Southern enchantment

New Mexico is called the land of enchantment, no where is that name more apt than in the wild and remote San Mateo Mountains and Cibola national forest in southern New Mexico. 

 Finding the route

Rough country, " travel not recommended" 

 

Wide open spaces 

The road is fantastic, with endless, breathtaking scenery and treacherous terrain to negotiate 

Huge view 

 Photo op

Mt. Withington, we couldn't have asked for more dramatic, beautiful weather 

View from the fire watch tower 

"In God's wildness lies the hope of the world - the great fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness." 

-- John Muir 

 Part of a herd of elk we saw, there must have been 40 - 60 of them in the group

Classic New Mexico 

 Gateway to the San Mateos, Monticello Box

Entering the box 

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

Elephant butte Paddleboarding

I actually took this trip back in April with my brother. These photos were all taken with my phone, and editing using the stock Motorola app, so I think they came out pretty well over all.

 My dad's CJ-5 served as our adventure wagon for the trip. It looked pretty cool with the paddle boards strapped on top

 My brother, Mr. cool, always ready for action

Our dinner on the beach

Camping under a tarp, the Jeep made a great anchor, which was good because we had some hurricane force winds that night

The weather was windy and rainy that weekend. It made for some scenery, but for first time paddle boarders the big waves were hard to deal with

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. 

Organ Mountains -- Desert Peaks at night

Here is a collection of night time shots and a time lapse I did during the new moon. The photos were mostly taken at Aguirre springs recreation area, looking at the East side of the Organ mountains, part of the newly established Desert Peaks national monument.

Desert peaks, under the stars

Aguirre springs loop

Explorer... well actually, a 4runner

Milky way over the peaks

Milky way on a new moon

Star trails -- 300+ exposures layered together, just for fun

Winter camp

Adventure wagon

The road -- Thawing in mid day

Nice winter colors

Life saving fire, seriously, once this was lit everything was better

I was seriously under prepared for this trip. I had just come off an overnight shift at the hospital, which had been proceeded by my normal day job and I was verging on deliriously tired. It was sunny and warm in Las Cruces, so my simple mind reasoned that it would be in the mountains as well. I packed a pair of shorts and sandals, and a t-shirt.

Looking East, after the storm cleared up

Dona Ana Arch

The Dona Ana's are really very scenic, and right in our backyard. 30 minutes from the city and its like a different planet.

Scouting the trail to the top

Surveying the landscape

A massive rock, the picture really doesn't capture the scale.

El Capitan, Our rugged adventure wagon

The arch

Rio Grande River Valley

Rock layers

Memorial monument

The arch -- IR filter

The arch -- HDR