Albuquerque BioPark Zoo October 2019

Ticket Window Area:



Flamingos:

Ready to see apes:

Looking for rhinos:

Zebras:

Giraffes:

Elephant enclosure:

Carousel:

Peacocks:


Raptor:

Elusive Tiger:

Snow Leopards:




Zoo Scene:

Lions lying around:

Berries:


A place to rest:

Penguin Chill:

Bandolier October 2019

The Walled Gardens

Fall Walk Around Mariposa 2019

Taos Wool Festival 2019

We attended the Taos Wool Festival last Sunday:

Vendor Tents:

LLamas:

A Man in a Khaki Kilt:

Lots of Roving, Yarn, etc.:


Felted Hats and Scarves:



Socks:


Expensive Bison Roving:

Garments Made from Felted Wool:



Shetland Wool Grown in Colorado?

Items Made from Sheep Skins and Pelts:

Raw Fleeces:

Spinning Wheel:

More Vendors:





Scenes from Taos, New Mexico:





Finally, Lunch at Doc Martins:

It was a lovely day!

A Day in the Jemez Mountains – July 2019

Indian Paintbrush:

Prickly Pear Cactus:


Unidentified:

Sweet Peas:

Tiny Yellow Flowers on the Far Bank of the Rio de Las Vacas

Down Stream View:

Woods Rose:

Red Penstemmon:


Green Gentian:


More Sweet Peas:


Lupine:

View of Rio de Las Vacas with Wood Roses in the Foreground:

Our Picnic Spot along the Rio Cebolla:

Bull Thistle:


Rock Formations along Forest Service Rd 376:


Battleship Rock from Its Base:

Carlsbad Caverns

We visited Carlsbad Caverns the first week of May. While driving into the park where we could tour the caves, we past a small herd of Big Horn Sheep:

To access the caves you have to pass through the Visitors’ Center. A replica of a stalagmite and some bats (who inhabit the caves) was on display.

In the Visitors’ Center a model of the cave was on display:

We chose the option of a self-guided tour on foot through this entrance:


Saw some cactus in bloom along the way:

A wee bit intimidating:

The 800 foot descent takes 1.25 miles of these hairpin curves:

Intrepid explorer!

When we arrived 800 feet underground, we took a break at the lunch room and then continued on to the second self-guided tour of “The Big Room”.


































Thankfully, there was an elevator to return us to the top!

Tent Rocks

On February 8, 2017, we drove about 50 miles north of our house to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Place your cursor over the picture below and keep clicking the arrow on the right side to go through a slide show of my photos from the trip:

Jemez Mountains and Valles Caldera National Preserve

First views of mountains:

We stopped at a fishing access point:

Dave inspecting the Jemez River:




More views from the access point:


Further on, Battleship Rock:

Continuing to Valles Caldera:

Lots of snow at the caldera:




Panoramic picture made from the caldera pictures above:

Orcas near the San Juan Islands

Port Townsend, Washington:


Daughter and Granddaughter waiting to board:


Our whale viewing boat, the Glacier Spirit:

Most passengers clung to the railing anxiously watching for whales. Whidbey Island in the background:

Sparkling waters:

On board was a poster showing the various whales we might see:

And a map of the San Juan Islands:

The boat was really churning up the water to get to more likely viewing waters:


View from the stern:

First sighting. Can you see it?

The dorsal fins of adult male orcas are about six feet tall:



After a lot of long distance viewing, this fellow came right up to the boat beneath where I was standing:

He was headed back under in an instant:


Still barely visible under the water:

More long distance sightings:






Then, suddenly a second came in for a close encounter:

My daughter captured this great photo of the second close encounter:

Then he was underwater again right alongside:

A great time was had by Grandma, Grandpa and Granddaughter:

Daughter and Son-in-Law:

Wildflowers Down by the River August 2015

Fading Bee Balm:

Queen Anne’s Lace:

Goldenrod:

Forget Me Not:

Jewel Weed:

Joe-Pye Weed:

Bone Set:

Turtlehead: