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Titans of Industry
This long arc of train cars – no engine at either end – sits on a siding, waiting for…something.
Union County, New Mexico
photographed 8.29.2017
Toward the light. But also toward the storm.
A few years ago, my friend Martha and I decided to drive from El Paso, where we were spending the weekend, to White Sands National Monument. That’s about a hour-and-a-half of driving.
Normally.
We left right after breakfast. Instead of taking the Interstate, we went on New Mexico highway 28, a noted scenic route. That should have added about 30 minutes to our trip.
Normally.
But we stopped. We stopped to look at an adobe barn. A pecan orchard. A church. We stopped in a little town where the church was having a festival*. We stopped for lunch. And etc.
So by the time we eventually made it to White Sands, it was very late in the afternoon. Most of the day’s visitors had already left. But the storm clouds were still hanging around, and the sun obligingly lit a band of sand in the distance.
White Sands National Monument
near Alamogordo, New Mexico
photographed 5.1.2010
*At the town with the festival, we were turned away from a parking lot that was, we were told, for church members only. We weren’t sure what identified us so readily as non-members, although we did come up with several options.
In the cradle of the valley’s hand
You have to be going there on purpose, to this tiny town on the banks of the Pecos River south of Santa Rosa. It’s so unknown that Google maps will either direct you to Luna, New Mexico, which isn’t it, or will send you to what looks like more-or-less a random location. The only way I even knew about it was from reading one of those cheerful “Welcome to Santa Rosa” booklets once at a restaurant. (If you want to go, just take South 3rd Street from downtown Santa Rosa. It’ll change names to State Highway 91, County Road 2P, and County Road 3C by the time you get there.
This is the view from a little cemetery on a hill east of town.
Puerta de Luna, New Mexico
photographed 9.21.2013
Eyelet-lace trim
A band of wobbly concrete blocks atop this old building are reminiscent of eyelet lace. At least they are to me…
Tatum, New Mexico
photographed 5.11.2014
Picnic
In the early 1980s, I had lunch in this park on a regular basis. I was working for an architect in downtown Albuquerque and my husband’s job, with a different architect, was further up toward the Heights. This was approximately in the middle. We’d bring leftovers, and maybe get a couple of cookies from the bakery that was across the street. There was also a small, independent bookstore with a nice section of children’s books. We liked looking at the books; I was pregnant at the time and like all first-time parents, we were just determined to do everything the Right Way.
The bakery and the bookstore are gone now, having at some point been replaced by a big CVS pharmacy.
Bataan Memorial Park
Albuquerque, New Mexico
photographed 10.4.2016
One Day | One Image 