On the Way to Acoma

We headed west this morning to the Acoma Pueblo.

The 60-mile trip was marked by some beautiful scenery, but traveling along I-40 and attempting to photograph scenes along the way presented quite a challenge to photographer (Kate) and driver (Chuck), who would slow down as much as possible given the traffic.

Within short distances, the terrain would go through several transformations. While some might say there is little difference among the scenery shown in the photos, we believe that there are many differences--some large, but most of them small.

There were very few signs of villages or cities, but at a "Scenic View" site, we were able to photograph the Laguna Pueblo (village). The adobe homes and buildings seemed to blend into the landscape.

In contrast to the massive rock formations and mesas are the smaller, more subtle components of the terrain. These grasses with the shades of reds and yellows provided the background for the bare, silver-branched shrubs.

These small trees were just a few of the trees we saw on the way to Acoma.

Within a few miles, the mesas and vast plains of grasses and shrubs would give way to

rock formations. As we were nearing Acoma, we were on a highway on which very few people were traveling today. For several of the photographs, we were able to stop right on the highway without risk.

Maybe I've become more tuned in to the Native American belief in the presence of spirits in all of nature, but I started seeing human and animal figures in rock formations.

Here (above and right) the shrubs added a softening complement to the harshness of the rock formations.

Turning from the earth to the sky, we noticed that the clouds were creating shapes and shades of color to add to the visual experience presented by the Earth.

This was a nice introduction to Acoma, the "Sky City," and we will take that tour in the next blog.