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Órale, the featured word of this week of Caló is manchar. In modern Spanish it means to stain. In Caló, it means to denigrate, deprecated or slight oneself, which is an unsightly, possibly even traumatizing event to witness. People can put a mancha on themselves without intending it. They can be merely stupid or venal about it, maybe even think they got away with something. But the people who witness their act walk away, perhaps silently, thinking less of them. A vendor short-changes you: manchada. You forget your date’s name, manchada. Caught cheating or in a lie, manchada.

Órale, we’re gonna continue with the susto theme. The Calo word for this episode is a nuance of a term we introduced in the past, con safos. It’s a preemptive, protective susto, but it can also be a way to say that the bad wish directed at you isn’t having its intended effect.

Órale, for this episode of the story of how the piole rescued Salomón, were gonna feature the term rollo, which is pronounced royo. In modern Spanish it means a roll or script. In Caló, it means a scripted line, a practiced narrative of why something happened, or a prepared speech read from a sheet of paper. There’s nothing extemporaneous or self-exposing about a rollo. It’s full of guile and purpose and meant to convince or dissuade. You don’t say I love you with a rollo. You say a rollo to convince someone to love you. This is not to say that rollos are not to be trusted. Sometimes they’re a call to steer you to safe harbor in storm.

Gypsum landscapes occur globally, but they abound in the Chihuahuan Desert, from Coahuila and Durango to the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas and New Mexico’s White Sands. These white-sand outcrops are certainly harsh. But they’re also hotspots of biodiversity. That includes the complex, fragile ecosystems known as “biocrusts.”

Established in 1962, the National Natural Landmarks Program each year designates a handful of sites in public or private ownership that embody the best of the nation’s natural heritage. And the newest landmark is a West Texas property.

When it comes to sand dunes in our region, we think of New Mexico’s White Sands, the Monahans Sandhills, or the Salt Basin Dunes near the Guadalupe Mountains. But there’s another great sand sea here.

Large swaths of West Texas are dominated by features called coppice dunes. These dunes reveal that, when human activity and extreme weather intersect, landscapes can be rapidly transformed.

As archeological techniques and perspectives evolve, artifacts collected decades ago can be as revelatory as new finds.

More than any mountains, mesas or canyons, the region's sand dunes distill the desert’s defining phenomenon, drought.

These ovens, where ancient people slow-roasted succulents like agaves, are rewriting the region's deep history.