MY INTEREST IN FATHER KINO CAME FROM A PROJECT I PERFORMED FOR THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE WHILE WORKING ON A MASTER'S THESIS IN DESERT STUDIES. FOR 37 DAYS, I WALKED THROUGH THE CABEZA PRIETA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, ONTO CATHEDRAL desert peaks made of white-quartz granite, looking for water holes. Those holes, called tinajas, are rare and well-hidden among canyons and pinnacles. Natural cisterns, they sometimes hold thousands of gallons of rainwater.

My assignment called for me to map these tinajas...