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Saguaro National Park — Christmas Eve

15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Signal Hill -003
A stroll to Signal Hill through an amazing Saguaro cactus forest. And what a fascinating sky to complete the picture.
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These saguaros are so interesting – they seem to have such individual personality.
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Oh look up there – on those rocks! This is the only angle you can see these carvings. So glad the light was just right!
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What are the meanings of these petroglyphs?
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Really a fun rock outcropping to experience.
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Changing shadows on the hike down. This is near a CCC camp and they built the picnic shelters using dead saguaro stems.
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Ho Ho Ho. This dead saguaro is setting the mood for tonight’s full moon concert. The rangers had hot chocolate and cookies for us – how nice is that!
15-12-24 Saguaro NP (West) Moonrise Holiday Program -002
The back patio had solo guitar music while the sun was setting.
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And it was a very peaceful sunset – had to leave our chairs to wander around to the front to capture this image.
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A ranger played a Native American wooden flute while the full moon rose. It was so haunting and moving. Quite a memorable experience. Truly a unique way to experience a national park. We saw the first full moon of 2015 rise in Organ Pipe and the last here.
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Winter Solstice Sunset/Moonrise Hike — Saguaro NP

15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -003 Pam
Ready for a 4 mile ranger led hike to the summit of Wasson Peak for sunset. It is a very comfortable 60 degrees for the 2-pm start time.
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The Saguaros have so much personality – as does the sky. I am the only photographer in the group so they are not wanting to wait for pictures – locals with too many pictures?
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This is the flavor of the day.
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Views of the distant mountains – Santa Catalinas North of Tucson.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -010 Henry
Our hiking group. Freddie, the ranger on the right, was our leader with volunteer Don and Tim. Two women joined us making a party of The Magnificent Seven.
15-12-21 Saguaro NP (West) Wasson Peak Ranger Led Moonlight Hike -012 Henry
The moon is a few days from full but can be seen rising over the mountain. It will light our descent hike.
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Another picturesque view looking south.
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Northwest view from Wasson Peak of the setting sun hitting the landscape.
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Unbelievable! A toast to Winter Solstice and the beauty of the start of the longest night of the year.
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The cholla gives a sense of place to this Wasson Peak sunset shot.
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Hiking down the colors kept coming keeping us entertained for the first mile. The moon lit rest of the hike was so quiet and peaceful. Really special experience!

Last year’s sunset hike http://tealsky.com/2014/12/18/saguaro-national-park-west/

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Green Valley, Arizona

15-12-16 Saguaro NP East Garwood Dam - Greg, Terry, Henry, Marcy, Roger
We met up with friends, 2 couples we had met last year, for lunch at El Molinito restaurant followed by a hike to Garwood Dam in Saguaro National Park East.

Our hikes to this area last year

http://tealsky.com/2014/12/21/sagauro-national-park-east-in-tucson/

http://tealsky.com/2014/12/26/saguaro-aational-park-east-garwood-dam-trail-again/

15-12-22 Hacienda de la Canoa—Docent Tour -001
We organized meeting for a docent led tour of this ranch that had once encompassed all the land in Green Valley.
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A view towards Madera Canyon and the Santa Rita mountains.
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A detail of the historic fence and refurbished gate. There is also a blacksmithing shop on site.
15-12-22 Condo Lunch Marcy Greg Henry Terry Roger
Our picnic lunch at our casita in Green Valley. A great afternoon as all hung around through wine o’clock. We were well sugared with donuts and hand baked goodies but that balanced the salads and chicken.
15-12-19 Green Valley Sunset -002
A beautiful sunset a short stroll from the casita.
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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!
15-12-12 Cochise Stronghold Divide Hike -009 Pam
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

15-12-10 Gila Cliff Dwellings NM -001
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!
15-12-08 White Sands NM -013 Pam
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.
15-12-08 Aguirre CG -006 Henry
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.
15-12-09 Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM -002
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.
15-12-06 Bandelier NM -003 Pam
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.
15-12-07 Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks NM -001
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.