Libby and I took the dogs up the trails of the Palisades Canyon Loop (Crazy Cat Canyon) in the Franklin Mountains today. The trailhead is only a couple of miles from our house. The desert is very dry, but the lechuguillas and yuccas and creosote are all clinging to life amid the harshness. Occasionally, the light green of a mesquite with newly-sprung leaves brightens the landscape. The Franklin Mountains are all about geology, though. The twisted formations of Lower Ordovician El Paso Group Limestone are mixed with the Upper Ordovician Montoya Group Dolomite and the Silurian Fusselman Dolomite. There is a spot where the bright yellows and reds of the fossil-rich (trilobites, cystoids, brachiopods, nautiloids, sponges, etc.) Lower Ordovician Florida Mts. Formation meets the Silurian light grey-white-to-almost-pink Fusselman Dolomite in a sharply-defined discontinuity. Amid the jagged limestone and dolomite cliffs and the stark, spectacular canyons lie the humble beauties of a bright Texas rainbow cactus or an occasional wildflower.
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| Chert lenses in the El Paso Limestone |
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| Lechuguillas clinging to life |
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| Yucca, acacia (not yet in leaf), lechuguillas, and Texas rainbow cactus |
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Fusselman Dolomite |
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| Prickly pear cactus and calcite |
The desert is so subtle, dry and thirsty, but pretty all the same. Thanks for the pictures!
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