The "Falls"

The Falls Trail at Bandelier National Monument. Well, there wasn't actually any water in the Falls just then. We did get treated to this view, when we turned a corner and beheld the gateway to the confluence with the Rio Grande.

Along the trail, Krista spotted the heart-shaped pattern on this tree. There was a terrific interpretive guide for this trail, about the flora and geology, shaping and shaped by the flow of the river and the orientation of the canyon.  Just a few steps around the corner to the south, the exposure and air temperature create different conditions.  Flowers of the same species bloom a full month later in the cooler, sheltered part of the canyon.








Below: It was a steep drop to the valley floor.  Vivid colors in the rocks and vegetation (a little washed out in this shot). Amazing how the shrubs and trees find footholds on the cliff faces.

Above and Beyond - The Las Minas Trail

 

Near Taos - A Nice Afternoon Hike

Here we are near a creek. Jim, Colleen, Krista and I went on a picnic outing and lingered by the creek afterward.

This meadow daisy had a visitor!

Sunsets

We stayed an extra night to answer Jim's invite to join them for dinner at his sister's. She's 81 and going strong!

She had a wonderful view to the west and Krista drew everyone out to enjoy the sunset. We watched for the "green flash" that occurs just as the sun dips below the horizon.

People II

Dave took me to a Friday breakfast at Harry's while Krista packed us for our next adventure. These wonderful characters have coffee-fueled political discussions! Dave gets a huge kick out of it and so did I!

Community

Taos Publo. This is ancient! The present-day "Community" consists of native Americans, and others, who lease these apartments, at least part time. 

This is from farther away...The adobe requires constant maintenance.  There's always patching and resurfacing to be done, to keep the walls sealed against the elements.

This is inside - interior photos are by permission only! Notice the pole beams.  Some residents welcome visitors to a peek inside.  Others create homemade traditional food to sell visitors. We stopped in a few doors down for some delicious frybread.  Mmmm, with honey drizzled on top.

This is a church on the grounds.

Think of time. It could be a couple of hundred years ago, except for the truck.

Bridge

The Rio Grande River Gorge Bridge near Taos. The gorge goes on forever!

Looking across the chasm...

Looking down at the watery ribbon made by the Rio Grande...

 "Zooming in" on the ripple and flow below.

Geometry

This chapel is dedicated to Assisi, near Taos.

 Now the geometry. We play with the blocks and shadows made by the posts and walls...











Now we have it - Musical Notes!

Meadowlands

At Meadowlands, near Santa Fe, we saw the difference a few feet made.  As we gazed more closely at the pond, a frog appeared...

A bit further away, we saw this - a silky puff of smoke!

This is the pond.

We had loads of chances to take pictures of dragonflies.

One more frog joins the moss flotilla!

Dancers

At Bandelier we had the chance to see members of the Old Canyon Dancers in addition to everything else. So after visiting Alcove (in which the ladder played a role), we saw  dancing, then we made off to visit the Falls.

At the end of the program, our announcer, third from the right, invited us all to dance!

Below, in red-headdress and blue pants, is a young man doing the protection dance, to ward off invaders and evil spirits.

Orientation

This is a slide from Garmin, which directs me in regard to time, direction, and mileage. I recorded this October 2 at 7000 feet above sea level. Krista and I hiked up Mt. Bishop which was near Dave's place.

October 3rd, we invited Phil and Joan. They selected Arbor and we hiked up there. This is a little funny - we hiked along a winding path, but it shows a straight line to the picnic area- looks as though we were making a beeline to the food!

Here we see the Rio Grande, a great, deep thrust across several states. We crossed this river near Taos.

We hiked the Las Minas Trail, which starts from the Visitor Center near Taos on US 68.











On the last day we did Petroglyphs. We strayed off the circular road and then climbed to Mesa Point.  Was it ever breezy up there!

Petroglyphs

 This is a straight take of a petroglyph.

 This is pigment-skew which makes petroglyphs more visible.

 This is a yucca pod! Had several important uses for the indigenous peoples who lived here at the time this was created.

 A "leggo-type" example.

This is the famous "starship" and "alien."

The Petroglyphs went up the hill. On the very top you might be able to see people. The wind was intense!

Bandolier

Concentrate on the ladder in the upper left quadrant. Then pick out the person who is climbing to the left. It would help by clicking the image to get it larger. Krista and I climbed those ladders.