Turning south from Hachita onto two-lane NM 81, civilization drops away. There are no antelope here — the crossing was named after a ranch — but there’s plenty of other wildlife. A herd of mule deer darts past yucca and flimsy barbed-wire ranch fencing that lines the road. Black cattle graze in the plains beyond, which are ringed by mountains. To the west lie the Little Hatchet Mountains, from which the town of Hachita drew its name, and the Alamo Hueco; to the east is the Animas range and to the south, the Big Hatchet, now covered in snow.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 07, 2019 11:02 UTC