Me and Jessica and the dogs had some free time on a rural land shoot weekend in Navajo Dam, New Mexico, and saw that Durango, Colorado was not that far away. We took the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk up a scenic highway, and kept on going right through Durango finding first a natural hot spring, and then later a crowd gathered around this small bridge. Not until you get up on the bridge do you have any idea the amazing views of the Animas River from it, and you really get a better look at the beauty of this area from the drone’s eye view! The crowd there, however, were mostly to watch people jump off the cliff bank 30+ feet into the Animas River below! It was tricky to time out and capture with the drone, but in the video you can see two people making the plunge!
The rural land photography and drone video work I do takes me all over the state of New Mexico, and I mean all over! Just during the late summer time of August and only half of September, I have been to Angel Fire twice, Taos, Farmington, Belen twice and Socorro. This is a selection of sunset photos I made at those places. If you would like any of these photos as fine art prints to put in your home or office, use the buttons below. Prints are less than you might think. Ask me about getting a 30”x40” canvas in particular!
On a recent multi-day rural land real estate photo shoot in Navajo Dam, New Mexico, there was free time one day for an afternoon trip up to nearby Durango, Colorado where Jessica and I pretty much stumbled upon Pinkerton Hot Springs. Right on the side of the highway sits this natural hot spring that you can take your shoes off and dip your toes in the warm water burbling up from somewhere way down below. Usually these natural hot springs require a hike or at least a small trek to reach. This one though, you can drive right up to! It's a small hidden gem worth stopping for if you are ever near or in Durango, Colorado!
For those who have explored Colfax County, Rio Arriba County, or San Juan County, they know New Mexico is not just a dusty, desert state, but one, especially in its northern areas, that is very green. I went to a new area of the state recently, to a town called Angel Fire, that is famous for being a ski resort. This being the height of summer, there was no snow or white, but lots and lots of green. I thought I was in Switzerland or perhaps on the set of The Sound of Music with all the rolling hillsides covered in tall green grasses and the larger mountains looming in the distance.
I imagined being able to find places totally not on the agenda during a recent 5-day whirlwind Western Road Trip with eldest friend Terry and his wife, Beth, visiting from Florida, and of course also with Jessica, her dog Artie, and my beloved puppy Kiki. Mexican Hat rock formation was one such place. This day Jessica and our dogs got up at 5:15am to see the sunrise in Monument Valley, then we all reconvened and visited Forrest Gump Point and then Goosenecks State Park. Seeing a sign for Mexican Hat and having time, and a Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, we turned down an unknown dirt road and started exploring.
Back on a rural land photography assignment for Hemingway Land Company in remote northwest Rio Rancho, New Mexico, I had to wait out a deluge, hail, and lightning to get these photos! A lot can happen in 30 miles in the evening during the monsoon season in New Mexico, and that was certainly the case as I left Albuquerque in mostly sunny skies only to end up surrounded by dark clouds in all directions in Rio Rancho. I got a few quick photos, then the rain came and I took cover inside my Jeep Renegade Trailhawk. In the middle of the rain I saw in my rearview mirror a lone rider on horseback. I could not tell who liked it least being caught in the rain, man or horse!
I have been to many places around the world, some considered wonders of the world, like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, some hard to reach, like the jungles in Borneo, as well as famous wonders in the U.S. like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Monument Valley in Utah ranks up there with the most wondrous places I have seen. I bookended my time at Monument Valley first with a sunset visit, then the next morning at 6am with a sunrise explore. The photos you see here are all from that very early even-pre-sunset time in Monument Valley. So early, no one was at the gate to even pay to enter! No one else had yet driven into the valley that morning. I had the view of the two Mittens and Merrick Butte all to myself for awhile.
