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Hoodoos in New Mexico. Who knew? How cool.
And we find those Hoodoos in the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, located somewhere between Santa Fe and the middle of nowhere. Then again, that describes many different locations in our wonderful state, but that is just part of our charm here.
This particular shot is from the Cañada Camada Overlook, which is more or less just outside of the National Monument. Or maybe still in it. The lines are a little fuzzy out there, at best, and so it is hard to say exactly–come to think of it, the roads are a little fuzzy, too. Either way, however, the overlook gives one a great view of many of the hoodoos of Tent Rocks.
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This photo is available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and formats.
Waiting. Waiting. Patiently, ever so patiently, it waited across the centuries, always on guard. The hoodoo, topped by its capstone, stands atop mesa, keeping watch below and above. Patiently. Ever so patiently.
And on days like today, when the storms roll in, it stands as a silent sentinel, watching as the clouds gather and thicken with the threat of severe weather. Not flinching, never moving, it stands there, on guard. Watching. And waiting. Patiently.
This particular sentinel is a lone hoodoo in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Standing high and somewhat apart from its fellows, it reminded me of a sentinel as a storm began to gather. Like so many hoodoos, it has a caprock on it, a product of the centuries of erosion from wind and water. Who knows what events this hoodoo has seen, but given how long they take to form, it has certainly seen its share of happenings. The entire area is full of incredible formations–but this lonely one stood out amongst them.
Waiting. Watching. Patiently.
This photo is available for purchase, in a variety of sizes and formats.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve is an incredible place. As National Lands go, this is on the newer side, and was just set aside a few years ago; it used to be the privately owned Baca Ranch, but luckily for us, it is now protected and open to the public. Nestled inside of a collapsed volcano caldera, the preserve features wide open spaces as well as stunning wooded areas. This photo is not the wooded area, however.
This represents another shot I have been waiting patiently for. I had the caldera, of course, but I wanted to show a panoramic scene filled with snow as far as the eye can see. And the eye can see really, really far in this photo, by the way. You might think this is “just” a snowy field. In that, you would be incorrect, I’m afraid. This particular scene measures somewhere around (as best as I can figure) two and one half miles from edge to edge. Miles. As in 13,200 feet (or just over 4,000 meters for you metric folks) from edge to edge. However, it gives you just the barest sense of the place; the grandeur, the beauty, the majesty are best experienced in person. Just be sure to breathe when you are looking at it, for it will take your breath away.
Alas, the small sizes of our monitors do not do justice to this panorama. It measures, in real life, several feet across when printed. But this gives you a good idea, at least. A couple of other notes of interest. This panorama is also the header of our main site, Fringe Innovations. And if you look on the left hand side, just in the shadow of the small hill in the middle, you can see Snowbound Ranch.
Something Old,
Something New,
Something Borrowed,
Hey…. borrow… borrow… now that’s a fine idea! You see, the shot must be taken. And not having a suitable subject is seldom much of a problem when there is borrowing to be had. Once again I selected a nice little rose for my photography, and, ah, er … borrowed it. This little rose is very, very little. It measures under 1″ wide in real life… it’s quite small, but thanks to a little creativity, it is presented here for you larger than life. It is nominally part of a mini-rose plant (and yes, I left the rest of the plant intact, although there was a dicey moment in there where I thought that perhaps the plant itself was in the way, and eyeing a pair of scissors thought of a solution. Just as I was about to implement said solution I realized that this would not be a wise move, seeing as how I value my life, and quickly thought up another plan) and it just begged to have its picture taken. The Baby’s Breath (perhaps a tad past its prime, I’ll admit) added a little dimension to the photo, and here we have Borrowed Rose.
Something Old,
Something New,
Something Borrowed,
And now she’s Blue.
Uh-oh. My borrowing was just discovered. I need to run…
Dawnting Shadows
Dawn.
A time when the world’s energy is renewed by the rising sun. A time when the cobwebs of the night are chased away into their corners and a time when the new day stretches its wings to greet the sun.
