Under a Georgia O'Keefe Sky

 San Jose de Gracia, Las Trampas, New Mexico

No state in America contains more beautiful churches and missions than New Mexico.

The red clay of earth reaches from the ground towards the blue skies of heaven - that's a pretty good metaphor for the construction of any building.

Petroglyphs, New Mexico:

I'm squatting in front of a panel of petroglyphs in the Rio Grande style, in Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico.

I'm a collector of iconic images, and these certainly qualify.

Millepede in the Desert:

Before I picked this up, I had to remember - are millipedes poisonous? or is it centipedes that are poisonous?

Well, I found out that is isn't millipedes, when I picked up this one.

Unless of course it's a delayed effect.... arghhh... ackkk.... 

Cactus Flowers:

In front of San Felipe Church, in Old Town Albuquerque, these flowers bloom on a prickly pear cactus.

As I was taking this photo, a woman surprised me. I spun to answer her question and ran my hand through the cactus, filling my fingers with tiny thorns that I spent the rest of the afternoon picking out (with my teeth).

Such is the pleasure and pain of desert beauty...

Native American Dancer:

This dancer was performing at the Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The contrast between the red dress and turquoise jewelry is particularly striking.

After the Rain:

It rained for our first few days in New Mexico. 

As a result, I got to hang out with this guy in the courtyard of Los Poblanos Inn.

It might be odd, but I kinda like these guys. 

The eyes of a snail fascinate me.

Kiss The Lizard

Angie and a Horned Lizard

While we were hiking in Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico, Angie spotted this Horned Lizard. 

I caught him so we could become acquainted.

He was quite docile and very cool. One of the highlights of our trip...