A school bus rumbles through the desert on the way to the dusty village of Colonias, New Mexico; population: nine. Built on the banks of the Pecos River, the town withered when the river dried up. Now the Pecos runs only part of the year, leaving ghostly traces on the sand during dry times.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Pecos: River of Hard-won Dreams," September 1993, National Geographic magazine)