There are some places on earth that truly deserve to be called ‘beautiful.’ Some places that are awe-inspiring in their natural beauty. Some places that we can feel free and independent. These places are few and scattered jewels among the everyday rock of the rest of the earth. The Pecos River, New Mexico is one of those places. There is nowhere I would rather spend my time than at this remote campground and river, set high in majestic mountains. The soft strains of the river’s gentle music grace my listening ears as I take in the beauty that surrounds me. Upon listening further, I hear the trill of a bird somewhere in the endless green and black forest. As a warm ray of bright morning sunshine warms my goose bump studded skin, I admire the fog rolling off of the tall damp green grass as the sun evaporates the dew. From my folding camp chair, I spectate the beautiful sight of sunlight streaming through the trees overhead. The sunlight seems to form beautiful stars of light where it breaks through the overhead canopy of dark green pine needles. The morning is cold, but my cup of steaming hot coffee warms me up as I take in all the majesty of this remote campground.
The awe inspiring landscape is perfect grounds for thinking, and I ponder how some people travel thousands of miles to find a place that appeals to them, whereas I am lucky enough to live an hour and a half from a small patch of paradise on earth. I love this campground as much or more than any other place on earth. As I continue thinking I wonder: what about it is so appealing? Is it the remoteness? The landscape? The wildlife? The sounds? No, I believe that what appeals to me about this campground is the feel of independence, of adventure, and of freedom. It is freeing in that nothing manmade attempts to bring out the beauty of the campground, river, mountains, everything, or embellish it in any way. The whole scene of this unknown mountain campground and river simply sits in humble, yet breathtakingly beautiful splendor. I would choose this campground over anywhere else in the world.
The crackle of the bramble just across the river snaps me out of my contemplation. I examine the area where the sound came from, but nothing. Not wanting to scare anything off, I keep my gaze on the area without moving. Scrutinizing the area, not daring to move my eyes lest I miss whatever it is, I stay in the position. After a minute or so, my patience is rewarded. A beautiful, monstrous black bear steps out of the undergrowth, sending birds every which way, many of them cawing, trilling, or squawking at the intruder that so rudely disturbed their peace. The bear doesn’t seem to care, and it lumbers over to the river. It lowers its enormous head, and laps up the crystal clear running water. I can’t see the river well enough, but from experience I know that all the fish in the area just scattered, hardly visible to anything out of the water as they fled. After a minute of lapping, the shaggy black head raises from the water, droplets rolling off the mat of fur back into the river. It looks around for a minute, then tramps back off the way it came, pushing undergrowth and plowing bramble. I smile, appreciative that I had the chance to see it. It takes a while, but the offended birds finally repopulate the area, the campground back to its normal peace.
Something I love about this amazing place is that the wildlife traverse freely through, over, and in the Pecos River. The water is a natural attraction to the beautiful creatures of the wood, and I have been lucky enough to see a great quantity of the wood-dwellers while camping here. Once again, I am reminded of how beautifully breathtaking this amazing river and campground are. By now, the sun has made its majestic rise into the clear blue sky. Its powerful rays sparkle and shimmer through the proud pines and on the transparent, quickly flowing water of the small yet majestic Pecos River.
About The Author: I, Elijah Malizzo, am thirteen years old and I love to write and read. I have a large family, and I live in New Mexico, U.S.A. I love the outdoors, fishing, camping, hiking, simply being outside, and my love for the outdoors and independence is what inspired me to write this entry.
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