A trip to Cimarron and the Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge on the eastern plains of New Mexico in early November.
I headed out early and arrived in Cimarron and seeing that the "Burrito Banquet" was all shut up as was the "Idle Hour Cafe", I headed to the St. James Hotel an establishment of notoriety with ghosts in the halls and bullet holes in the tin ceilings, all from a bygone era and still lurking around to this day. I ate breakfast there. The egg sandwich and hash browns were great, the coffee could have been stronger. I enjoy an Americano in the morning, but the coffee shop I like to frequent in town, was closed. I've eaten at numerous establishments in Cimarron, except on a Sunday trip around the block, you take it as you find it.
The Burrito Banquet Wagon.
Idle Hour Cafe … now very idle.
Shortly after breakfast I was joined by Santa Fe photographer David Marks and off we went "around the block". We started at the local campground just up the street from the St. James Hotel. Out of nowhere a gale force wind blew in, lasting ten minutes or so, and freezing our digits. We thought the day was shot (pardon the pun). These tipis, however, didn't budge.
I think they're formed out of concrete.
The front door and deck.
Just up the hill a little ways, and situated on a bluff resembling the "Boot Hill" of western legend, is the "Mountain View Cemetery". There are some image making opportunities for sure, but also a feeling of reverence for the place and people in this frontier town of Cimarron "Where the Rockies meet the Plains" (their motto).
Shrine at the entrance to the "Mountain View Cemetery"
Here lies the Rev. Franklin J. Tolby … a Methodist minister whose
martyrdom sparked the "Colfax County War," a series of violent
events culminating in President Rutherford B. Hayes' removal of the
Some of the grave markers are
elaborate and well maintained …
Others appear to be moving with ease, through
the long grasses, which adorn the cemetery.
The sun came out for a moment and it felt warmer. Roaming around and shooting at will we discovered some of Cimarron's quirkier photo ops.
Kokopeli tooting their flutes make the flags dance.
RGB … red green blue.
A wagon wheel on a pastel painted wall ...
… a piece of a larger composition.
One end of a long building …
… and the whole bookshelf of a building
(click on the image to enlarge, it's a fun read).
My guess is, this store sells so much more!!!
A couple of real pots and some Trompe-l'œil pots.
A very New Mexico icon … "The Skull"
Cut out of a sheet of plywood and painted.
Done for the time being in Cimarron … we headed to the Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge about 20 miles down US Route 64 … we would return for a late lunch at the St. James Hotel mid afternoon.
It's very peaceful out here on the plains.
It feels like the middle of nowhere until ...
… we stir up a flock of Mallards who circle us
for just a moment, as if wanting their marsh back.
We see them off in the distance joined by others
and then they are gone. As suddenly as we
disturbed the peace and quiet, the wind breathes
silence back into the landscape once again.
Traveling on one of the unpaved roads which criss-cross the wildlife refuge, David spotted a small congregation of sheep, a guardian watchdog and a brooding sky. David got a nice wide shot of the sheep and the sky with a hill, a smaller version of Abiquiu's Cerro Pedernal, in the distance.
One of the flock …
… and their guardian angel.
From what I could gather, the large flocks of Sandhill Cranes and geese, appeared to be keeping to themselves. We could see them a few miles away, and through the long lenses, were able to identify the species.
The elusive Sandhill Cranes.
Hawks, on the other hand were plentiful, and a Bald Eagle sat in a tree where I'd spotted him a year ago. I've since learned that he/she is a permanent resident.
David was riding shotgun and started sighting numerous juvenile Red-tailed Hawks and Swainson's Hawks … we think!
This raptor I'm sure, saw us before we saw it.
It didn't stick around very long.
No sooner had we rounded the next bend, David pointed out a second raptor, perched on some sort of gorse bush watching us.
I managed to get a few frames
from the driver side window ...
… and then it was off on it's merry way to
tear off some unsuspecting rodents head.
This raptor could possibly be the same bird from the
last location, having decided to taunt our own
hawk-eye lenses in this new spot. I get a nice
close-up and an languorous inquisitive stare.
When the bird lifted off I was so close that some of
its wing went out of frame. That said, a shot from
this angle really shows off its exquisite plumage.
Stirring up the local Red-winged Blackbirds in a
neighboring tree, upon lift off, the same hawk
alighted on a nearby power pole unperturbed
as the disgruntled flock swarms by!
Mule deer are everywhere and definitely posers. The stags are solid and hold their ground firmly, three of them seem to defy the odds until they don't and bolt away through the prairie grasses of the reserve.
"The Watchers" a Doe and a Fawn.
Three stags.
And off they go….
Happy for the days outing and the wildlife we saw, we are hungry now. Leaving the reserve we decide to make a circuitous route north towards Raton in the general direction of the Sandhill Cranes we had spotted early, which are now nowhere to be seen. We did get a few shots of Pronghorn, loping along as they do over the prairie.
Pronghorn
Ok, so now we are ready to eat! It seems like the day is done and we will head home after lunch. On the road back to Cimarron I can't resist a road shot with the storm brewing ahead and what looks like directly above the town. I discovered later, that I would be driving home through sleet and snow with temperatures dropping.
US Route 64 runs for 2,326 miles from the
Outer Banks in eastern North Carolina to just
southwest of the Four Corners in Arizona.
For lunch I had fish and chips … what can I say? David had the St. James burger. We both goofed around taking silly selfies with the St James residents.
The Cat.
The Elk.
We still had an hour of daylight so we trundled off to Rayado, NM. David remembered a little chapel there that was a dark red color.
Kinda dark red
Rayado Church … not red anymore.
And the road beckons the next
"Around the Block"
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." George A. Moore
Thanks for looking.
Geraint Smith
San Cristobal, New Mexico
Here's a way to join us on a photo safari or a day trip photo tour
Oh! … I forgot the Mountain Bluebird
Last but not least, the Mountain Bluebird.
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