This past weekend was the annual Jemez Historic Site Luminaria Celebration. Each December for one night only the historic site lights traditional luminarias.
Some of you might not know what a luminaria is. It’s a brown paper bag that has sand placed the bottom. Then a candle is stuck into the sand and lighted. The effect is very beautiful and synonymous with the southwest holiday season.
I went with my friend Valerie. We had gone once before a few years ago but we had some technical difficulties with our equipment that hindered us from getting any decent photos.
This year we had much better equipment and a lot more skill too! The event has gotten more and more popular over the years. Needless to say, we had to buy a ticket this year and it was a lot more crowded.
Thankfully long exposure photography eliminates moving objects (e.g. people) in your photo. So what is in person a busy event, in photos looks like no one was there.
My favorite photo of the evening was this one. I love the lighting and composition of it. People were walking around with flashlights, taking photos with flash photography and in general just causing all kinds of light. Which turned out to not be a bad thing! They essentially did light painting for me. 🙂
The Mission
Though there was a lot of light around me, I tried getting some shots of the night sky in my photos.
Night sky over the mission
Here’s a gallery of the other photos I took at the event. I was pretty pleased with several of my shots. Just click on one of the images to open a slideshow.
I feel like I’ve been going a lot lately and haven’t had any time to blog. I’m still trying to catch up writing about my San Antonio visit last May/June.
While there I took the time to visit the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. The park encompasses 5 missions and an historic acequia (water canal). Sadly, the park didn’t open until 9 am. By this time, the best lighting had passed, and the weather was already hot as fire! Despite the conditions, I had a good time exploring the missions.
I did manage to get a nice pic in the morning light just outside the monument walls.
Mission San Jose
The first mission I visited was Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo. This mission was constructed in 1768 and was designated a National Historic Site in 1966. It had a large fenced in lawn with lots of buildings that used to house the friars that lived there.
Mission San Jose
Old well outside of the mission
Mission portico
The front of the mission has been beautifully carved. It’s amazing that these works of art are still in great condition after 250 years.
Front doors of Mission San Jose
Wonderful sculptures
The inside has been preserved beautifully.
Sanctuary of Mission San Jose
The National Park is large. It has about 15 miles of trails to hike and bike. I wasn’t about to do either in the Texas summer heat and humidity. So I drove to the next mission: Mission San Juan Capistrano. This mission was built in East Texas in 1716. Then in 1731, the mission was moved to San Antonio. It was designated at National Historic Landmark in 1972.
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Bell tower of Mission
Sadly I wasn’t allowed to go inside this mission.
Following that was Mission San Francisco de la Espada which was established in 1690 in central Texas. It underwent several name changes until 1731 when it too was moved to San Antonio. This mission was added to the National Historic Register in 1972.
Mission San Francisco de la Espada
Bell tower
Mission Portico
I was able to step inside the sanctuary of this mission. I didn’t realize there was a ceremony underway. You can see the girl in the chair up front in her white dress. She was celebrating her Quinceanera. A celebration in the Latin communities for a girl’s 15th birthday. I took a quick pic and left the patrons to their celebration.
Quinceanera being celebrated
I then stopped at the Espada Aqueduct. This aqueduct was built by Franciscan Friars in 1731 to supply irrigation water to lands near Mission San Francisco de la Espada. The aqueduct is still in use today and is an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. It received these designations in 1964.
Espada Aqueduct
The double arches of the aqueduct.
I walked down to the stream. Scarlett was so excited to see water. Before I let her play and get a drink, I took pictures of the cool fish gathered in a pool. There were lots of dragonflies about but very skittish. I managed to get a pic of one little guy.
Texas Ciclid – this fish was about 3 inches long. You can see little babies it’s protecting
Pretty damselfly
After the aqueduct, I drove to Mission Concepcion. I loved the grounds surrounding this mission. It had beautiful palm trees and expansive lawns.
Beautiful old palm trees
Mission Concepcion
This mission had a lot of rooms to explore along with a beautiful sanctuary.
