Truth Or Consequences

One of my favorite regions to work in is the southwest and I've had the opportunity to work New Mexico three times.  First in Silver City, New Mexico a few years ago and two years ago in Alamogordo.  There's just something about the dry desert conditions that does it for me.

My third time in New Mexico was a 6 week assignment in Truth Or Consequences. (click the link for details)  As the locals call it, T or C is located on the Rio Grande river and sits beside the Elephant Butte reservoir.l  There isn't a lot going on in T or C so weekends usually amounted a ride through the desert, down to Las Cruces or visiting places like the cliff dwellings in Gila National Park.

Aside from endless roads and nothingness, there was always an assortment of roadside curiosities.  I have no clue to what this bike was about other than a tribute to a local man who had passed on.

You begin to strain for amusements in a place like this so anything like Sparky's in Hatch, NM is a worthy stop.

Gila National Park cliff dwellings, located north of Silver City.  A good place for high altitude cardio hiking. 

Endless high desert roads all begin to look alike so the best part of being in a place like this is some of the relationships you forge, such as Vicki, Sid and Charlsie.

Thanks, T or C, it was great.

Birds and Bees Weekend

There's not much story to tell, other than riding around hoping to take pictures of smaller things this weekend.

The first part was Friday afternoon south of town at a local state park, where I was continually watching for rattlesnakes.  Thinking (maybe my imagination was going wild)  I heard a light rattle, I changed directions and in doing so, a large Jackrabbit hopped across the trail and scared me.  I believe I've seen deer that size in south Texas.  Anyway, the only slinking thing I positively saw was a couple of lizards.

In a small cluster of flowers, there were quite a bit of honey bees gathering pollen.

Saturday afternoon, I rode up into the mountains east of town near Sunspot.  Way out in the boondocks, I was attracted to a small waterfall near where a group of ATV enthusiasts were camping.  This time, I figured if I fell off the side of the thing, somebody might be able to rescue me.

The best part of the whole thing was a patch of gypsum weeds and thistles growing in the delta of the falls.  Dozens hummingbirds of a couple of different varieties battled for the choice flowers.  I was totally absorbed it it and shot birds until it was really too dark to be doing so.

All of these pictures were taken with a Nikon D7000 with a Tamron 60mm prime lens.  As for the bird pictures, I was not able to get very close so most of the pictures have been cropped from a larger shot, as much as 400%.

Here's a few.

 

 

 

I am not sure what this was.  It was much larger than the Hummers 

and looked quite a bit like a parakeet.

 

 

 This is not a bird but some kind of huge insect.

 

As I mentioned before, dark came much earlier than I wanted, so I left and drove slowly, being careful not to hit any of the several deer that stood on the edge of the road.

Beautiful sundowns as usual.

 

Venus Transit 2012

Venus transit.  Venus' path crossed the sun today.  It won't happen again for another 115 years.
Here are some shots taken here in Alamogordo.

 

I don't know if the locals were really concerned or just suspicious but I had a guy in a pick-up truck stop and ask me what I was doing.  He seemed satisfied with the answer about Venus and the Sun and moved on.  Just as I was leaving a deputy sheriff was coming down the road too but made no attempt to stop me.  

 

If you notice on this blown up version, Venus is that tiny dark spot located approximately at the 3:00 O'clock level in the sun.

 You know, in the grand scheme of things, we aren't all that big are we?

As the days get longer...

..there is a lot more daylight now, so after work Friday, I drove up to Sunspot, NM.  Sunspot sits on the plateau above Alamogordo and is the home of the National Solar Observatory.

(clicking on the photo will enlarge them)

My intent was to get there, find a spot overlooking the White Sands National Monument and photograph a sunset but due to recent fires in the Gila National Forest and lots of clouds from a light cool front, visibility was limited.  I had also hoped to do some timed photos that would create circular star trails, but that's for another time.

Even though I was a bit disappointed that the clouds and weather were not cooperating, wildlife was everywhere.  This is a protected area so the animals aren't all that spooky if you don't come to a complete stop and/or get out of the car.  Forgive me if I have this wrong but I'm thinking these are Mule Deer.  I know I've never seen one in Louisiana and never claimed to be an expert.                    

(Update!  A knowledgeable friend tells me, he's pretty sure they are Elk.)


A young doe.

On the way back home (the hotel) I pulled off onto a less than wonderful road to check out cactus flowers under the approaching full moon.

And from the opposite direction, a sunset.

Probably, it wasn't a great idea getting too far off the pavement in a VW Passat rental car (National Car frowns on those activities) but it's not because I didn't want too.

