appreciate the vast beauty of the Plains.

Earlier this week, I wandered through the plains of Northeastern New Mexico.  As cars sped by with high hopes of enjoying the mountains, I got off the beaten track and walked around.

While the human 'turkeys' were 'loping' down the highway, I made some friends that they'll never know.

2+2+2+2+2=10.

A perfect 10 in the natural world.  

You'll never achieve that through a windshield.