Walking Stick Cholla Cacti

Cholla may not be the most beautiful cactus in the world in any kind of objective sense — but it is definitely my favorite. This is a scene from the Sandia foothills, right up the road from my house.

Rocky Mountain Maple Leaves

Red, yellow, and orange Rocky Mountain maple leaves glow in the autumn sun.

Maples in the Manzanos

Rocky Mountain Maples show nearly every color imaginable in the Manzano Mountains’ Fourth of July Canyon.

Sandias and Rio Grande

The Sandia mountains and the Rio Grande, seen from Bernalillo.

Valle Grande, from Coyote Call

Looking out over Valle Grande from the Coyote Call trail (both in Valles Caldera) during a much wetter summer than this one. I’m guessing both areas have been burned in the Las Conchas wildfire.

UPDATE, JULY 17: I was wrong. Most of this part of Valle Grande remained unscathed. As for the Coyote Call trail, it is still closed. From what I could see from the road, large parts of it burned — but many parts did not. In particular, it looks as if many of the aspens along the trail survived.