El Paso

Out in the West Texas town of El Paso, lives Barbacoa, the best dog of the century. She is part of a new pack consisting of Mr. Buddy Bud-Bud and Ms. Madeline "Maddie" Sanchez.

I miss her and the desert this time of year. The wind picks up and stirs people's insides around. I remember there was a quadrangle in my high school that turned into a wind tunnel. I used to go there during class and stand alone in the center with my arms out and would lean into the wind. It whips at your face and your hair feels different afterward. It makes you feel light. Like none of this really matters.

Then I'd go back to class and dream about the boy I had a crush on or about how I was going to beat my sister's high score in Snood.

I took this photo at the top of Mt. Cristo Rey, overlooking the El Paso-Juarez border. I climbed there with my dad and Maddie one Easter for the first time a few years back. It's moving. Very sad actually.

Oh, and it's my favorite photograph that I have ever taken.