Rociada, west of Las Vegas, is a fusion of two villages, Upper and Lower Rociada. Other nearby communities, like Pendaries and Gascon, though technically in Mora County, also use the Rociada postal address.
El Malpais National Monument | The jagged, desolate landscape is a volcanologist’s playground. A million years of volcanic activity sculpted the landscape. Numerous volcanoes and lava flows generated the field. The most recent volcanic activity was about 800 years ago.
Free museum in Embudo, on the "Low Road to Taos," celebrating the gas station in America. Vintage gas pumps, oil cans, gas pump globes, gas station signs, and vintage photos.
#Sunrise at White Sands. Normally, it is a challenge to get to the dunes before the sun rises, because the gate opens after sunrise. However, they open the gate PRIOR to sunrise during the White Sands Balloon Invitational in early September.
Photographer 📸 Pierce Wilber, aka @piercewilberphotos on Instagram - "Look National Geographic it’s a herd of wild Antelope running with a herd of wild radar dishes."
Photographer 📸 Anthony Crowley, aka @anthonycrowleyphoto - "I really liked these features in Carlsbad Caverns NP but the only way to combine them with front to back sharpness was to use a technique I have been experimenting with recently called focus stacking. I think it worked out well. 200mm (equivalent) focal length, 150-600mm lens, Fuji X-H2, ISO 1600, f9, 0.6 secs."
Located in a collapsed lava tube, Bandera's ice cave never rises above 31º Fahrenheit. You feel the temperature change dramatically as you descend the stairs. The igneous (volcanic) stone insulates like the ultimate Yeti cooler. The ice has been accumulating for more than 3,400 years (based on core samples tested). It is more than 20-feet deep and regenerates as new rain and snow melt seep into the cave.
#Rafting season has begun. Los Rios River Runners is my "go-to" for the Rio Grande and the Rio Chama. Whitewater typically last until early June (varies based on year/snowfall). Float trips are available into October.
Puye Cliff Dwellings | The village consisted of two levels of caves cut into the cliffs and the ruins of a large pueblo on top of the mesa. There are over a dozen “stairs” from the top of the mesa to the base of the cliff. The stairs linked the Community House on top of the mesa to the dwellings at the base of the cliff, as well as to sources of water north of the pueblo - https://newmexiconomad.com/puye-cliff-dwellings/
At 7250-feet above sea level, Continental Divide is on the original (1926) trajectory of #Route66. There are a few houses, a gas station, and a post office, with east-west trains regularly passing by.
Photographer 📸 Jaimie Murdock, aka @exploringthefrontier on Instagram - "Pair of horses and a pair of rainbows outside Roy, NM after a supercell passed by."
The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness encompasses 41,170 acres of rock formations that would seem more natural on Mars. It is one of several protected badlands in the Four Corners area. Ah-She-Sle-Pah Wilderness is a few miles south. Angel Peak badlands is about 20 miles northeast.