Cook's Mesa and Island Mesa
A few vague trails suitable for only the toughest four-by-fours or a pair of legs cross Cook's Mesa and Island Mesa to the headwaters of New River. On this day, I hiked five miles in. At the far end of Cook's Mesa, I met a man driving a steel frame with four big tires. He told me I could go much deeper to an old ranch and homestead "out there somewhere" - he gestured westward toward the New River Mountains. Before we went our separate ways, he made me an offer I probably wouldn't have refused: "I'll pick ya up on the way out if ya break yer leg".
Blackjack Point on the tip of Cook's Mesa.
A large agave plant on Island Mesa.
A view through juniper trees into Grapevine Canyon.
An explosion of flowers grows from amid burned juniper trees on the slopes of Grapevine Canyon.
The slopes of Grapevine Canyon decorated with Golden Eye (Viguiera parishii).
A burned out juniper skeleton.
Life on the edge of Island Mesa.
In the evening, high mesas cast their long shadows.
