Running Almost Mexico

I recently spent some time running our southern border in Hudspeth County, TX. With only three fourths of a person per mile it is the 45th least populous county in America. Loving, TX is number 5 with only a tenth of a person per mile. In comparison, New York County, NY is the most densely populated with 69,468 people per mile! (Wikipedia) No thank you! I prefer Texas, so the fam and I went to our family’s ranch in West Texas to enjoy a very quiet weekend in Almost Mexico.

Hudspeth along the border is much like the Big Bend area of Texas with a high wall of mountains in Mexico, the Quitman Mountains in the US and the Rio Grande slicing through the valley between the two countries. On both sides of the river, as far as the eye can see, is dry desert, rocky outcrops and sand hills dotted with creosote bush and gnarly vegetation. With only around nine inches of rain per year, it is one of the most inhospitable regions imaginable where everything bites, stings or scratches. It’s also one of the most beautiful. 

This stretch of the river is known as the Forgotten Reach of the Rio Grande because the water flow usually stops here after the farmers upstream in Fabens, Tornillo and Ft Hancock irrigate their pecan orchards and cotton fields. In the last several years though this area has been flooding regularly creating a bosque where waterfowl now flourishes. 

A hawk keeping watch on the border

I love heading out for a run in the early morning before the heat of the day to take in the the sights, sounds and smells of the desert. I usually head down the Indian Hot Springs Rd with several dogs in tow. The dirt road passes through several gravelly arroyos before reaching a twisty hilly section with eroded cliffs on each side. Sometimes coyotes yip at us, but usually we only see cows and horses hanging out by the road. I have also seen a pack of wild burros in this area. Occasionally I run into a rancher driving his F-150 on the way to tend cattle, bee keepers driving their flatbeds to collect the local honey or the border patrol driving ATVs on their way to do what ever the border patrol does out here. 

Indian Hot Springs Rd

Gambel's Quail

Quail chicks

Read: Disappearing Rio Grande (Indian Hot Springs)

On this particular weekend though, I didn’t see anyone on the road and simply enjoyed the peace and quiet with my dogs. The only sounds I heard were the moo of a cow, whinny of a horse, chirp of a bird or my dogs yipping as they chased jackrabbits. I appreciated how lucky I was while thinking of the miserable runners pounding the pavement in New York. Occasionally I stopped and looked into Mexico where I admired a beautiful moon setting behind the majestic mountains; the only blemish being a rusty four mile section of border fence.

On another run, I wanted to bird watch on the flooded section where the border fence ends, so I turned onto the Rio Grande levee road that is maintained by the International Boundary and Water Commission. Several years ago, the dirt road was completely under water here because the levee fence makes it difficult for them to get their dredging machinery next to the river to deepen the channel. They’ve since raised the road but flooded utility poles have started to lean and are in danger of completely toppling over.

On the positive side, waterfowl has migrated and made their home here. I ran the dirt levee road which is very flat with lush green vegetation lining the river banks. No fence impeded my view of Mexico and I was able to see many bird species including the Black-necked stilt, American avocet and different types of herons and egrets. A lone hawk, with eyesight four to five times stronger than a humans, perched in a nearby tree and kept watch on the border. How's that for border security?

Stilts and avocets

The highlight of my run though, was seeing a herd of wild horses that lives here. About a dozen horses were grazing in a field along the river bank free to roam on either side of the border. They spooked when they saw me coming, but one large dun stallion stayed behind and kept a very close watch on me. He frequently nodded his head and then took off running after the rest of the herd. It was a beautiful sight to see. Eventually I caught up with the entire herd as they stopped on the road looking on with curiosity. They must have been thinking: What’s this dude doing here? Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is running the border? He could be bitten by a rattlesnake, twist an ankle or lose a toenail from running too much!

"What's this dude doin' out here?"

Sweet acacia flowers

Anyway, 10 miles into my run, the heat started to get very intense. I brought two 20oz bottles of water and they were almost gone by this point so I turned around to head back. The desert heat in the summer is very intense and reached over 100 degrees on several days of my long weekend. The scrub vegetation provides no shade and you are lucky to make it several miles unless you are exceptionally fit and carry a great deal of water. The Chihuahuan Desert will kill you if you don’t know what you are doing. Be careful if you choose to run out here; you may not see anyone for days. Luckily for me I made it back to the ranch running on empty, but otherwise unscathed.

Sunrise at the ranch

We enjoyed our stay away from civilization and I saw some of the most stunning sunsets and sunrises of my life. We actually had one visitor who greeted me on the porch one afternoon. A four foot long bull (gopher) snake entertained us for a while as he crawled along the house taking cover in a bush in the yard. I finally caught him with a grabber and moved him away from the house. These snakes look venomous, but they are harmless unless you are a rodent.

Gopher snake

Other wildlife abounds here in the desert. In addition to watching the hummingbird feeder, I saw plenty of Gambel’s quail including a family with chicks. I sat with my daughter one evening watching bats while we waited for the large owl that lives in the palm tree in the yard to take flight. I also captured a picture of a small western screech owl who lives in a barn. 

Screech owl

Our southern border region in West Texas is teeming with wildlife and the quiet is downright spooky at times. Sometimes it feels like you are on another planet, but the running is spectacular. There are plenty of dirt roads that allow you to pick a hilly or flat course and you have a great view of Mexico. Hope you get to visit Almost Mexico someday.

Almost Mexico

See you on the trail.