RAIN! RAIN! Finally

On July 20th we had the first major rain we had had in about a year. My rain gage showed just under an inch. We have been needing rain despertly and finally we got some. The whole state of NM has been in a drought for several years that had got really bad this summer. But in July what is called the monsoon rains started slowly inching their way into the state. Each afternoon we would hear of some little bit of rain somewhere. Many times we watched the clouds come in and could see some rain falling in and around the Albuquerque, Bernallio, Corrales areas, and even in down town Rio Rancho but not exactly where we are. This is when we have big, beautiful white thunderhead clouds come rolling in with a lot of them over the Sandia Mountains. The ones in these photos arn't as good as some of them but they were the ones that brought us the rain this day. We didn't really expect to get anything but a few drops as is normal when it first started and then it turned loose and became a gully-washer. A male rain as the Indians call it.If you had been in an arroyo or ditch it would have been a nasty flash flood. It is amazing how much water can come down to only be listed as less than an inch on the rain gage. The photos showing big puddles of water were quickly soaked into our thirsty ground.
The next day we got some rain again but it was only a light rain, the kind we really need so it can soak in instead of running off. A female rain.
But no where in the state have we had enough to get us back up to a decent leval of water in the rivers, creeks, and underground water table. It has been good for helping with the fires but not enough to put out that big fire that is still burning west of Los Alamos.
We are hoping for more.

Summer Spots

When I first got Star as a yearling about 11 years ago she didn't have any spots except the star between her eyes. Each year when she gets her summer coat she has more and more of the tiny appaloosa spots on her face, neck, chest, and belly but very few of the spots on her back and butt where an appy normally has them. In the winter time in her heavy coat she doesn't have the little spots and looks like a normal sorrel horse. To get the photos I had to tie her to a post in her pen that is on the east side of our small place and has a good view of the Sandia Mountains. Albuquerque and Rio Rancho are between us and the mountains but can't be seen, thank goodness, for the hill between us and them.

Sandia Mountains

These are the Sandia Mountains as we see them every day from our home west of Albuquerque, NM. Albuquerque lays at the feet of the mountains along the Rio Grande River and can't be seen in this photo. Most of the time we simply see this big mountain and take them for granted. But the last part of October we decided to take a drive up to the top. The following photos are the ones I took that day. We took our Border Collie, Tuffee with us and you can see her in this photo, too. At our home we are about 6500 feet in elevation. The top of the Sandia Mountains, known as Sandia Crest is a bit over 11,000 feet high. Much higher than it looks in this photo. When making this drive you will go from about 5000 feet in parts of Albuquerque and desert country all the way to the top which is considered Alpine country at tree line. There is a dirt road going up the west or 'backside' of the Sandias through the little town of Placitis. Or you can drive the paved road up the east side of the Mountains through Cedar Crest. The Sandia Mountains are part of the Cibola National Forest. There are many acres of forest with lots of wildlife. I don't believe there is much logging or hunting allowed in the Sandias anymore. There are several nice picnic areas that are constantly being improved. Plus there is a ski resort and restaurant as well as the Sandia Tram which is the longest tram in the United States and goes from a restaurant in the northeast part of Albuquerque to the restaurant at the ski resort near the top of the mountain. I rode the tram in 1968 and 1980 but haven't raked up the nerve to ride it again. There is more info on the Sandia Mountains at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/cibola/districts/sandia.shtml

Mountain Meadow

One of the small mountain meadows that are scattered all over the Sandia Mountains. This one slopes toward the edge of the mountain so that you can see toward Albuquerque. There are lots of deer, elk, bear, squirrels, cougars, bobcats, skunks, and lots of different kinds of birds in the Sandias. We have seen nearly all these animals except cougars in the 35 years that we have been coming here. But once we got here today and started thinking about it we realized it had probably been at least 10 years since our last trip. Usually we go west to the Jemez Mountains.

WindSwept Tree

I really loved the photo quality of this very nold, Juniper tree that was along the edge of Sandia Crest. I took lots of shots of it from all three angles I could get to. The fourth side of the tree was hanging off into space and I didn't want to go there. Lee took several pictures of me under it and then I took some of him. I think it is a Juniper tree and who knows just how old it it. Due to the wind blowing on it almost constantly I am sure it isn't as large as it would be if it was on flat land. And it is that wind that has shaped this tree the way it is.

Walk Way

On the main trail to the very tip-top of the Sandia Mountains is this paved walkway with handrails for safety. It was very windy on the day we were there and the railing and it was necessary for me to hold onto the railing. Others weren't but I needed to.

Aspen Tree in Sandia Mountains

This is an aspen tree we saw on our recent trip to the Sandia Mountains. This was what is considered the 'backside' or west side of the Sandias. It is a narrow, usually single lane, dirt road that goes up the mountain from the town of Placitis, NM, which is north of Albuqueque.