Durango and Silverton Railroad

I've wanted to ride the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge RR for years. This past weekend I was able to ride it, not all the way to Silverton, but halfway to Cascade canyon.

The engine itself was an impressive feat of engineering, you walk by and you can feel the heat radiating, the pistons are slamming up and down, and hot oil oozes from the joints. The thing is a beast. I could almost feel the thousands of pounds of pressure inside the boiler. I loved it.

Engine 486, manufactured in 1925

My brother and I following the train ride.

Around the bend

The mountains outside our accommodations, lit by the full moon

Venting steam over the creek

Frozen Duluth

Lighthouses at the entrance to the Duluth harbor.

Frozen waves over the rocky shore

Polar Explorers

Duluth Lift Bridge, as well as ice in the bay.

Duluth Shore Side, Lake superior is huge, cold, body of water.

Snow In Southern New Mexico

Basilica of San Albino

La Cueva

It's always super exciting to get snow in Las Cruces. 

Trail near La Cueva

Exploding watermelons

These are from some pics I took at the range last summer. I was proud of my camera for being fast enough to capture these frames.

Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park

Winter weather

The school I worked at took a field trip to Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park. It was the first real cold day of the the fall. The wind was cold and sharp, I watched it push clouds over the Organs most of the morning. I forget how gorgeous southern New Mexico is sometimes. 

Picacho peak from a river levee 

Cottonwood sapling and clouds spilling over the Organ Mountains. (B&W HDR)

Moon Rise Timelapse

My first dedicated attempt at a timelapse, I messed up by changing the exposure settings halfway through the video, now I know better.

Rocky Mountain National Park

I was recently in Denver for an interview at the med school (great time), and while I was there I had the chance to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. The park was closed just 10 miles in but I was still able to hike around and enjoy the scenery. Cool fact, the headwaters of the Colorado River are in RMNP, I was able to hike up the same river that cuts through the grand canyon until it was wide enough to jump across. Such a cool day. 

Colorado River valley

Fall Colors

Colorado River Valley -- Tilt shift

Interstate Road