The first photo here is the Sandia Mountains as seen from the east, coming from Moriarty. The plains stretch wide and flat, little to see except an occasional cactus, piñon tree, or perhaps a barbed wire fence. The setting sun colors the mountains a deep blue. In less than an hour it will be nearly purple, with the sky bright and wild with the colors of a New Mexico sunset.
This next photo is a stream in the Sandia Mountains. We drove up the backside from Placitas, a small community on the Northeast side of the mountain. Even during the hard drought, the stream still danced down the rocky terrain and gave life to the forest around her. We glimpsed rabbits and dear this day, but none of them wanted to hang around long enough for a picture. :)
