stop (and eat)
I’ve driven right by this place before. A lot of times. So I don’t know why this was the trip where I noticed it.
It might have been those clouds over the mountains, making it feel more dramatic. Or the particular arrangement of that car, the waste bin, and traffic barrels. Or maybe it was the sign with the jumbo burger that was indeed jumbo.
The reason doesn’t matter as much as at the fact that I did notice the place and we braved the wonkiest intersection in all of Española to get to the place.
(When I was a kid and we’d drive through Española on the way to our camping vacations in Colorado, it was guaranteed that my dad would get lost. Every. Single. Time. He rarely got lost, but Española always won. Now, as an adult, I think the “It’s Española so I’ll definitely get lost” mindset is winning: as recently as last week, I continued that proud family tradition.)
Española, New Mexico
photographed 9.19.2026
asleep (in jesus)
The way rain in northern New Mexico works is that it comes in hard monsoon-y showers in the summer. Between showers this day (I could hear a lot of thunder), I found puddles and reflections. Oh, and mud.
Catholic Cemetery
Abiquiu, New Mexico
photographed 9.19.2026
regional transit
I took a weekend trip to New Mexico the other day. Of course I took photos while I was there.
This photo is the very last one I made. It took me quite a few tries (let’s say 15, because that is the actual number) because the sky wasn’t quite dark enough at first. And then, when the sky was where I wanted it, cars would somehow appear on what I thought was a quiet little road and drive right through my photo. I’m not saying that head- and taillight light trails are always terrible, but I am saying that in this case they did not fit my vision.
But then, at last, I had the one photo I’d stopped there to take. So I packed up and headed on down the road.
It felt good.
Tesuque, New Mexico
photographed 9.20.2026
only the clouds
When I made this photo, I was pretty sure it was about the red barricade and the bright yellow on the other parts of the street.
As ut turned out, though those are just colors accenting all the hard-edges rectangles. Only the clouds escaped.
Saint Louis, Missouri
photographed 9.2.2026
the cardinals
Yes, the local baseball team IS called the Cardinals.
Saint Louis, Missouri
photographed 8.30.2026
