Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Visiting the Desert at Night

This fountain-shaped rainbow appeared up over the mountains as we were on our way to Baylor Canyon. I tried to get a good shot of the fleeting effects, but only got this blurry one. 

Our family has always loved visiting Baylor Canyon Road at dusk. It skirts the base of the Organ Mountains, and is a place where you can see the desert coming to life at night after the blasting heat of the day. Last night we took our visiting granddaughters along on a wild safari. 


We were on the lookout for deer, javelina, bobcats, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes. As we started down the road, the coyotes started to sing up in the canyons. 


The moon was just coming out. 


We stopped by this watering hole, where there are tanks for cattle and an overflow that attracts all kinds of wild things. We could hear crickets, toads, and cicadas. Cottontail rabbits dashed along the road and night-hunting birds and bats swooped overhead. 


Although the big game eluded us, the girls were great at watching and listening. They lasted far longer than I would have expected, until someone's gurgling stomach sounds got us all to giggling, and we slowly drove back down the gravel road toward the lights of town.








14 comments:

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

You painted a lovely adventure with word and photo. This will be a cherished memory for sure.

Sylvia K said...

Beautiful and amazing skies, Clariz! Wonderful captures as always! Hope your week is going well!!

Joyful said...

The top (first) photo is awesome. I can barely make out the rainbow but that cloud looks like a hood/caped person standing watch.

Aimee said...

I am glad you had a fun adventure and I know how much my girls have loved spending time with you. Thank you for making wonderful memories xoxoxo :)

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What a fun time -- a safari with your grandparents --- yay, sounds -- and looks -- just perfect. Lucky kids! Lucky you.

Val said...

Loved reading this. Amazing pictures!

Quiet Paths said...

Such a marvelous thing to do with your grand kids. Good for you. You inspire me! Lovely pics. Do thunderheads form like that over the mountains quite often during the heat of the summer?

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

How magical -- a fountain shaped rainbow....even the weather seemed to cooperate to give you a great visit with the girls!

Kate said...

Great time with grandkids! I especially like the photo with the silhouette of the windmill.

becky said...

I can only faintly make out the rainbow, but I see what looks like an apparition just to the right. Alway so interesting sky watching is. Hope you are having a great time w/ the grandkids!

Nan said...

A fountain-shaped rainbow? Javelinas and rattlesnakes. It is truly another world out there. Amazing.

Beth said...

Your photos and description were lovely, Clair. I felt like I was there. Your granddaughters are very fortunate---I expect they'll look back in years to come and remember that night fondly.

Kate said...

Hey! Where have you been? I keep looking for some more fantastic photos and instead of posting you are goldbricking! Want to tell you that the Sept issue of New Mexico magazine has an article on Las Cruces! Next winter we're going to Charleston, SC instead of New Mexico; perhaps we should consider Las Cruces in the future?

clairz said...

Kate, I just posted a link to that New Mexico Magazine article on Facebook. It makes me want to move here, myself, lol.

Sad to hear that you aren't coming to NM this winter. Keep that article in mind and some next year, please? We could meet at Nellie's this time and make it a tradition.

You are right, I've been goldbricking from blog duties. No excuses, really, other than the summer heat. I have a backlog of photos to share, and you might have shaken me loose from the doldrums. Stay tuned, and thank you for noticing the absence.