Red-tailed Hawk, in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. We made a beautiful drive today that started out in blizzard conditions at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. It got worse on the west rim road until we descended into the canyon at the Orilla Verde Recreation Area. At the river we simultaneously scared up a Blue heron and some Mallards, not on purpose of course, but this Red-tailed Hawk lingered on a rocky perch high above the river for a few observation shots and then this happened. It was a good day. Thanks for looking. G
Canyon of the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande flows in a north south direction from Colorado, through New Mexico, Texas and Mexico where it finally reaches the Gulf of Mexico. Six hundred feet or so below the rim the river passes through what is known as the “box”, a steep sided canyon on the Taos Plateau, seen here from the Highway 64 high bridge. “Our Canyon” now part of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument continues to amaze me and visitors alike. The views are very vast and one gets the sense of a place where earth meets sky and separation is intangible. “Our river” keeps on rolling. As it heads south the river gathers more stories to tell. It nourishes and replenishes the landscape, wildlife and people of the desert southwest. Thanks for looking. G
The Rio Grande in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Looking upstream from the Taos Junction Bridge to Sunset Rapid and the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Rio Pueblo. This location is a favorite of mine. The river makes for a really nice leading line. Thanks for looking. G
Here are some links to a few more images in this location at different times of year.
Bighorn Sheep in the Rio Grande Gorge. Bighorn juveniles testing their mettle on the rocks in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Thanks for looking. G
Taos Junction on the Rio Grande. Another beautiful day again today in northern New Mexico. This image made from the Taos Junction Bridge in the Orilla Verde RA in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, is one of my favorite locations. This location always continues inspire me when I pull over and park by the river. Fall is in full swing here in northern New Mexico. Drop in if you can, we’ll be glad to show you around and share this great part of the American southwest with you. Thanks for looking. G
Fog lifting from the Rio Grande Gorge. The Rio Grande Rift, is an extraordinary feature of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, in northern New Mexico.
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 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 Descanso, San Ildefonso, NM.
Some vistas around Taos have since been transformed… developed. 2014
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, 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 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, 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, a Taos Cowboy, 2010.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond. This week a two-day photo tour around northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Nature and the elements gave up some wonderful photo opportunities, beginning with Taos Mountain and the iconic grove of cottonwoods.
On a photo tour of Taos and northern New Mexico.
The next stop on the photo tour was in Questa at an old house off the highway set back amongst some trees. I checked with a friend who said he would try and find me some information on this charming building and quiet setting.
House in Questa, NM.
Following a couple of stops en route, to photograph some wild horses, we wound up at this lake in the San Luis Valley. Moody and brooding skies were the order of the day.
Lake Tree, San Luis Valley, Colorado.
Speaking of the skies. Highway 142 crosses the Rio Grande in Colorado between the old town of San Luis and Heading west to Manassa home of Jack Dempsey, the “Manassa Mauler”.
The sky over Highway 142, Colorado.
Continuing the photo tour, there is also a stark view of a very subdued Rio Grande from the road bridge as it crosses the river.
The Rio Grande from Highway 142, Colorado.
I came across some of last year’s milkweed pods enduring against the elements. Did I mention the frigid cold winds? My guests were admirably brave, and filled with enthusiasm for whatever conditions confronted us.
On the second day, we encountered a troupe of young Bighorn Sheep in the Orilla Verde area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument walking on the road ahead of us.
Bighorn Sheep Orilla Verde, NM.
We parked the car and followed uphill and enjoyed watching and photographing them in their prime, natural environment. I can’t help but think that the one in the middle is telling them to “gather round” and show us their best side!
Bighorn Sheep gathering Orilla Verde, NM.
There were many more picture opportunities. I had to stop at some point. If you are planning to be in the area this year, join me on a photo tour/workshop and I’ll show you around.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week a trip to the Wild Rivers area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
The Wild Rivers Recreation Area lies north in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Below is pictured a ‘small’ part of it. Come this Spring, there will be some class 5 rapids in this section. You can see how relatively low the river is right now. This was Sunday. You can also discern the level at which the river can rise from this image. That’s Ute Mountain in the clouds with snow falling.
If you want to experience solitude, Wild Rivers will give you just that. Step into the Monument for a walk in falling snow, where you can hear the silence.
Wild Rivers, New Mexico.
“Adventuring out on a photography trip through the gorge and along the river during a winter storm, I am rewarded with images of large snowflakes alighting on cholla cactus, cottonwoods, and red willows, turning them into instant New Mexico-style Christmas ornaments. A great peace returns to the river at this time of year. The pace slows as the days grow shorter and life retreats within for what the Irish writer John O’Donohue refers to as “the secret work of winter” of restoration and rejuvenation as the river ecosystems prepare for the ecstasy of spring growth. In any season the beauty and pristine stillness of the Rio Grande del Norte is available to those who visit.” From my book, Rio Grande del Norte: An Intimate Portrait.
To the south lies the deepest section the the Rio Grande Gorge. This is where the Bighorn Sheep roam and sometimes play!
Bighorn Sheep Ram… peekaboo.
Or rest up on a sunny ledge.
Bighorn Sheep Lamb on the Rio Grande Gorge Rim.
It’s that time of year in the National Monument. Spring is sprung!
Bighorn Sheep Ram and Ewe.
And above it all, another unique cloud formation.
Cloud formation over the Rio Grande Gorge West Rim Trail.
I have to end this week with this sky-blue mural with sunflowers and an ornate window in Los Cerrillos that I forgot to post last week.
Mural, Los Cerrillos, NM.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal. This week some views of Ute Mountain.
“Ute Mountain is a free-standing, Dacitic, extinct Pliocene volcanic cone”. That’s a mouthful. Besides being one of my revered peaks, it is also set in one of my favorite areas, the Taos Plateau Volcanic Field and the San Luis Valley. The mountain also lies within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
The images below encompass a span of almost twenty years.
On the home front, I feel the surgery on my foot will make my photo treks much more enjoyable for years to come.
A localized weather pattern over Ute Mountain.
Road to the mountain.
Old sheep corral out on the plateau.
A view from Guadalupe Mountain across the Taos Plateau.
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Do you recognize the peak back there?
The image below is the one that initiated my fascination with this iconic landmark. Often, I will take a drive north, a pilgrimage of sorts, to visit the mountain. Click here if you want to see more images.
Near Costilla, New Mexico.
Lastly, a couple of shots from closer to home.
The moon rise this week from the deck in San Cristobal, NM.
And a view across the plateau and beyond to Cerro Pedernal (not a volcano but very much resembles one), “flint peak” near Abiquiu, NM. Immortalized by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe it can be seen from a vantage point behind our home. In the photo, Cerro Pedernal is probably 65-70 miles as the crow flies. The views out west extend a hundred miles or more on clear days. The vistas open like nowhere else, and the skies go on forever.
Cerro Pedernal shot from Taos, NM.
As always thank you for looking and visiting. And thank you for all the continued well wishes, comments, and compliments.
If you want the name of a wonderful foot and ankle specialist I can give you a recommendation! G
