Little Tesuque Creek in the Mountains

While my brother Russ was still visiting, we wanted to get in another hike, but to somewhere completely different. This time we went up towards the Santa Fe Ski Basin on Hyde Park Road. Beyond the park but before the ski basin we pulled off and walked up a little stream. Above is a photo taken by Russ on his Panasonic DMC-FZ8. I have three more of his shots at the end of this blog entry.

It couldn't be more different from the arid, rocky terrain of our previous hike.

This is one of the wonderful things about Santa Fe. If it gets too hot in the summer, jump in the car and head up into the mountains. The town is perched on the edge of the Sangre de Cristos range, an offshoot of the Rocky Mountains.

The mountains catch more rainfall than do the lower elevations, and support a completely different habitat. They are inhabited by a wide range of wildlife, including black bear, elk, blacktail deer, cougar, coyote, beaver, and many more. All I ever seem to see are squirrels!

I did spot this Bigfoot, spying out the landscape from a high vantage point.

OK, it was just Rusty Reindeer after all.

What a bit of moisture will do.

Remember, we are in the desert in Santa Fe, and this is only about twenty minutes up into the mountains.

The water in Little Tesuque Creek flows bright and clear year round.

This stream flows into Big Tesuque Creek further down the canyon.

Aspens are the pioneer species that first establishes in burned areas. They don't live very long, and act as a "nurse crop" for successive longer lived trees. Here you can see various conifer species beginning to return. This was shot by Russ.

I love this one of Rusty's photos, they way the wood echoes the water's swirling patterns. It is this kind of joyful dance between the elements that brings me back to experience the beauty in Nature again and again!

One more of Russell's photos. I love to sit in a spot like this...I completely lose myself in the mesmerizing flow of water. I go to this area fairly often, and am always renewed by the fresh energy of the forest. Let's hear it for negative ions!