Ten Days in August

 

Ten Days in August

In August, we took a short (for us) trip to northern New Mexico, stopping at three campgrounds.  We had a fun time at all three, although one of the stops was very short!!  Come along on our travels!

Our first stop has become a favorite stop for us – Red River, New Mexico!  We camped at a great campsite, right along the Red River.  One day, we took a short drive up a back road and I captured these two images of Red River.  The one on the right is when the east and west branches of the river merged into one, and I captured this from a bridge.  The second image was from the opposite side of the bridge, after the two branches have merged.

I captured a couple of images of thistle, and both just seemed rather inspirational.  I hope you agree.

Another side trip we took while in Red River was to an area around the Rio Costillo (Costillo River).  There is a camping spot there that we wanted to check out.  Depending on the spot one might choose, one could be camping with cattle!!  We thought the area was beautiful and we did decide that the area is great for a day visit, and a lunch stop along the river (image on the right)!

The mountain wildflowers were out in the Red River area!!  More thistle, a couple of images of golden coneflowers, and always a favorite with me, daisies!

Our next stop, just for an overnight, was at Heron Lake State Park, about 10 miles outside of Chama, New Mexico.  We got a very lovely camping site, with a nice, shady sitting spot (Max enjoyed it!) and some great views from that sitting spot!

It’s really sad to see Heron Lake.  It’s only about 1/3 it’s normal size, so as you look at it in these images, picture it 2/3 larger than it is now.  We stopped at the visitors’ center, and the ranger there said it was so low due to it feeding the water needs of Albuquerque, and that the snow melt that they usually see from the mountains north of here and into Colorado didn’t happen this year.

Our last stop was at Abiquiu Lake, which is always a favorite stop.  We didn’t get our typical spot, but this one was a good second choice!

The views from the campground are fabulous.  We could see The Pedernal from our campsite directly, and just a few steps away, let me get a great sunset image of the lake itself.  It, too, is very low for the same reason Heron Lake is, and all one can do is hope for a good snowfall next winter.

Enjoy!!

Pecos National Monument

 

Pecos National Monument

One day in December, we decided to do a day trip up to a place we’d been curious about for a while – Pecos National Historic Park.  It seemed like it would be a nice day, although a bit chilly, and a good day to take our pup, Max, for a nice stroll around the site where ancient pueblo people lived…. 

This is the site of a village where at one time, up to 2,000 people lived.  Early villages were made up of Apache, Comanche and Navajo people.  At one time, there were teepees that were set on this land in front of us.  Then, in 1540, a Spanish expedition arrived, and their lives changed forever. 

The Mission Church that’s now standing there is the last of four adobe churches built over the course of about 100 years.  In 1598, Spanish settlers arrived, along with the Franciscan priests who built missions like this.  This fourth church was built around 1717, on the site where the second church (built in 1625) had stood. 

This is the remains of a boundary wall which serves to identify the “city limits” of the village.  Visiting traders would set up outside the boundary and brisk trade was said to occur. 

This view looks out onto what is called the South Pueblo.  Most of the buildings, etc., from this pueblo are buried and are unexcavated in order to protect them.  It is believed that the people who lived here were more aligned with the Spanish than those who lived in the North Pueblo.  Although it isn’t obvious to us, this pueblo was once a multistory structure, with families living on the upper floors.  Exterior facing rooms were considered the living areas, with interior rooms used for sleeping and storage. 

This shows the top of a kiva, a ceremonial room, in the pueblo.  We couldn’t climb down into it, but if we were able to, we would have seen a small, round room.  Kivas are where ritual ceremonies were held that the people felt would enhance their well-being.  These ceremonies might have been held before hunts or harvests, to hopefully ensure success in these endeavors or to help heal the sick. 

The trash mounds found in pueblos are a rich source of information about how the people who resided here over the years, lived.  The current image of the trash mound (left, above) doesn’t look like much of anything, but the photo on the lower right shows what the excavation looked like back in 1924.  The trash mounds were over 20 feet high and drew the attention of archeologist, A. V. Kidder, to the site. Kidder called the trash mound that was here “the greatest rubbish heap and cemetery that had ever been found in the Pueblo region”.

 

At this spot, I’m standing in the center of what was once a thriving village.  In this spot, once stood a large, 4-5 story pueblo built of stacked, mortared, and plastered stones.  Although it’s not visible now, when this pueblo was excavated and a map drawn of the findings, it was found that this village had been constructed in a symmetrical way, which caused archeologists to believe that the village was actually planned in advance, and then constructed to plan.  And, although there were kivas throughout the village, the one in the upper left (above), was in the very center of this village and was believed to have been used for over 200 years. 