Alter at the Mission
I hope you enjoyed reading about my morning exploring the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. By now it was 11:30 am and it was over 100 degrees F, and I was so ready for a cold drink, a shower and air conditioning!
My friend Dia and I went for a quick trip to Taos, New Mexico, recently. My goal was to photograph several historic churches and see the Taos Pueblo and the graveyard there.
I needed to stop by a job site on the way there, so we decided to make a big circle for our road trip. On the way to Taos we went through Las Vegas, New Mexico. I mentioned to Dia there was a pretty little glacial lake just north of there. One thing I’ve learned about Dia – take her to any kind of water and she’s a happy girl!
We were soon at Morphy Lake. Such a peaceful place. Set at a higher elevation, it was a nice 75 degrees there in hot summer.
Morphy Lake
While walking the shore, I happened to notice a giant tadpole. After further searching, we saw lots of them in different stages of changing into a frog. We even saw some fully formed frogs. I also saw an oddly colored fish.
This frog still has his tadpole tail.
hmmmmm….not sure what kind of fish this is
Then Dia saw a crawdad. She’s fascinated by these guys! Soon she was trying to catch one. After a couple of attempts, she got one!
Slowly…..slowly…..closer……
Got him!
Success!
Oh dear…. lol!
Soon we were on our way again. We passed through a few small towns and past Sipapu Ski area. We were climbing in elevation the entire drive.
We came upon a pretty stream. Scarlett was wanting to get out for a bit. Knowing how much she loves water, I figured this would be a nice place to stretch our legs. Soon Dia and Scarlett were in the water having a fun time. I swear I was traveling with two kids! 🙂
Dia and Scarlett having fun!
Once in Taos we ate lunch at a local restaurant called the Farmhouse that uses fresh farm grown produce. Sadly the food really wasn’t very good and I can’t recommend a visit there to eat. But the grounds were pretty with a pond, wildflowers and garden spinners.
Pond at the Farmhouse Restaurant
I love garden spinners
Funky Taos art
Dia, Kelly & Scarlett
Then I noticed an old rusted truck out in a field. As you’ve probably figured out by now, I can’t resist photographing old rusty things!!!
I love all the different layers of paint (and a little bondo)
We also had to pose on this truck LOL! But the metal was hot as fire making it difficult to do much. LOL!
Kelly
Dia
We ate at a local bar that is housed in the oldest building in Taos. We had a great time having a couple of margaritas and playing shuffleboard.
Delicious margaritas and it was happy hour!
Kelly and Dia enjoying drinks on the patio
Dia won both games of shuffleboard
My silly friend!
Finally the sun was setting. Time to get out for some sunset and blue hour photos of the mission at Ranchos de Taos. This mission was built in 1772 and has been wonderfully kept over the years.
We got there just as the sun was setting. It was a gorgeous evening.
I especially loved this photo I captured.
Dia wanted me to take a photo of her that made her look like a ghost. After several attempts, I think I got a decent shot. I’m only just learning how to do night photography. I still have lots more to learn but having fun trying!
Ghostly Dia
The next morning we got up early to visit Taos Pueblo. We drove through the northern end of town to get there. And wouldn’t you know it I saw one of my nemesis birds – the Black-Billed Magpie. And I didn’t have my birding lens! Ahhhhh! These birds were everywhere. After several attempts I did manage to get a decent pic with the setup I had on hand.
Black-Billed Magpie
When we got to the pueblo, we found out it was closed due to a funeral. 🙁 So I guess I will have to plan another trip there to see the sights on the pueblo.
We stopped for gas and I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this crow in the parking lot.
American Crow
Since our original destination was closed, we headed over to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The morning was very hazy, so the photos really weren’t that good. But we still had a fun time on the bridge and shopping the local artist tables there. We each bought a pretty ring and earrings. 🙂
Rio Grande Gorge
Kelly’s feet – it’s a loooong way down to the river
Dia and Kelly at the gorge bridge
We even saw big horn sheep down in the gorge.
