I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'd have to include a photo of the Very Large Array from my vacation. Right? Right. What reasonable person could drive by such a site and not stop to take a photo? No need to reply. 'Round these parts, that's what we call a rhetorical question.

What do you think of that cloud? An anvil? The boot that the lady and all those kids lived in? Hmmmm.

By the way, I took this photo along Highway 60 west of Magdalena on the 5th day of my vacation last month.

UPDATE. I take it back. I was east of Magdalena when I took this photo. Oops. That's what happens when you take more than a month to go over your photos. Ah well. I guess that's life.

There's really not much lightning in that last shot above. But, the clouds look awfully impressive. Doncha think?

We're really busy at work and I've been working long hours. I'll try to post more vacation photos soon but can make no promises.

'Took this on the fourth day of my vacation...a Sunday...in Albuquerque. I'd gotten up pretty early and was on my way to Grandma's to take her to mass when I spotted three balloons floating very near Ginger's house. I couldn't pass up that opportunity. So, I pulled over in a parking lot and took a couple of shots.

I really need to get back to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta. Maybe next year.

This GI-normous sunflower towered over the back fence at Ginger's house. It seemed to add a friendly watchful eye and an extra bit of sunshine to the yard.

All taken at the same spot where I took yesterday's cactus photo.

I shot this photo somewhere between Encino and Cline's Corners on Highway 285.

By the way, the last several photos (from the Pecos River to this point, excluding the guy at the bar) were taken on the second day of my trip as I drove from Lubbock to Albuquerque.

'Took this photo of "the guy at the end of the bar" in a bar in Pinos Altos a couple of weeks ago. Dad wanted the photo so I took it. The guy was not holding Dead Man's Hand, by the way. Nope. He had 4 aces.

My dad's already off on his annual bike ride. His goal, for the last few years, has been to ride his age on his birthday. That means 67 miles today. He tries to ride some extra miles each year so he can have some in the bank for when he can't reach his goal in years to come. He was just shy of his goal last year (cramps got to him, I think) but he rode 100 miles on his birthday a few years ago. Wow. I think he's got 70 miles planned for today. Go, Dad!

Highway 60 going west as far as the eye can see...

The sign reads:

Fort Sumner
Population 1,250 - Elevation 4,028 ft.
Named for the fort built in 1862 to guard the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation, the town of Fort Sumner grew out of settlements clustering around the Maxwell family properties. It moved to its present site with the construction of the Belén Cutoff of the Santa Fe Railroad around 1907.

Nothing particularly noteworthy, really. And, I just took the photo so I'd have a marker for my other photos. And, then I noticed something. See the post at the left? Here's a close-up:

What do you suppose that's all about?

The Pecos River...west of Ft. Sumner. Everything was just so very very green!

Here's the promised windmill. I was taking photos of a huge windmill farm when I noticed the pump jack at the bottom of the hill. I loved the juxtaposition of old energy versus new energy.

'Saw this hawk perched on a power line along US 84 somewhere north of Dermott. I'd stopped to take photos of a windmill farm and then spotted this hawk. So, I forgot about all the renewable energy. Bird? Windmills? 'Guess I'll go for the bird! Windmill photo coming tomorrow...

This is, quite possibly, the squeakiest windmill in the history of windmills. Heh. I took this photo on the first day of my vacation a few miles northeast of Bronte on FM 384. Squeak. Squeak. SQUEAK!!

Here's another photo I took last Friday. Mom, Dad, and I almost went to the City of Rocks State Park southeast of Silver City on Thursday. But, after walking the Catwalk trail earlier in the day, we all just kind of pooped out. So, I decided to stop by the City of Rocks on my way home. Wow. I wandered around for way too long...about 90 minutes. Which, really, wasn't nearly long enough. But, since I was driving all the way to Fort Stockton, I shouldn't have stayed so long. Did I mention the "wow" factor? I could've easily wandered that place for a full day. As it was, I did lose my car once. Heh. I parked in a spot, walked up into the city, explored a bit, and then went back out toward where I thought the car should be. Ummmm...no car. Oops. I had a feeling I should turn right when I found my way back to the road that loops around the city. But, then, I got a bit of a nagging feeling that maybe I should check back to the left a bit first. And, just around the first bend, I spotted the tree I'd parked near. And, sure enough, there was my car. Whew. 'Glad I didn't go the other way.