But this is, too, a time of magic. A time when the dawn’s shadows still loom large and have not yet been vanquished; a time when the balance of the day has not yet been decided. For sometimes, the shadows are reluctant to give up their hold, and take extra effort to remove…
It was a difficult struggle for the sun today, for it had not only the deep shadows below it to contend with but also some stray clouds above it–the battle was waged on all fronts. It wasn’t but a few moments after this was taken, however, that the sun rose victorious into a clear blue sky, shining brightly upon a shadowless land.
Peak-A-Boo Deer
As a small child, there are many games we love to play. Perhaps, though, one of the more popular ones is the venerable game of “Peak-A-Boo.” You know, the one where you hide your face in your hands, then reveal your face yelling “PEAK-A-BOO” in an overly loud voice, scaring the child in question, drawing puzzling looks from everyone around you, and summoning the authorities all in one fell swoop?
Er, anyway. The point is that you hide behind something which clearly doesn’t hide you, on the assumption that the child doesn’t figure it out.
As best as I can figure, this deer knows Peak-A-Boo, too, because clearly, hiding behind that small branch really, really didn’t work out too well for the deer. On the other hand, it worked out for me really well.
Peak-A-Boo! (But I said it in a really quiet voice)
Wolf Moon
‘Twas a Wolf Moon out there… a time of mystery, a time of danger, a time when sensible folks stay inside, lock the doors, bar the windows, and hide in the bathtub, for the wolves be a’calling out there. Wolf Moons are nothing to fool around with, that’s for sure, for many an odd thing happens upon them.
Nah. It was merely the first full moon of the year, the Wolf Moon, and I was, where else, camera in hand when the clouds parted for a moment, allowing this shot just as it was rising just to the left of the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico (left, in this case is defined as myself being in the west looking east, with the mountains to my right, which makes this moon to my left and my head hurt trying to describe it). It was in wonderful color for this particular moonrise. Now, one might comment that this shot isn’t as sharp as it could be. To which I would respond “yup. That be a ton of atmospheric crud between it and me”. But then again, that crud gave us this shot.
Wolf Moon, 2010. What a moon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it is off to find my bathtub.
Winter.
A time of cold and a time of snow. And in this particular case, a time for a whole lot of that wonderful white powdery stuff.
This ranch is located within Valles Caldera National Preserve and from the looks of things, humans don’t bother with wintertime occupation. Who can blame them really, for it would probably take somewhere just this side of forever to get through all that snow. And make no doubt about it… this is a lot of snow. Those drifts are fairly significant.
This photo was taken late in the afternoon with the dying sun, providing the long shadows. The ranch sits in the lee of a small hill, casting it in shadow (and one would presume that whomever built this placed it quite intentionally); shadows that grow even longer during the late winter afternoon. If you look close, you can see that the structure has been left to its own devices.
The Valles Caldera National Preserve is an interesting place; one, at the moment, full of snow. But that just adds to the charm and serenity that holds it in thrall until the springtime thaw.
What’s out there? Are we alone? Are the Universe’s mysteries right there waiting to be unlocked?
And how do we find out?
The answer is by doing a whole lot of dedicated research, using the tools that we have. One of those tools is the Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico. The VLA is a series of radio telescopes doing exactly this kind of research. You’ve probably heard of the VLA, or even seen it in a movie. This radio telescope, however, is not in Socorro. Or anywhere close. It is actually just outside of the Bandelier National Monument in Northern New Mexico (although it is considered to be in Los Alamos) and part of the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA). It is one of ten such isolated radio telescopes and a big part of the research the VLA is conducting. All together these ten form the world’s largest dedicated full time very long baseline interferometry instrument.
This is a 25m (82feet) dish antenna and is amazingly impressive close up (it is as tall as a 10 story building, which is none too short). However, I preferred this view of the radio telescope seemingly nestled in the snowy mountains.
So this radio telescope is pointed at the heavens, listening. Watching. Learning. Learning about radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, supernovas and other really fun things out there. And piece by piece the mystery of what is out there is being unlocked.
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