Sidetracked Charley

Christmas Morning Elk 2011 When my sister lived in New Mexico she would come up to my house for the holidays and we would almost always have several photo exhibitions. The Christmas Day photography trip was a tradition. Snowshoeing Christmas Day 2012 Last year we had snow but we have had some warm Christmases in the past few years which allowed for more playing around. In 2010 we even had a picnic on Christmas Day.  Crystal and Debbie Looking for Picnic spot 2010 Ponil Creek 2011 2011 was a bit chillier but in the sun it was definitely warmer than expected. We took tons of photos and had great laughs. But 2010 was exceptionally warm as the picture below indicates. Off road in Ocate 2010 There was always animals and great photos to be had and memories to be made. Everyone else was at home in front of the television and we were able to have the wilderness and off roads to ourselves. Nobody to spook the buffalo which were sunning themselves. It was b...

Wheeler Peak after the clouds cleared The end of October is generally the time locals turn on the under the house heat to prevent pipes from freezing. We all try to go longer because of winter heating bills but temperatures falling to 7 F one night let me know how risky that can be. It is also the time the emergency winter box should go in the car. The clouds of the first "winter is coming" storm finally cleared away from the mountain tops to reveal the first snow on the peaks. Yesterday all this snow on the south side of Wheeler was already gone. That is pretty typical of this time of year. Fall and winter seem to dance around each other into November some years. Saturday was fall and I went to the spa with Jessica and spent a prolonged period in the outdoor hot tub catching the warming rays of the sun. My sister went off-roading with a friend in the Zuni Mountains. I wasn't even that concerned when she didn't call as promised that evening. I figured they went...