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Posts tagged ‘road trip USA’

1-day drive in the US Southwest: Santa Fe to Taos

Above/feature: In the background at right-centre is the sacred Pueblo Peak (Taos Mountain) with a light dusting of autumn snow.

The following takes place entirely within day 7 of our time and drive through the American Southwest.

In a daylong trip from Santa Fe, we’re in Taos for the first time where we meet with nature photographer Jim O’Donnell, whose writings also appear locally in The Taos News. We also marvel in the hamlet of Embudo the collection of paraphernalia associated with American automobile culture at the Classic Gas Museum.

Our drive is on the Low Road in both directions. It’s no real surprise we’re in the Taos area longer than anticipated, but we leave the area a little earlier to catch a couple of sights back in Santa Fe as we must depart the following day for Arizona. It’s curse and benefit, wanting (or needing) to stay in one place for an extended duration with the anticipation of a return, because there’s much more to see and learn.

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1-day drive in the US Southwest: Georgia O’Keeffe country

Above/featured: Ghost Ranch: Chimney Rock is in shadow at centre-right. Photo location: 36.31882 North, 106.48006 West.

This is the start of a series on day trips and drives from our time in the American Southwest. The following takes place entirely within day 7 (of 15) in New Mexico between Santa Fe and Abiquiú.

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) is known as one of the best known modern American artists. Born in Wisconsin and educated in Chicago, her art came to light in New York City where her name and work became prominent. While teaching in Texas, she visited New Mexico for the first time in 1917. She fell in love with the landscape of New Mexico on subsequent visits in the early 1930s, and in 1949 she moved to the Abiquiú area where she would live for the rest of her life.

As fans of her art, we’re taking the day to drive up from Santa Fe to the town of Abiquiú. We wanted to see Georgia O’Keeffe country: the landscapes from which she drew inspiration, and the land that nurtured her spirit and fuelled her creativity.

Before our guided tour of O’Keeffe’s Abiquiú home, we stop at the Purple Adobe Lavender Farm next door to have a look. We like it so much we return after the guided tour to the farm’s café for a snack. We then make the short drive northwest onto the Ghost Ranch property to check out the ancestral lands of the Navajo Apache and Tewa pueblos. O’Keeffe recognized the importance some of that history, as she related in an 1967 interview for the Los Angeles Times’ “West” magazine:

When I think of death I only regret that I will not be able to see this beautiful country anymore, unless the Indians are right and my spirit will walk here after I’m gone.

On our return drive to Santa Fe, the sun sets over our section of the Southern Rocky Mountains, and I swear the late-afternoon breeze whispers the spirits of the Chama river, Georgia O’Keeffe, and all the souls who’ve inhabited the area.

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US 60, Magdalena, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Magdalena

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

It’s a small town with at least one of everything: gas station (Steer Stop), school, bank, library, museum, cemetery. We’re passing through town, as we’re chasing daylight on our next scheduled stop in Albuquerque. Traffic is stopped for about 20 minutes with road construction, and while thinking about the terms and conditions for living in south-central New Mexico, I wonder what the day-to-day might be like. Quiet, with a rush on the 60?

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eE4.

Very Large Array, VLA, Plains of San Agustin, Socorro, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Plains of Agustin

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

We’re in west-central New Mexico, and we’ve descended after crossing the continental divide, the spine of North America. Leaving behind the Datil mountains and the town of Datil, the next “landmark” is Magdalena, and before us is the flat expanse that is the Plains of Agustin, once the bed of Lake San Agustin (up to 20-thousand years ago, Pleistocene epoch). Fact is we’re still up at over 2100 metres (7000+ feet) above sea level.

The sun pokes out from behind the clouds, and lights up the white dishes of the Very Large Array (VLA) radio observatory in the distance. Today, the VLA is in a compact “engineering” configuration which is useful to see all of the dishes together, but it would’ve been nice to see the dishes spread out miles apart in an observing configuration. Guess I’ll have to come back …

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-dXd.

US 60, Quemado, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Quemado

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

It’s too bad we’re not planning on making stops (except fuel) in small towns along the way. I can only imagine the practical delights to be seen in shops like the Country Store: grocery, hunting, fishing; everything one might need for supplies.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEd.

US 60, Arizona-New Mexico border, AZ-NM border, Arizona, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Welcome to NM

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

It’s early-afternoon and we see a sign at mile 0: “Welcome to New Mexico: Land of Enchantment.” We are in fact enchanted. We’ve crossed the state border with “the road’s end” at Arizona (AZ mile “401.97”) and “the beginning” in New Mexico at mile 0. The latter milepost marker from NMDOT is at latitude 34.167 degrees north and longitude 109.047 degrees west at an elevation of over 2240 metres (7360 feet). After many hours of driving behind us, we’re closer to reaching a key destination: Pie Town.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eDv.

Little Colorado River, US 60, US 180, US 191, Springerville, Eager, Arizona, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on AZ US-60: Springerville

On US-60 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

We’ve passed through a field of cinder cones and we’re heading southeast and slightly downhill to Springerville: a town founded in 1870 with present-day population about 7000. At the location shown above, the road is shared by three highway designations: US 60, US 181, and US 190. It’s mid-October, and Escudilla Mountain in the distance has already been topped with snow. For us, snow is no worry, but the low fuel gauge is, and we’ve set aside time to stop in town to tank up.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/500-sec, f/16, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEN.

Bumble Bee Ranch Adventures, Bumble Bee, ghost town, Sunset Point Rest Stop, Black Canyon City, AZ, USA, fotoeins.com

Small towns in the American Southwest

Above/featured: I-17 Sunset Point Rest Stop, near ghost town of Bumble Bee: Black Canyon City, AZ – 17 Oct 2018 (X70).

A memorable road trip through the American Southwest included over three-thousand miles of driving through Arizona (AZ) and New Mexico (NM). We encountered many small towns: some of them were easy to pass through, while others were “must see”. We wanted to stop in as many as we could, but time and itinerary were as always the usual culprits. Guess we’ll have to return.

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Deuce of Clubs Ave, Show Low, Arizona, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on AZ US-60: Show Low

On US-60/AZ-77 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

We’d already seen highway signs marking down the distance on our approach to the town of Show Low (founded 1870). As we drive through, we stop at a traffic light and discover we’re on “Deuce of Clubs Avenue.” That’s not exactly coincidence; sure enough, the name of the town and the name of the “main street” are all due to a high-stakes game of cards. In a game of the “lowest card”, the deuce of clubs is said to have won the game. We don’t have time to stop in town to explore the story some more; we’ll have to come back.

It’s also here in Show Low where shared highway AZ-77 and US-60 part ways. With AZ-77 continuing north to Holbrook, we’re on US-60 east to Springerville.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/500-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEL.

AZ 77, US 60, Salt River, Salt River Canyon Bridge, Salt River Canyon Rest Area, Arizona, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on AZ US-60: Salt River Canyon

On US-60/AZ-77 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

About halfway between Globe and Show Low is the very scenic Salt River Canyon Rest Area. It’s a great place to stretch the legs, descend to the river canyon below, or walk across the 1934 bridge which is now only for pedestrian use. The replacement New Salt River Canyon Bridge (Apache Bridge) opened in 1996. The river and rest area lie on the territorial lands of the San Carlos Apache and the White Mountain Apache peoples. The Salt River flows west and converges downstream with the Gila river in southwest Phoenix.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEz.

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