Just east of where the Continental Divide slips through Stony Pass in the Colorado Rockies, from the small seepages pulled by gravity from the slopes of Canby Mountain, a stream is born that, in time and distance, will gather many other streams on its way east and south before flowing into the Gulf of Mexico on the oriental side of Brownsville, Texas, 1,885 river miles away. For many of those miles it will form the international border between the United States and Mexico, but as its route flows duely north-south through the high desert of New Mexico, passing west of Taos, it drops through a great gorge formed in the rift valley of the San Luis Basin. As the river emerges from the gorge, it moves along rather quietly among low sandstone walls lined with cottonwoods and rabbit brush. When the Ancestral Puebloan people abandoned Chaco, Mesa Verde, and the canyon dwellings of Cedar Mesa, many of them found their way to pueblos already established near the long crawl of the Rio Grande. It is a great desert highway filled with culture and history much older that the settlements of Jamestown or Plymouth.
A focal length of 48mm, quite normal, gave me the intimate angle-of-view I wanted. An aperture of f/20 provided depth-of-field, and a shutter speed of 1/6th second at ISO 100 gave me a medium overall exposure. The highlights and shadows were neither so bright nor so deep that the exposure was blown out, or blocked up, on either end of the range.
The mighty Rio Grande leads us on a journey through time and teaches us that even in the desert life can find water to sustain itself.
Another beautiful image. You are adding to the places I want to visit. Nature has so many places to bring us peace. I just hope the younger generations will take notice and drop the video games and enjoy.
Beautiful picture, Don. I also enjoyed your description of the history and geography. Made me think that an anthology of your travels is appropriate. 10 years? I guess you must be right.
Thanks for another beautifully rendered image. Just what was needed to help get through the winter blahs, and realize what is waiting a few months down the road. Whether seeing the Rio Grands through the cottonwoods or from a bridge high above the gorge the river is wonderful to view and photograph.
Beautiful bright colors of blue and gold and great contrast with the tree trunks. All over, a happy image where everything is in harmony and the water is just calmly passing by on it’s journey to meet other streams. There is a hint of a C-curve that makes me want to explore a little further upstream. Thanks for sharing the image and the history too.
The diagonal bands of color crossed by the tree trunks awaken the geometrician in me. And I could sit all day on the banks watching the colors themselves, especially the vivd blue sky reflected in the water.
This has such a calming effect and the colors are so bright and vivid. Wish I could be at that spot right now. Love it!
Good evening Everyone. Thank you all so very much for joining me for this conversation. The first time I encountered the Rio Grande flowing through it’s great gorge just west of Taos, I was touched by the spectacle of it, but the first time I followed it south beyond the gorge and into the desert toward Santa Fe and Albuquerque, it was a completely different feeling that I am not quite sure how to describe. It gave me to understand that water, truly, is life.
Hey Chris. Thank you for being with us. I am honored to be able to add to your list of places to visit in our beautiful country; and what a wonderful thought: that we could enlist the participation of the young ones on our journey. I am convinced that to do this we must come to understand the stories that these places have to share with all of us, and then we must share them with enthusiasm with those who come after us.
Hi Michelle. It’s always good to hear from you. Thanks for your encouraging idea; it might happen yet. It’s hard to imagine that Bonnie and I have been doing this for ten years now – the best ten years of my life.
Hey Chuck. You have seen the Rio Grande with me from both perspectives and your comments ring exactly true. I’m so glad we were able to share those experiences together. They remain bright places in my heart. We have surely had plenty of opportunities for “blahs” this winter, but I know you have found ways to turn them into “wows” and will continue to do so until the light returns in spring.
Hey Nancy T. I hope you’ve stayed warm on these chilly nights of recent. You always manage to hone in on the heart of the image – the blue/gold contrast and the “S”-curve showing itself as it disappears around the bend upstream. These are the stories of the river that only make you want to hear more.
Hi Donald. I hope this finds you well wherever you are. Indeed, the elements of this scene do much to awaken the lovers of geometry; and the colors only increase the desire to hear the stories being told. I hope you save a seat on the edge of that stream; I’ll be along to join you; and as the light changes, we’ll reflect on our good fortune to be exactly where we are.
Hi Willa. Al always, it’s good to hear from you. I hope you’ve already had ample opportunity to enjoy that new tripod. I’m looking forward to hearing about it and seeing the work. Donald and I will be sure to save a seat for you as well. Walk in Beauty. By the way, it just occurred to me that our “Mindfulness” adventure in May might be something you would really enjoy. It’s right over in your neighborhood.
Thank you all, again, for your comments and expressions. Our creativity comes from our heart; and heart can be found wherever we are open to being present.