Hiking La Luz

About halfway up La Luz Trail in the Sandia Mountains. You can see there's almost no snow to speak of -- it's been an extraordinarily dry winter.

Temple Revisited

Albuquerque's Wat Buddhamongkolnimit temple from another angle. It's a beautiful building, but it's hard to get a clean shot of it, since it's surrounded by chain link fence, barbed wire, power lines, and yes, even satellite dishes.

Buddhist Temple

The Wat Buddhamongkolnimit Temple in Albuquerque is seen behind barbed wire and a piece of its sign.

Car a la New Mexico

The quintessential New Mexican car. Its creator told me she'd once come out to find a roadrunner on the car's roof, trying to pluck one of the snakes off the side. No doubt it would've been a tasty little snack... if it hadn't been plastic.

Gnarled Tree

An old gnarled tree stands tall among the tent rocks at the National Monument.

Sandhill Cranes

A group of sandhill cranes flies over another group feeding in a field at the Ladd S. Gordon waterfowl area in Bernardo.

More Backlit Weeds

Dried weeds (or flowers?) backlit at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Natl Monument.

Sandhill Crane

A lone sandhill crane flies across a field at the Ladd S. Gordon waterfowl complex in Bernardo.

Tent Rocks Ponderosa

An incredibly tall ponderosa whose humongous roots dwarf even the tallest people. This ponderosa stands guard at the entrance to the slot canyon at Tent Rocks.

Dried Grass at Tent Rocks

Dried grass is backlit by the sun at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.

Tent Rocks Canyon

In the slot canyon at Tent Rocks.

Cholla at Sunset

Cane cholla silhouetted by a stormy sunset.

Apache Plume

Amazingly, there's still a little apache plume in the Sandia foothills.

La Luz Trail

The view from about halfway up La Luz Trail, in the northwest Sandia mountains.

State Fairgrounds

A small building near one of the entrances to the state fairgrounds (oops, now called Expo New Mexico, just like the sign says).

Backlit Reeds

Backlit reeds along La Luz Trail in the Sandia Mountains.

Sunset Bird

In the Sandia foothills, a bird is silhouetted by last night's setting sun.

Saddle Ridge Ranch

The entrance to a ranch -- or a wannabe subdivision, I'm not sure which -- outside Carrizozo.

Mother and Child

A baby gorilla huddles in its mother's arms at the Rio Grande Zoo.

Beekeepers' Honey

Beekeepers' shelves, filled with jars of honey.

Mountain Mahogany

The backlit seeds of mountain mahogany.

Winter Sunset

The brilliant colors of a winter sunset in northwestern New Mexico.

Blue Grama Grass

In the summer, the feathered heads look like little flags, but later on the flags become circles. Blue grama is New Mexico's official state grass.

Embudo View

The view yesterday from a spur off the Embudo Trail (#193) in the Sandias. Looking south, one can see the Manzanitas and the Manzanos. It was a fine lunch spot too.

Dried Wildflowers

Dried wildflowers glow in the late afternoon light of winter.

Route 66 Neon

Neon sign at El Don motel, on old Route 66 in Albuquerque.

Bear Grass

Late afternoon at Elena Gallegos Picnic Area in Albuquerque.

Home on the Range (Revisited)

...where the deer and the antelope play. Whoops! They're actually pronghorns.

Winter Branches

The bare branches of a tree at Elena Gallegos Picnic Area are silhouetted by a winter sunset.

Freight Engines

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway engines pull a freight train through the red rock country near Laguna.

Souvenir Shop Indian

A stylized American Indian at the same Gallup souvenir place with the arrows (from the other day's entry).