Rio Chama Trees and Landscapes

Sometimes, it’s hard to take my eyes off the flowing river, but when I do, I’m often rewarded by some great views!

Landscape along Rio Chama

It’s kind of amazing the difference in the landscape when one turns away from the river.  These desert rock formations do not look like they are a rock’s throw (pardon the pun) from the river, do they?  I really love the contrast between the blue of the sky and the rust of the landscape.  The dots of green from shrubs and bushes almost makes me think this is the Southwest version of Christmas colors!

Gnarled Cottonwood

Cottonwood trees need a lot of water to survive, which is why we have these lovely shade trees along various parts of the Chama River.  And, in one stand that we walked up to, there were some huge trees that had branches that curved into almost ribbon like shapes.  Hard to image a huge tree curling itself into this shape.

Hairpin Branch

Here’s one that has managed to form a sort of hairpin turn in its branches.  As we stood there, admiring these trees, we were showered with a bit of the “snow” from them – those little white seed pods that cottonwoods always seem to produce in the spring and early summer.

Walking along Rio Chama

As we turned away from the cottonwoods and started to walk back to our Jeep, this was the view that we had.  Again, I love the contrast from the lushness of the big cottonwoods to the sparse growth on the ground and along the hills in the distance.

Lone Cottonwood

I admit it – I’m truly drawn to images like this – a lone tree in the middle of a field.  This cottonwood has (relatively) straight and strong branches, standing alone in the middle of what looks to be a field perhaps used for grazing animals.  The tall mesa in the background reminds us that we are in the west, and not the Midwest area of our country.

Magnificent Sky

And, sometimes, the entire landscape, which can be pretty breath-taking, is just dwarfed by the sky overhead.  It’s one of the reason that I just love where we live!

Enjoy!