Desert Air!
The far mountains belong to the Sangre de Cristo range. This was facing east, roughly toward Taos, and you can see the flare from the morning sun along the upper left side of the photograph.
What you cannot see in the photograph is the unbelievable scent of the high desert and how the cool desert air felt upon my face. This was truly one of those transcendental moments where all of the disparate elements of the Universe seem to coalesce into one harmonious and perfect whole.
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| Looking over the edge of the gorge. Rio Grande is far below. |
Another thing you cannot tell from the photograph is that only a hundred or so yards away, the flat desert terrain is sliced open by a huge gash cut by the Rio Grande on it's way to the Gulf of Mexico.
The day before, I had been driving along a perfectly flat and arrow-straight road when I suddenly realized that the earth around me had disappeared and I was driving on a thin strip of concrete suspended very high above the ground.
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| High Bridge across the Rio Grande Gorge |
Since I was under no deadline to be any certain place at any certain time, I decided to explore the immediate area. I found a gravel road that promised to lead down into the gorge, and after stopping for a safety check of my Toyota and the Casita, proceeded carefully downward. At first the gravel road was in good condition, but the closer to the bottom we got, the worse the road became.
At the bottom of the gorge there is a older "Low Bridge" across the river. I stopped for a few photos and for Max to take a break before continuing on the road that ran along side the river. It was getting late and we checked out several campsites but insects were bad and I did not see anyplace that I really wanted to camp. Finally we turned back, climbed out of the gorge, and camped a the rest area next to the High Bridge.
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| Old "Low Bridge" at the bottom of the gorge. |
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