Sacramento exploring

Coming from las Cruces, The Sacramento's always strike me as fresh, vital mountains, with lots of water and wildlife. This weekend we saw a lot of the prettiest parts of them. We drove out of one thunderstorm and into another. We started the day hiking the western edge of the White mountain wilderness, and ended up south of Cloudcroft exiting the mountain range in Alamogordo. 

 Wilderness trail flowers

 Here the plants even grow on rocks 

 Tent site, under a grand old tree

 A prescribed burn, off of Cox Canyon highway

 Tough guys running the fire, but they were nice enough to let us take their picture

 Blocking the road like he owns it

Forest cruiser

 Karr canyon road

The rooster loudly proclaimed his lordship over the vast barnyard

Fort Stanton Live

These are photos from Fort Stanton Live! An annual event held at historic Ft. Stanton, near Ruidoso NM. The fort was used to protect the area from the Apache threat, and later for a variety of other purposes, including a tuberculosis sanctuary and an internment camp for German nationals during WWII. The historical presentations and reenactments were very cool. 

An actor dressed as a Cavalry Soldier

 The artillery presentations were my favorite. The shock wave from the canon would hit before the sound did, then you were washed by the smoke, which smelled strongly of gunpowder, and then the crew reloaded and fired again. It was fantastic.

 It's hard to imagine what a real artillery battle would have been like, with dozens of these going off together.

 The Apache soldiers on their way to the "battle" with the soldiers. The Apaches won.

Historical chapel at Ft. Stanton.