Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Texas // An old central Texas wonder, Enchanted Rock is a plutonic Batholith that formed underground about a billion years ago, and uplifted during the Ouachita Orogeny, when South America rammed into ancient Laurentia about 300 million years ago. (The Geologic expression of it today is actually just the same as the domes of Yosemite--it's an exfoliation dome cracking into sheets because of the release of pressure.) But none of that quite explains why it's "Enchanted." The pink granite dome has a history of human visitation going back 11,000 years, and in that time it has been the subject of countless myths, both American Indian and Colonial. Perhaps we give these places special, mystical-mythical-magical names when, by the lucky inevitability of infinite possibility, they come so close to our internal predispositions of beauty that it seems such a place must have been made that way on purpose. Of course, no one could design something so perfect. If that's the case, may all rocks be thought enchanted!
Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas The biblically-proportioned rains we've been getting in Texas meant that the vegetation down in the canyon was unusually, wonderfully lush and green. On the downside, the whole canyon was filled with swarms of mosquitoes and horseflies biting in a surprisingly painful tag-team, even despite the several layers of deep woods Off. On the upside, the other insect life was flourishing too, enjoying the vibrant wildflowers and making it nearly impossible to get back to the car without taking a few hundred extra photos.
Yosemite National Park, California //
