Bluff springs, Cloudcroft.

Crossing the Tularosa Basin on the way to Cloudcroft, Organ mountains in the background

Bluff Springs

Cloudcroft is one of my favorite places in this part of the state, it's an easy 1.5 hr drive from Las Cruces, and offers cooler temps and a good change in scenery.

This past weekend I discovered bluff springs for the first time. It's a perennial spring fed waterfall with a nice network of trails around. I was surprised by how many people were there, but it was Saturday, and it probably is the closest mountain waterfall to the entire state of Texas...


Having grown up in the southwest, anytime I find water while out exploring it seems like a miracle. Water sources are centers of life and vitality. I like photographing water almost as much as visiting it. Color in the desert can be hard to see, around water the plants are brighter, more vibrant, and there's more of them. Hopefully I can make it back here in a few weeks and explore the trails a little more, when there's less people and I have more time.   

Gotta catch that stick

Lightning

Strike over centennial high school, Just west of "A" mountain

It's thunderstorm season in New Mexico right now and I've been trying to get some good photos of lightning for several weeks now. The air around here is clear, and you can usually see the weather fronts from miles away, making for some pretty magnificent displays.

I chased storm clouds several days before I got any good shots. These are from up on a hill at the edge of town, we were watching the lightning to the south, when the storm moved in right on top of us from the East.

The shot with the lightning over the water tower was the last one I took. We could hear a wall of water moving in and we grabbed our gear and ran. We got back to the trucks just in time to avoid getting soaked. Fun times.

Right in front of a sheet of rain, which was moving fast.

First post!

I have no idea what I'm doing...

I have no idea what I'm doing...  I just wanted somewhere to post more of my photos, I feel like Facebook isn't the place anymore. I also sometimes want to comment on politics, society, and our American culture in general, and maybe I can do that here. I think it may be presumptuous to think that anyone would actually read what I write, but I'll do it anyway.

But mainly photos, I love taking pictures and working with them in Photoshop (it's the EE in me).