This view is of what was considered the North Pueblo.  Most of the ruins have been covered to protect them, but what is evident in this image is the wide expanse that the Pueblo people had that was available to them for growing.  Although it’s not seen from this vantage point, the Glorietta Creek is just out of sight, below, and provided ample water for growing crops and for household use. 

When the Franciscan priests arrived, their primary goal was to teach the pueblo people to become Catholic and subjects of the Spanish empire.  To accomplish this, the priest oversaw the building of and centered his life around “the mission”, the remains of what is here. 

This is the last stop of our current visit.  This large mission church is called the Second Church and is the largest of all the churches (missions) that was built at this pueblo.  It was completed in 1625 and is estimated to have used 300,000 40 lb. adobe bricks to complete it.  There is more to the tour of this incredible pueblo, and this church, but the weather seemed to be turning at this point, so we decided to stop our tour for this visit and pick it up to see the area in the immediate vicinity of this building on a trip in the spring when the weather is warmer.  Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this part of the pueblo!  PS – Max enjoyed the tour and even got a “bark ranger” tag from the ranger at the visitors’ center!!

 

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

Stormy Road

In late December, we had a snow storm.  On the day of the storm, we just had to hunker down in our home and stay nice and warm.  But, the day after……

It was a pretty morning after – sky looked pretty clear, so I convinced Jeff that we should take a drive and see what gifts the storm has left us……

Everything was frosty, as you might expect, but what I noticed more was the great play between line and shadows created by plants, small drifts and fence lines…..

When there’s no snow, these dried blooms look really dried, dead and brown.  But, covered in the hoar frost from the storm, they look quite pretty as some delicate blooms…..

Coyote fences are something that you see fairly frequently in New Mexico.  It’s very rough and coarse and I love the contrast with the almost lacy branches of the tree hovering over it.  The hint of the house in the background add a nice sense of detail…..

I loved the irregular shadows created by the sun shining through the coyote fence.  It’s really amazing – this type of fence looks pretty ragged, but I priced it once, and it’s amazingly expensive…..

As we drove, we headed into an ice fog.  You can sort of see the beginning of the ice fog in this image.  The trees look like nature’s twins, and the fence leads us into the fog…and the light….

The background of this image is a bit foggy, due to the remaining ice fog, but the sun is now making headway and I love the way the tree screens us from the over- brightness of the sun……

Look at the patterns in this image!  Fences, sun and snow come together to create these lighthearted patterns.  And, to me, there is a curiosity as to where the fences are leading….

And, finally, we’re heading back home!  We can see a brilliant sky, the mountains above another ice fog in the distance, and a small sort of shelter sitting alone in a field and the hoar frost on the barbed wire fence keeping me from getting closer to check out that shelter!

Enjoy!

Postcard from Thursday – September 14, 2017

Road Less Traveled

One of my favorite poems is the one by Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken”.  The actual line I used as inspiration for this travel journal page is “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”.  This image was one I took a few years ago, in the woods in the mountains near our home.  So, our travels were not far for this image, but it takes my mind a million miles away!

Road Less Traveled

Enjoy!

Wildflowers

(To read about each set of images, just click on each to enlarge it!)

Enjoy!

Lunch on Capilla Peak

(To read about each set of images, just click on each to enlarge it!)

Enjoy!

Salinas Pueblo Missions – Quarai Mission

(To read the narrative for each set of images, just click on them to enlarge them!)

Enjoy!

Flowers in the Mountains

All along the roads, we kept seeing some wonderful wildflowers.  I hadn’t realized that the wildflower season up in the mountains would still be going strong, so whenever we came across blooms throughout the area, they were always such a treat for me!

Field and Mountains

In a previous post, I mentioned that I wanted to be able to photograph the fields of Rocky Mountain Penstemon that were in bloom.  Well, here was a great photo op!  Not only did I get a field of picture-perfect purple, but also had the mountains in the background!

Deep Woods Bloom

Even in the middle of the woods, we came across some wildflowers, like these yellow coneflowers.  They do look a bit past their prime, but they are still lovely!

Spotlight

I couldn’t resist this little bloom!  It looks like it’s just beginning to open its petals to the sun, and the sun shone on it just perfectly to create a sort of natural spotlight.

On the Floor

I had to be careful when walking around, too.  This little gem was right at my feet, and so delicate, if I had not been careful where I was stepping, I might have crushed it.  I believe this is either a wood violet or wild geranium, but I’m not certain.

Forest Floor

I always love it when nature provides such a lovely vignette to photograph.  The rocks with the moss on them are a great compliment to the green and rust leaves.  Seems odd to have leaves already changing color in a few places, when the wildflowers are still bursting with color.

Leatherflower in the Woods

I believe this little treasure is called a leatherflower.  Seems like such an odd name for such a pretty flower, but when it’s done blooming and begins to wither, it really does take on the look of leather – albeit a pretty color leather!

Enjoy!