Eclipse at White Sands / Alamogordo, NM

Summer is coming to southern New Mexico.  It was 94­° at 5:30 P.M. when I headed to the desert to for the annular solar eclipse late this afternoon.  I can only imagine what August will be like.

After lathering on the sun screen and stuffing a couple of 94° bottles of water in my backpack, I trudged off across the dunes to find a good place for a shot.  I staked out a place that I felt would have a good foreground to go with the eclipse and waited.......for 1½ hours.  Around 7:30, it began to show itself.

 

I really needed a little more equipment, a lot more skill and about 100 miles more distance to the north to have gotten this right but here are my efforts on the show this afternoon.  The Alamogordo version was only about a 90% eclipse so the moon, so from my vantage point, it did not go completely through the center of the sun.

 

And what self respecting desert would be without a camel to celebrate the event?

Desert Moon

I had anticipated the "Super Moon" for May 5, quite a while.  It was supposed to be 14% larger than any other full moons.  That sounds pretty big but someone else said it's like comparing a 15 inch pizza to a 16 inch pizza; yes it's bigger but if they aren't side by side, you don't really notice.

Friday evening, I went out to White Sands again to scout out where I thought may be a good place for a moon shot.  It's really a amazing place and I can find something fascinating there each time I visit.

Early in the afternoon, before the sun had even set, the moon rose in the east over the mountains.  Even though it wasn't completely full, it proved spectacular.  Saturday came and in the afternoon,  clouds began to appear.  I kept grumbling in my head, "Oh, no!...clouds won't help much in the full moon photography department."

I, along with half the state of New Mexico began filling the park and as the sun began to set, I roamed around on the dunes looking for a spot where I could get a clear shot without the added benefit of a hundred people in my frame.  That's if the moon showed itself.  The winds had swept the dunes causing ripples in the sand and building berms against the roots and plant life.

Finally, just after 8:00 p.m., the moon lazily peaked out between the some clouds.  It never really presented itself with clarity but that's the chances you take when you have no control over the elements.  I hung around another 30 minutes attempting some clear shots but around 8:45, I folded my tripod, made my way back to the car and exited before the rangers chased me out.

Three Rivers Petroglyphs

Located about 35 miles north of Alamogordo and 15 from Tularosa, a hill is home to as many as 21,400 petroglyphs.  The trail is probably ¾ mile up a rocky trail flanked with mesquite and sage.  The Three Rivers markings are so prolific, you wonder if they really are that real.  The docent down in the office said most are authentic,  but you couldn't help but notice the occasional "J M" or a peace sign someone had decorated a rock with.  Not knowing the reason for the Indian artwork, you might wonder if somehow this could also be some ancient graffiti.  Maybe the quadruped with the geometric design on the belly really said, "Grumbling Buffalo loves Squawking Bird."  Five thousand years from now, after our society has completely crashed, some budding anthropologist may think the graffiti painted on the side of some building is a discovery of social importance too.

Since the hill is several miles from the Sacramento Mountains, you have to speculate that this was either a burial or religious site to the Mogollon Indians who lived here for hundreds of years prior to the Mescalero Apaches.  I could imagine a burial party making their way to the top bringing with them, the body of a dead chief or medicine man.  The higher up the hill, the more important the deceased.

Although there is somewhat of a designated path, you are told that it is not necessary to stay on it.  The prehistoric markings are on virtually every rock with any size to it at all.

Looking to the west in the Chihuahuan Desert, you can see the glistening White Sands dunes and the San Andres mountain range. While the park literature advises you that rattlesnakes are common among the rocks, lizards were far more visible in the noon day heat.

The Desert

Leaving the San Francisco east bay, I landed in El Paso, Texas and headed north.   As I drove north into the New Mexico desert, I could hear strains of Eagles music drifting into my thoughts.

It's been several years since I'd been in the area and looked forward to working in Alamogordo, New Mexico.  The springtime still left some greenery in the plants and made you wonder how far you could wander out there in the desert before you stepped on a rattlesnake as big as your leg.

One particular place I was excited about was visiting White Sands National Monument.  Having walked the dunes back in 2004, I knew what to expect, so naturally my first Saturday gave me the opportunity.

Late in the afternoon, I took part in a "Sunset Stroll" hosted by a park ranger who pointed out some of the curiosities of the sands.

It's not the typical quartz beach sand but instead, it's gypsum and the same thing you find in drywall inside your home.  When it's wet, it crystallizes and when winds reach 16 miles an hour, the flakes move along breaking into smaller flakes and collects in the Tularosa Basin.  White Sands is the largest collection of this kind of sand in the world and encompasses 575 square miles of it.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get some very spectacular shots out there if I'm assigned here long enough.
 

 

Nice sunsets too.