El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro consisted of several extensive sections along with a number of parajes, a Spanish term referring to a camping place where travelers customarily stopped for the night. A jornada is an arduous trail between two parajes that must be traveled in one day’s time because of the lack of a water supply.
The Jornada del Muerto was one of the most feared sections along the El Camino Real. It was a dreaded 90-mile, waterless shortcut bypassing the contour of the Rio Grande. Treacherous, with steep ravines, canyons, and quick sand. Attacks from the Apaches was yet another hazard along the portion of the trail, making the Jornada del Muerto one of the deadliest stretches of the El Camino Real. According to historians, 1885 is considered the death of El Camino Real, when the railroads effectively made the trail obsolete. In 1945, the U.S. Army chose the desolate Jornada del Muerto to detonate the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site.
The desolation and solitude of New Mexico; the spirit and history of this landscape, brings me back again and again. Truth or Consequences is a place where stress, discomfort, and anxiety melt away… Where the monotony of city life becomes a mirage. There is time for self-reflection. Time for watching the landscape cha nge around you. Time to sit, wait, and be present with nature, rather than trying to control her. Fresh air. A place where you can hear migratory birds swiftly landing in the water, miles away, as if they were right in front of you. The howls of coyotes in the early morning when they captured what they needed. Strange, reoccurring lights in the sky. The silence of a rattlesnake below your feet or the colors and sounds of the stones…a diamond in the desert. This place captivates me.
February 2018 brought me back to Truth or Consequences for a residency program. During my 4 weeks, I explored as much of the landscape around Elephant Butte Reservoir as possible, the centennial celebration only two years before. The presence of humanity in landscape has always been a photographic interest of mine. Analogous to a detective or archaeologist; documenting evidence of people who once occupied the landscape for a period of time, rather it be a party, drought, or military operation. This particular landscape is extremely hostile. One that has been feared by locals and travelers for over 400 years. Technology, innovation, and modern medicine has made it possible to be in this place without succumbing to the realities of this harsh environment. Jornada Del Muerto documents my time spent in the Truth or Consequences.
