Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

Tag: Wild And Scenic Rivers

Ute Mountain, Rio Grande Gorge, Northern NM

Ute Mountain, with the Rio Grande Gorge, northern New Mexico. A quick cell phone photo on a photo tour/workshop last week. At this point the photographer I took out was flying his drone. I enjoyed having both feet on the ground but his images had a spectacular elevated perspective. I’ll see if I can share them in due course. Now I want a drone. Thanks for looking. G

Ute Mountain, with the Rio Grande Gorge, northern New Mexico.

Sheep’s Crossing, Rio Grande, Ute Mountain

Sheep’s Crossing on the Rio Grande, is below me to the left, with Ute Mountain straight ahead, in the Wild Rivers Recreation Area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. It’s beautiful out here on the rim of the gorge watching the early morning light reach down into the canyon. The snow melt in the high country is making for great runoff and the subsequent river rafting season. Join me on a photo tour/workshop. Thanks for looking. G

Sheep's Crossing on the Rio Grande, with Ute Mountain.

Canyon Of The Rio Grande

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

Canyon of the Rio Grande

Swallowtail Butterfly, Wild Rivers

Swallowtail Butterfly, in the Wild Rivers area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. The image below is a composite of the same butterfly, on and off the Horsetail Milkweed. This plant, is essential to the Monarch Butterflies, but it also appears to be attractive to Swallowtails. There’s a lot of Horsetail Milkweed plant along the roadsides and verges all around Taos County. Fortunately, I think the road crews cut the invasive weeds and spared the milkweed plants when mowing this year. Thanks for looking. G

Swallowtail butterfly on the Horsetail milkweed in the Wild Rivers Area

More on the Swallowtail Butterfly

https://www.britannica.com/animal/swallowtail-butterfly

Ute Mountain From Wild Rivers Area

Ute Mountain from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Recreation Area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. An image made in April with a little dusting of snow on Ute Mountain. Thanks for looking. G

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Down On The Rio Grande, Taos Junction Bridge

Down on the Rio Grande, at the Taos Junction Bridge, in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area. The spring colors are beginning to go on display. The area is getting “luscious”.  I hope we see you here this year. Thanks for looking. G

Down On The Rio Grande, Taos Junction Bridge

Winter Solstice, Rio Grande, Ute Mountain

Winter Solstice, at the Wild and Scenic Rio Grande and Ute Mountain. We took a drive north this morning to Ute Mountain. I wanted to make an image at the precise moment of the solstice 9:28 am MST. We did that and then proceeded to this favorite spot along the Rio Grande Gorge at the Wild and Scenic Rivers section of the Rio Grande. It was crisp and icy cold, and perfect to have all the senses alert, feeling the moment. Tonight it is snowing in San Cristobal. We’ll head out again in the morning for the first sunrise of winter. Thanks for looking. G

Winter Solstice, Rio Grande, Ute Mountain