The Ride Back Home - Raton to Alamogordo

Went to Raton for the weekend. On the way up, there was rain over the mountains to the west.

On the way back down, I went through the rain. Then later, dust. And a tumbleweed migration.

A pictorial of the ride back home.

Leaving Raton, New Mexico

Interstate 25 South between Raton and Las Vegas, New Mexico

"Water, not fracking." Highway 84 near Dilia, New Mexico

Highway 54, Vaughn, New Mexico

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

This stream did not exist the day before.

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

Dust storm ahead? Rainstorm? .... dust.

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

North of Carrizozo, the bikers pondered their game plan, as they were headed toward the dust storm.

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

Alamogordo: The Disappearing Mountains

I live perhaps half a mile - maybe less! I will clock it - from a front line of the Sacramento Mountains.

My apartment is oriented north-south, and I'm near the easternmost edge of town, and whether I look out my front window or back window, I see the mountains right there, so very close.

Alamogordo, New Mexico, 2013

The constancy of their presence is pleasing. I like to see how a day's changing light creates shadows on the mountain planes, shifting colors and depths in interesting ways.

Alamogordo, New Mexico, 2013

Some days the mountains disappear.

Alamogordo, New Mexico, 2013

Could be dust or snow or fog. It's uncanny.

The other day, I took the video below going east on Indian Wells to show how a dust-wind can completely obscure the Sacramento Mountains. You're looking right at the mountains in this video - but you can't see them, not til about 1:24.

Below is a video of the exact same route on a clear day. Mountains!

New Mexico: The Windy Season

Dust up west of White Sands National Monument, Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

Until I moved to New Mexico, I knew nothing about the windy season.

It begins in March and runs into April, sometimes May. When mixed with dust (or in the case of the White Sands area, gypsum "sand"), it can make mountains disappear like magic, leave a film of grit on everything, and irritate one's eyes and nose. 


Dust storms on the highways are a serious matter, as they enclose vehicles in a fog of dust - no visibility. In this video of a family going through a dust storm in Deming, watch how quickly the dust surrounds them.

Indeed, many long-time New Mexicans consider the spring winds to be the worst time of year in New Mexico.

As I drove back to Alamogordo from Lordsburg, I saw the white wall of sand walking across the Tularosa Basin west of White Sands National Monument.

Dust up west of White Sands National Monument, Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

I saw a lot of white-out hullabaloo going on in the White Sands National Monument, so I turned in to check it out.

White Sands during wind storm, New Mexico

White Sands during wind storm, New Mexico

The windy season has begun.