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!

Rio Chama Shoreline

As we drive along the shoreline of the river, we can’t help but stop from time to time, just to enjoy watching the river.  At this point, the river always seems to look rather muddy – probably because it’s just come from flowing thru the dam which created Abiquiu Lake, upon whose shores we were camped.  The dam seems to draw the water from the bottom of the lake as it creates power.  Since it’s drawing from the lake bottom, we can’t be surprised the water looks somewhat muddy!

Rio Chama Shoreline

There’s a small picnic area along the river that is generally one of our first stops.  The stop serves two purposes – we get to enjoy being so close to the rushing river, and Miki gets her first chance to do some exploring along the river.  Thank goodness she’s smart enough not to go into the river at this point, because the current is very strong!

Chama River Rapids

In this image, you can really get a feel for how strong that current is.  The water just rushes over this very low series of rocks.  Often, we see a fisherman on the shore casting his line out to the area just at the base of the rocks.  I’m not certain what type of fish are in the river, but I know there are some, as often we see heron also fishing in this area.

Movie Scene

A couple of years ago when we last visited the area, the movie, The Magnificent Seven, was filming here.  This area was the scene of a mining camp.   Nice to see the movie company restored the area to its natural beauty when they left.  Too bad the scenery was better than the movie, tho.

Tree along Rio Chama

I just love the way this tree looks along the shore of the river, with some beautiful blue sky as a perfect backdrop.  Off to the right, just barely in view, is the edge of what looked to be a campfire ring made up of river rock.  I don’t think camping is truly allowed in this area, but if someone pitched a tent for one night, I don’t think this area is patrolled enough to catch them.  Stolen pleasures!

Along the Rio Chama

This view is from a bit further down the river.  Altho the current isn’t quite as visible as it was along the rock line, you can still see the texture in the water that tells you it’s moving along very quickly!  That cholla cactus in the foreground isn't quite ready to bloom yet – soon, tho, the tips will be covered with either bright pink or yellow blooms.  Don’t get too close, tho – those cactus needles seem to have little magnets in them, and if one gets too close, they seem to practically leap off the plant to stick to you – ouch!

Enjoy!

Rio Chama Blooms

On a recent camping trip to the Abiquiu, New Mexico, area, Jeff & I took one of our favorite back roads that meandered along the Rio Chama (Chama River) for a bit.  Along the way, there were some lovely blooms, and I can never pass up the opportunity to photograph flowers!

Along the Rio Chama

I am always amazed when I see such small and delicate flowers blooming happily when they get no care and cultivation.  To be honest, tho, these blooms were along the river, so I’m assuming that they get plenty of water thru the ground, absorbing water from the river.  Plus, they are getting just a bit of shade from the larger rock they are growing alongside.

Daisies by a Log

Variations of daisies are also a very delicate, yet hardy wildflower.  And, they always seem to just ooze happiness, don’t they?  Whenever I see daisies, I can’t help but smile.  These seem to be happy just sharing the earth with a nearby fallen branch.

Prickly Pear Bloom

Flowers are the reward for looking down when we walk!  And, not stepping on a cactus is a close second in the reward category, too!  I just love the pretty blooms that we get to see a very prickly cactus produce each year!  The contrast between the two never ceases to amaze!

In the Tree

As we drove along, a bit father from the river shore, we came across a couple of roadside trees that showed off these beautiful blooms.  They had a lovely soft aroma to them, almost citrus like.  I saw a similar flower on a wildflower walk in the Sandia Mountains, and those were called Mock Orange flowers.  I’m wondering if these are a variation to those, since the look is similar and they carry the same lovely smell.

Lacy Weed

Another reward I got came about when I decided to sit on a rock and just observe what was around me, when Miki & Jeff wandered to the shoreline…..well, Miki wandered and Jeff followed to be exact!  In any event, as I looked around, I noticed the lacy effect that this weed had and managed to photograph it with a darker rock in the background so one can actually make out the detail of it.

Enjoy!