We had a nice night of exploring the desert a couple of hours west of Las Vegas. The desert at night is so calm and serene with the critters coming out of hiding to do their business because of the difficult conditions of the hot daytime hours. The glow of Las Vegas can still be seen this far away at night.
Rays of Light on the Gulf of Mexico
The light was coming through the storm clouds casting rays on the Gulf of Mexico while a I rested on Tiger Key in Everglades National Park. It was a beautiful evening with a soft salty breeze coming off the ocean and cooling me on the silky white beach.
Contemplation of the Night on Tiger Key
During the day we explored Everglades National Park but after midnight I was alone on the beach to explore my thoughts. No better place and time to sort through your life and problems and come to a balanced place.
Campfire on Tiger Key
We kayaked to Tiger Key in Everglades National Park and spent 2 wonderful evenings on the beach looking up at the stars. Late at night the guys headed off to sleep and I stayed up a watched the campfire die down to embers. The stars blanketed me overhead and the quiet settled on Ten Thousand Islands and soon I would be in my tent sound asleep.
Cabezon Sunset
Cabezon Peak is one of the best-known and most visible landmarks in northwest New Mexico. Cabezon is located about 75 miles northwest of Albuquerque. This giant volcanic plug is visible for tens of miles in all directions, and as far away as Placitas. Cabezon means “big head” in Spanish, and it is aptly named. It is the largest of several dozen widely scattered rocky monoliths, called the Rio Puerco necks. Rising above the Rio Puerco valley floor, they are some of the best-preserved examples of volcanic necks in the world. The craggy black peaks stand in sharp contrast to the sparsely vegetated, buff-colored lowlands from which they emerge. Mt. Taylor looms majestically to the southwest, Mesa Prieta borders the valley to the east, and the Jemez Mountains are visible to the north. This starkly beautiful landscape is unique in New Mexico. At an elevation of 7,786 ft, Cabezon Peak towers more than 1,100 ft above its base, and 2,000 ft above the Rio Puerco nearby.
Stars, Milky Way and and Night Eyes
The Milky Way is amazing, especially viewing it above 11,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. On this summer evening I was shooting the night sky in complete darkness. I was out in the forest alone and heard a bunch of rustling near me, totally freaking me out. I booked it back to camp which was a couple of hundred yard away. I came back a got my camera a short time later with a extremely bright headlamp. When I got home and processed the shots I found out it was just a few deer feeding in the grass on the mountainside. When you are out in complete darkness by yourself, you can get rattled and spooked by noises in the dark. By the way, Teig was asleep in the truck back at camp.
Balloon Color in the Sky
The colors fill the sky when you are attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. It is not very difficult to capture a flying hot air balloon at the festival!