Big Bend Painting trip, Early summer 2013

Well, I went to the Chihuahuan desert for several days to paint a few scenes in Big Bend National Park. Each day I'd hike mid-day(around 12-1pm)  in order to set up and paint the landscape by late afternoon/early evening. Sometimes this involved hiking several miles to points of interest, while on the hike out I'd seek desert springs to refill my water and take a break from the 100+ temperatures.
In the end I created these paintings from some areas of Big Bend that caught my eye:

As I'd drive on the highway near a little desert town called Terlingua I'd see a famous landmark,
Mule Ears Peaks, as an interesting, light blue shape in the far distance.

I'd see it from the west face, but I wanted to hike the east side of it, while the sun was casting the shadow of the peaks. So, the day before I planned the venture.

Here is a photo my easel setup(I use an Open Box M) while I was painting the east side of Mule Ears Peaks. The solitude during the whole journey was pleasant.

On another day I went to paint a ridge of distinct rock outcroppings called The Chimneys:

Here is a view of Burro Mesa Trail, which was dotted with these huge dagger-like plants:

Here is quite a view of the Rio Grande and far into Mexico. I had tried to paint a scene from way up high but it didn't turn out so great. There are so many great views from River Road but I felt a bit uneasy painting so close to the border, but hopefully another time I will try again.