There is a hiking trail on Mt. Franklin near El Paso, TX that I want tell you about. It has something . . . special.

For the most part it’s like every other mountain trail, just dry and rocky and you don’t want to fall or it’ll hurt real bad.

It’s got your standard desert wildlife: spiky plants, creepy crawlies, even more spiky plants.

It’s got convenient sitting stones for resting and a wonderful view of the city grid below.

It’s even got a smashed up rusty truck that appears to have been dropped from the heavens as there are simply no roads that are even remotely accessible to this location.

But there’s something just off the trail that, if you squint, you just might be able to make out. Do you see it?

How about now?

What is that thing??

To get there you have to descend into a rocky and not at all inviting valley before ascending once more. There are no established trails, but there ARE cactuses everywhere and also no rock is secured to its surroundings and can move at any moment.

After what felt like several days (three to four hours), we made it.

It’s a hut! Sort of!

By the looks of it, this hut had been a popular destination for target practice.

But what’s inside? Something . . . fantastic.

Some closer details

My friend and tour guide brought me here because 30 years earlier his father made the same hike but did it with some art supplies to draw a landscape of the Texas desert and also a bitchin’ white flying unicorn. No idea what the hut was for. Maybe a weather station?

Anyway this isn’t my motorcycle but it looks cool.

The coda to this story was that the hike took a lot longer than anticipated and we weren’t back in time to leave before the gates were locked, so we had to call his mom to come pick us up. It was a long wait.

The End.