A Desolate Land

The vast majority of Hidalgo County, New Mexico is remote and uninhabited. That can be said about many places in the western part of the United States, but the remoteness of  Hidalgo County has to be seen to be believed. It varies from desert to grassland to pinon/juniper scrub to ponderosa pine forest, depending on elevation. though the vast majority of the county is part of the Chihuahuan Desert, which spreads from western Texas to southeast Arizona and south into Mexico.. The most remote areas visible from a highway are along State Highway 81 south of Hachita (which is in Grant county) and county road 1 south of Animas. These roads are the most extreme, but the principal east-west route south of Interstate 10, State Highway 9, is also extremely remote.
Most of the mountains in Hidalgo County are unnamed and have never been measured. In most of the mountain ranges, only the highest peak has been measured and named. In others, there may be 2 or 3 named and measured peaks in the entire range while all of the other eminences in the mountain range remain a complete mystery. All of the mountain ranges have been named, but most of the individual mountains have not. The flora, fauna and geology in large portions of the county are little known and have not been studied. But is is likely similar to other areas of the Chihuahuan Desert.
  Hidalgo is a county where most of the population is concentrated in or near the county seat, Lordsburg. In fact, the second biggest population center in the county is a subdivision instead of a town. The Windmill subdivision is the second largest populated area in Hidalgo County. It has approximately 300 people.
  Hidalgo County is bisected by the Continental Divide, which divides waters flowing into the Pacific Ocean with waters flowing into the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. In many places in this part of New Mexico, the Continental Divide is almost imperceptible. It follows mountain ranges in some places, but, in other places is merely a slight rise in the land that is barely distinguishable from the desert around it.
  This remoteness, isolation and desolation is a big part of the attraction of Hidalgo County, in my mind. It reminds me of a simpler time, a time before modern civilization destroyed or severely altered the landscape. A time when society was more primitive. There are portions of Hidalgo county that are still untouched by modern society. Other areas have felt the hand of man, but in a very subtle way. When my mind harkens back to a more primitive time, Hidalgo County, plus neighboring parts of Luna, Grant and Dona Ana Counties come to the forefront. This is the area that is collectively known as the "Bootheel" of New Mexico.