Beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Thursday, July 22, 2004

This is the last of the photos for the day.... just a smattering of some of the beauty. Later I'll send photos of the trip home, the Mesas, plains, and sunsets. Rain and storms... barbed wire and soft clouds.

Photo descriptions:
1. Horses abound here. Many people bring their own equines, or rent for the day. There are even campsite just for horse owners.

2. Gorgeous wildflowers are abundant. The colors so bright they seem unreal.

3. Rocky cliffs provide shadow and landscape for the walls of this valley. Shrubs grasp where they can.

4. The water is shallow here in the mountains, but the rocks and logs make for beautiful falls.

5. Tiny bees, ladybugs, and other beauties light on flowers to partake in the feast of pollen.

6. It is hard to catch a photo of these fragile butterflies, they light so fast and are gone before I can blink!

7. Wide creeks and tiny streams weave their way down the mountainside.

8. Flower buttons and long grasses make the area lush and peaceful.

9. So many trails, and horses... it is like the old west everywhere.

Wildflowers

About two miles west of my home there is an overpass stretching across I-40. Currently there is a gorgeous display of bright blue wildflowers covering the entire hillside which drivers on I-40 pass on their way to Albuquerque. I love this brilliant burst of color, even though the allergies they bring cause me to moan almost daily due to headaches.

A few weeks ago little bouquets of purple wildflowers could be seen everywhere. There are still some signs of them in the cooler areas where the warm sun has yet to eradicate them. Also I have seen bright stalks of Indian Paint brushes, (bright yellow and red) and little blue bell -like flowers no larger than my pinky nail. Soon wild sunflowers will blanket fields for miles. These are my favorite, they are so hardy and friendly at the same time. They all go to seed so fast, a lovely view for a moment fading until next year.

I've tried collecting the seeds, but I always seem too late. This time of year things change so quickly, and the Spring winds are quick to blow it all away.