“In Big Bend National Park, the Chisos mountains rise up out of the Chihuahuan Desert like a volcanic island in a desert ocean. The Chisos is home to a path called the “The Lost Mine Trail”. It’s a short, steep, and hot hike with amazing views all along the way. Obviously, there is a highly skeptical tale which explains how Lost Mine Peak got its name. But the real treasure is this - about half-way up the trail is an ‘unofficial’ side hike that takes you to a saddle with the most amazing view into a high valley flanked by incredible mesas. The late morning sun drives down into this arid basin and washes out the landscape. Standing on this saddle you can see all the way to Mexico, smell the Alligator Juniper and the Mexican Pinon Pine, all while basking in the intense radiant warmth of our sun, over 94 million miles away. That is the real gold on this lost mine trail.”