Last Day of the Year

A fine sunset marks the last day of the year.

Secret Courtyard

A glimpse of a statue in the courtyard of the New Mexico Museum of Art, seen through a wooden gate.

Merry Christmas!

San Felipe Church and the Plaza in Old Town Albuquerque last night.

Christmas Eve

The most magical of all evenings in the Land of Enchantment. Merry Christmas!

Bear Canyon Trailhead

Just after sunset in the Sandia foothills, near Bear Canyon Trailhead.

Lone Luminaria

A candle in a paper lunch sack signals the start of the New Mexican holiday season. Santa Feans call them farolitos; but in Albuquerque we know them as luminarias.

Dried Thistles

Dried thistles in the Sandia foothills, silhouetted by this evening's sunset.

Moonrise Over the Sandias

An almost-full moon rises over the Sandias.

Snow in the Foothills

Finally, after an exceptionally warm fall, the Sandia foothills got some snow.

BioPark Dragon

The dragon guarding the Children's Garden, part of the BioPark, lit up for the annual River of Lights display.

Foothills at Dusk

Looking north along the west side of the Sandia foothills, near the end of the day.

Valley House

A small house in Albuquerque's North Valley retains a classic southwestern bell tower.

Elena Gallegos Cottonwoods

Native cottonwoods, silhouetted by the setting sun at Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, are slow to shed their leaves.

Indian Corn

Colorful ears of Indian corn (or is it Native American corn?).

They're B-a-a-a-c-k!

A sandhill crane flies along the Rio Grande Valley migratory path.

Election Day

Sunset on Election Day, several hours before Barack Obama won the Presidential Election.

Jemez River

Backlit trees along the Jemez River.

Wet Aspen Leaves

It's been a beautiful fall, with only a few wet and rainy days.

Valles Caldera

Valle Grande, the largest valley in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, seen from a neighboring hillside.

Backlit Autumn Leaves

Backlit yellow leaves in the Sandia Mountains.

Piedra Lisa Trail

The view from the southern end of the Piedra Lisa trail, in the northwest corner of the Sandias.

Aspen Leaves

Aspen leaves, up close and personal. It's been a beautiful fall.

Del Agua Overlook

Fall aspens, at Del Agua Overlook in the Sandia mountains.

Aspens

Yellow aspens, high in the Sandias.

Color Splash

Fall colors are splashed across a hillside in the Sandia Mountains.

Sandia Peak Tram

The Sandia Peak Tramway -- billed as the longest in the world -- passes over vibrant fall foliage in the Sandias.

Hills of Gold

Yellow aspens high in the Sandias. It's a really slow, spectacular fall this year -- I think the leaves have never been so beautiful.

Sunset Over Tramway

A walkway over Tramway Boulevard, in Albuquerque, frames a classic September sunset.

Birdhouses

An unusual pair of birdhouses in one of Albuquerque's residential neighborhoods.

The Road Home

After 2 weeks in the American and Canadian Rockies, I returned home the other day. It was cloudy every single day of the full week I was in Canada, and snowed on Monday in Montana. The sun finally came out as we got into Utah, and hasn't gone away since I returned to New Mexico. There truly is no place like home.

You can see some of the sights I saw in the photojournal I kept during my trip.

Highway Four in the Jemez

A small part of State Highway 4, in the midst of the red rocks of the Jemez. I stopped here to take photos of a Jemez Mountain Trail kiosk that uses several of NewMexicoPhotos' shots (you can see some of them here).

On another note, NewMexicoPhotoJournal will be taking a well-deserved vacation until the second week of September (out in the field taking photos, of course, but not in New Mexico this time). Enjoy the rest of your summer, and we'll see you in September!

Valles Caldera

Looking out over part of what I've always known as Valle Grande (now known as Valles Caldera), with State Route 4 in the foreground.

Sunflowers (sin sol)

A trio of sunflowers in the foggy Sandia mountains.

August Sunset

A classic late summer sunset overlooking Albuquerque.

Atlantis Fritillary

An Atlantis Fritillary (Speyeria atlantis) butterfly perches on a wildflower high in the Sandia mountains.

Squash Blossom

A gourd hides behind a squash blossom.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

A western tiger swallowtail butterfly browses in a smorgasbord of thistles.

San Ysidro Church

The old church in San Ysidro, New Mexico, is one of my favorites.

Orange Sunset

Branches silhouetted by a most spectacular sunset the other night. The best part was when the horizon turned pinky-purple -- but I was in the wrong place to get a shot of that.

Jemez Anniversary

Today is the three-year anniversary of the New Mexico PhotoJournal. It seems fitting that today's photo was taken in the Jemez -- as was the very first photo, three years ago.

Butterfly and Daisies

A Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly browses for dinner among daisies in the Jemez.

Bell Tower and Rainbow

The bell tower of an Albuquerque church is framed by a late afternoon rainbow.

Sunset Silhouette

A tree silhouetted by last night's setting sun.

Happy 4th!

Fireworks rise into the night sky in a glorious celebration of Independence Day.

Red Hot Pokers

Red hot pokers with Russian sage in the background, spotted in Albuquerque the other day. (Many thanks to those of you who identified them.)

Summer Sunset

Virga clouds at sunset are a sign that the monsoon season is approaching.

Blooming Century Plant

A century plant blooms in a yard nestled against the Sandia foothills. Century plants are members of the agave family and derive their name from the fact that they live many years before they bloom. (The owner of this agave told me he'd had it for at least 30 years.) They die after they bloom.

Sandia Foothills at Sunset

A view I never tire of.

Jemez Pueblo Cholla

Cholla cactus blooms against the red rock background of Jemez Pueblo.

Milbert's Tortoiseshell

A Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly (nymphalis milberti), spotted in the Jemez.