Albuquerque Skies

As we conclude our short stay in Albuquerque, we take a look around our campgrounds.

Throughout our travels, we have been very successful at avoiding winter conditions, but during our stay here, we had several nights when the temperature dropped below freezing. This meant disconnecting the water hose and "firing up" the propane heater.

One night even brought a little snowfall. Now while this did bring enough snow to create a beautiful scene,

no one from the Midwest or Northeast would even say this amount reaches "dusting" status.

The Sandia Mountains rise to the east of the city. The light snowfall seemed to reduce the rugged appearance of the west side of the range.

A couple of days later, we were treated to one of New Mexico's brilliant sunsets.

Instead of concentrating on the view to the west, we turned our attention to the east. This view provided evidence for the popular belief of how these mountains received their name.

Sandía means watermelon in Spanish, and when viewing the mountains at sunset, the reddish color gives the mountains the appearance of a watermelon. I missed the maximum reddish tone by a minute or two.

The early evening eastern sky, in contrast to the brilliance of the sunset, was more muted. A plane added an active touch to the scene.

Watching the last colors of the day in the eastern sky was certainly a different way to enjoy a sunset,

but the changing of colors was just as dramatic--just in a quieter way.

Even the view to the north had a colorful sunset palette.