Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

Day: April 17, 2024

April 17 From The Archives. 04-17-2024

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week features the day of April 17th from ten years of my archives.

I hope everyone had a good week. April has been beautiful in northern New Mexico,,, so far. I know I said I wouldn’t say anymore regarding my feet but I’m averaging 2-3 miles a day and getting 4-6 mile hikes in. I’m so happy with my two new feet.

Over the last month, my friend, David, and I have been hiking stretches of the road through the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument that traverses the gorge rim and skirts around the base of Ute Mountain. We have hiked a different section each week with the mountain always present, beckoning. All being well, this summer will culminate in an accent of Ute Mountain.

Back to the present that began in the past, here are pictures from April 17th taken from my photo of the day archive from 2006 to 2016.

Beginning in 2016 and working back to 2006. This day we had snow and I made this image. It makes a beautiful print. A couple of hours after taking this photo, the snow was all gone.

Willow tree, Arroyo Seco, April 2016
Willow tree lane, Arroyo Seco, April 2016.

A roadside Descanso, San Ildefonso, 2015. The internet says “Descansos are deeply rooted in Southwestern Hispanic culture. The word means “resting place” and is believed to refer to the days when coffins were transported by horse and cart or carried by hand over many miles for burial in a camposanto.”

Roadside marker, San Ildefonso, NM
Roadside Descanso, San Ildefonso, NM.

Some vistas around Taos have since been transformed… developed. 2014

Taos Mountain from El Prado, NM
Taos Mountain from El Prado, NM.

Here’s a shot of mine and Pami’s shadow in Arroyo Hondo on the drive home from Taos back in 2013.

Arroyo Hondo evening shadows
Arroyo Hondo evening shadows, 2013.

Here’s a former living plant that grew out of a crack in a rock in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area of the now Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, 2012.

Rock plant, Orilla Verde, NM
Rock brush, Orilla Verde, NM, 2012.

A ubiquitous Taos Raven. They are known to perch in ones or twos. This raven was probably calling for or waiting on its better half. 2011

Raven in a bare tree, Taos
Raven in a bare tree, Taos, 2011.

I’m still searching for the original high resolution file of this picture of Garetto Rivas, so I’ve added a higher resolution second image from the same day below this one. I’ve forgotten the name of his gorgeous blond horse. The second horse in tow and in training is named “Beauty”.

Garetto Rivas, Taos Cowboy
Garetto Rivas, a Taos Cowboy, 2010.

Garetto Rivas, Taos Cowboy
Garetto Rivas, Taos Cowboy, 2010.

The image below was scanned from a Kodachrome 64, transparency shot in the mid 1990’s and published on my website’s photo of the day archive on April 17, 2009.

Indian paintbrush 2009
Indian paintbrush, 2009.

Just around the corner from my former gallery in Arroyo Seco was a yoga studio festooned in Tibetan prayer flags. I recall shooting this one out of my car window in 2008.

Prayer flags in Arroyo Seco, NM, 2008
Prayer flags in Arroyo Seco, NM. 2008.

I shot the image below in 1990 and published it on my website in 2007. It has since been published in a couple of local magazines.

Saint Francis church reflecting in my 1958 Volkswagen Beetle
Saint Francis church reflecting in my 1958 Volkswagen Beetle wing mirror, 2007.

On April 17, 2006 I paid a visit to the National Cemetery in Santa Fe NM. It’s the only time I’ve been there. Since then I usually post this image on social media on Memorial Day.

The National Cemetery, Santa Fe NM. 2006
The National Cemetery in Santa Fe, NM. 2006

As always, thank you for looking. I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane. You can see more from my photo of the day archive here.

Have a great week. G