On the way home we took a different route. We took the “High Road” back home. This road takes you up high in the mountains through the quaint towns of Las Trampas and Truchas. It was too bad the day was so hazy, because the views from this drive are amazing!
There’s a beautiful historical church in Las Trampas built in 1760. It has some interesting details. Plus there was also a House Sparrow pair busily building a nest.
San Jose de Garcia Church
This angel was carved above the door.
House Sparrow
Further down the road is Truchas. It’s perched high on a mountain with long reaching views. As we were looking for the church there, we came upon a flock of Evening Grosbeak. I still didn’t have my birding lens, so was challenged to get a decent pic. They are such beautiful birds.
Evening Grosbeak
There is a quaint church off a small side road – Our Lady of the Rosary built in 1764.
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Our last stop was at Chimayo. The El Santuario de Chimayo is a National Historic Landmark and is famous for it’s healing holy dirt. It was founded in 1816 and people pilgrimage here from all over to receive blessing and leave mementos of loved ones. It would be easy to spend several hours here exploring and enjoying the peaceful setting.
I loved the murals in this little side sanctuary
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While Dia and I walked around, we left Scarlett in the Jeep. She was not happy with this decision. LOL!
Scarlett left in the Jeep – poor girl…..
We had a fun filled couple of days and saw lots of sights. But I know I have to plan another trip in the future to see Taos Pueblo.
I have long wanted to go birding in Southeastern Arizona. They have a wonderful variety of birds that can’t be found anywhere else in the US. Many birds are residents of Mexico. So when my husband suggested we plan a long weekend trip to SE Arizona, I was thrilled!
It takes over 7 hours to get there from our house. The day we left, a front was blowing through and we were driving with a headwind that was 50 mph+. Terrible conditions for traveling. At one point, we lost quite a bit of visibility.
Dust storm we traveled through on I10.
By the time we got to Tucson, the sun was starting to set. Thankfully the wind had died down considerably. We had just enough time to stop in at a beautiful historic mission located just south of Tucson. It’s called the Mission San Xavier Del Bac and was completed in 1797. When we arrived, it had just closed for the day. Too bad….I would have loved to see the inside. But the outside is just stunning!
The mission is undergoing restoration. You can see the left side is all new and white. The right side is now being restored. They have removed the dome and will restore it at a later time.
Mission San Xavier Del Bac
Kelly at the entrance.
I loved all the many details of the mission. It was fun to explore.
Several statues adorn the mission.
Very detailed flourishes.
Rustic window decor.
Rattlesnake door handle
The desert gardens around the building were very nice.
Beautiful desert gardens
There were a few birds around the mission. I managed to get a few pics in the low light.
Northern Cardinal
Gila Woodpecker
Cactus Wren
There’s a hill next to the mission with a shrine to Virgin Mary. It had a gate with interesting lion statues.
Lion statue on the hill. The clouds look like lion’s breath.
Grotto of Lourdes
Virgin Mary
As we hiked to the top of the hill, the views got more expansive.
View of the mission
View looking north toward Tucson
As we were leaving I took this last shot of the property. I thought it looked like God shining from the heavens.
For me, wide angle usually means vistas. Long reaching views. But I thought I would reign it in a little with this challenge.
I shoot with a Nikon 1 camera that has a really cropped view with a standard lens. So I have a “wide angle” lens for my mirrorless camera that let’s me shoot a much wider view. My camera also has some built in features that let you take different kinds of photos. I used the HDR feature for this photo. It blended the different exposures nicely.
I hike in Corrales quite often as it is very pretty there along the bosque and I usually don’t run into a lot of people. I’m one of those folks that happiest if I hike all day and don’t run into a soul. I like to experience nature all by myself.
Many times I have driven through Corrales and seen a sign about an historical church down a side road. I have never taken the time to visit this church. I figured a visit was in order with this week’s challenge. I was not disappointed. The church was built in 1868 and has the typical New Mexico church look.
San Ysidro Church, Corrales, New Mexico
For Scarlett, wide angle meant “mom! get me doing something really cool!” 🙂 So she ran up this old deadfall and posed nicely for this week’s photo challenge.
