Rainbow over Las Cruces

Rainbow and storms in Las Cruces heading east towards San Augustin Pass

I don’t have a ton of photos from my time visiting family in Las Cruces. Mostly we sat around, talked and caught-up on life, and basically just ate a ton of delicious food. One particular night we were headed to get Thai food and ran into some heavy localized rain which is of course it … Read more

Prehistoric Trackways National Monument – OHV Exploration

OHV exploration at Prehistoric Trackways BLM land

Did some more driving around and OHV exploration just for the sake of seeing new things. We’ve always known there are some trails at the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument but never had a vehicle that suited for these kinds of adventures. Long story short that didn’t matter because these trails are a bit confusing on … Read more

Doña Ana Arch View from OHV

Doña Ana Arch View from OHV

Did some off-road exploration and just playing in the desert with my dad. Had heard there was a natural arch somewhere over in the Doña Ana area but wasn’t fully sure how close you can get to it on 4 wheels versus hiking so we took a look. The answer is…closer than I thought in … Read more

Organ Mountains – Baylor Canyon Rd Dispersed Camping

Baylor Canyon Road Dispersed Camping - Moody sunrise views at Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument

I don’t have many photos from my time visiting family in Las Cruces as I was focused on enjoying our time together and not photography. Didn’t come away empty-handed though: My concerns about allergies to their cats led me to test out alternate lodging options, and my dispersed camp in the BLM land off Baylor … Read more

Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano

Ice Cave Trail - View of the ice inside the cave

There’s good reason why I prefer not to plan my solo road trips. Yes, there are times when the chaos ends in sub-optimal results. Other times though, you get to do things you wouldn’t normally see otherwise. Case-in-point: Upon leaving El Morro my only destination was “head east back towards ABQ”. I had no idea … Read more

El Morro National Monument – Inscription Rock Trail

El Morro National Monument - Inscription Rock Trail

Continuing from the Headland Trail you’ll naturally connect to the Inscription Rock Trail that leads along the bluff and observes the other significant focus of the monument – several ancient petroglyphs and hundreds of historic rock inscriptions. A careful eye will notice several petroglyphs on the large vertical faces of the cliff where big circular … Read more

El Morro National Monument – Headland Trail

El Morro National Monument – Headland Trail – Panoramic views across the valley

El Morro National Monument has two trails that end up connecting at the end. I started with the longer Headland Trail first for no reason other than…well, it’s the first sign I saw and just decided to go that way. The trail begins right from the back door of the visitor center. A short paved … Read more

El Morro National Monument – Visitor Center

El Morro National Monument - Welcome sign

It’s the midpoint of October today and back home in the midwest I’d likely be seeing cooler temperatures and often gray cloudy skies. Happily I’m here in the far southwest high desert and it’s a near perfect mid 70’s day with partially clouded blue skies. I continued from Fort Wingate back west on I-40 through … Read more

Cibola National Forest – Quaking Aspen Campground

Quaking Aspen Campground - Campsite #2 is quite premium

Heading west from Grants, New Mexico on I-40 and absolutely loving the scenery as the sun fades on the day. Huge red sandstone cliffs are to the north of the interstate and I didn’t know at the time but this is the southern terminus of the Colorado Plateau. Most of this area is also Navajo … Read more

El Malpais National Monument – La Ventana Natural Arch

El Malpais National Monument - Zoomed view

Made it to Grants, New Mexico and stopped for fuel. Didn’t have anything planned in this area so I took a survey of the map and found an interesting feature relatively nearby. Headed south on NM-117 into El Mapais National Monument / National Conservation Area and checked out the La Ventana Natural Arch, the second … Read more