Month: December 2015

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Cochise Stronghold, Arizona

15-12-11 Cochise Stronghold -001
Not sure if the weather will hold for us, we left the mountains and higher elevations for this nice dispersed location for two nights.
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We were rewarded with a nice sunset and good star gazing on the first night.
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -003 Henry
A little snow on the ground after an overnight storm but skies are clearing and it is looking like a promising day.
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Picturesque yucca with a dusting of snow.
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The “tank” at the 2 mile mark. A little bit more snow…
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Well maybe a lot more sow. This little agave’s architecture is so highlighted with the snow – really beautiful.
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Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na Na-Na BATMAN!
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Da-DAh, We made our destination before the snow cloud socked us in and created a memorable, not pleasantly, afternoon and evening. Lots of pages read in our book but we were so glad we had gotten out for a hike!
15-12-13 Cochise Stronghold Sunrise -001
After that second night we woke up to bright skies and this water fall in the rocks behind our campsite. We are ready to take the back roads to our casita.

Our last visit to Cochise earlier this  year http://tealsky.com/2015/01/05/cochise-stronghold-national-forest/

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Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico

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Leaving the Organ Mountains in the rear view mirror, we headed to El Paso, then Pancho Villa State Park museum for a history lesson, Rock City for a picnic lunch, and up the next mountain range to another National Monument.
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A late afternoon stroll to the Cliff Dwellings was the perfect time of day to experience the hike and the sunlight.
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The architecture is so fascinating. A volunteer guide was present to make sure we did not miss some of the details.
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Amazing stone work. This dwelling was not lived in for very long.
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A panorama of the setting sun over the wilderness. We spent the night in the campground and hiked another canyon in the morning.
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White Sands, New Mexico

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Gorgeous Panorama of beautiful White Sands National Monument.
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The undulating and shadowing was very picturesque.
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We hiked 6-miles or so and enjoyed the rippling pattern on the dunes.
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An Angle of Repose…
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So sculptural! This reminded us of a Henry Moore Reclining Figure.
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A Minion has landed. Always on the lookout for UFO’s in NM – ha!
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From one Minion to Another: Thinking of my great nephew and wishing him a very Happy Birthday!
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More Aliens on the horizon.
15-12-08 White Sands Missle Range -002 Henry
A full criminal back ground check allowed us access to the White Sand Missle Range museum – can you see our campsite in the distant mountains?
15-12-08 White Sands Missle Range -003 Pam
Can you just catapult this into the air? They also had a V2 rocket inside of a building with explanations – building on some of the knowledge we gained in Los Alamos.
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A gorgeous sky. It was fun to photograph the Final Frontier.
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Organ Mountains, New Mexico

15-12-09 Aguirre CG Henry -001 Henry
We motored South with a stop at Bosque De Apache NWS for lunch with the cranes before setting up this campsite east of Las Cruces.
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Wine O’clock with a sunset view!
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A picturesque plateau for our tent that overlooks the White Sands in the distance.
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A morning sunrise – we were three nights/mornings in this camp.
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Morning sunrise – I’m Photographer while Barista is fixing the java.
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Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument, the hike to the historic camp from the visitor center.
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Some rugged and beautiful country. Our camp is on the other side of these Organ Mountains. We also explored the museum in Las Cruces to see the Permian Seacoast fossil castings from Prehistoric Trackways National Monument.
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Northern New Mexico

15-12-05 Los Alamos Mark's remodel Pam Henry
What a way to start our trip! We met up with Henry’s college buddy in Las Alamos to help with some remodeling. We did explore some of LA and spent the night reminiscing by the wood stove.
15-12-06 Valles Caldera Nat Preserve -002 Henry
A peaceful morning hike at Valles Caldera – a new addition to the National Park System as a Preserve from a ranch.
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Bandelier National Monument on a gorgeous winter afternoon
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A family of deer joined us on the hike – the littlest one the most curious.
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After a very welcoming night in Santa Fe with an nice dinner and morning frittata, we stopped for a hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.
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The rock formations were very fascinating.
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The Slot Canyons were a great place to greet the morning sun.