Veterans Memorial

     The VFW post 7686 has built this memorial for it's members.  It is a rememberance for our service men and women who have fought on foreign soil.  Simple, yet very nice, this is on Highway 70 next to their post.  We have a long tradition in this area of military service, from many different eras.  Bataan to Vietnam to current day, let none of them be forgotten for their sacrifices.

Missile Crossings

        A part of our life here in Alamogordo-the road closings for missile firings.  They close Highway 70 to Las Cruces regularly, several times a week, and sometimes several times a day.  The highway closes for about an hour while they fire the missiles.  It is always prudent to check the paper or call the # before you leave.  Now they have porta potties at the stopping points, but that is a modern convenience...BTW cell phone coverage is spotty at best, so always best to have a patient demeanor.

October Snow

We had our first taste of winter yesterday.  Very early for us!  I only remember one Halloween as a kid where we had snow, and one Easter.  Rare to be this cold this fast.  It will be warm again by the weekend I am sure.  It was 37 degrees this morning at 8:30 am as I came to work.  You can see the east mountains had a slight dusting of snow visable, but the cars coming down off of the mountain were covered with snow and chunks of ice.

What was cool was that the west mountains also had snow!  They had more than the east ones which doesn't happen often either due to our weather patterns.

They were really quite beautiful in the "brisk" morning....

Moonset

I took this one on the road to San Antonio last month, I love the vast expanse of sky!

Mountain Tractor

      I spotted this one day and truthfully wondered how long it has rested here.  There are alot of these antiques around, most just like this one.  It is a ghost, forgotten and waiting....

Zia Marching Festival

We went to the 32nd annual Zia marching festival in Albuquerque last weekend. Alamogordo and Clovis have 8 wins each over the years to tie for first, alas we did not get a win this year. It was a glorious fall day and we all ended up sunburnt.

The size of bands have shrunk dramatically over the years due mostly to budget cuts. I think it is neccessary and the kids get so excited to be there. The shows have changed since I was in high school, they are alot more show now with themes and props.

I was proud of the Tiger band and the effort they put forth.

Sunrise over the Basin

I have been going on about our wonderful sunsets, but the sunrises are pretty incredible also! This is looking up Tenth St.

A little further along the sky begins to lighten and the intense golden promise of the sun peaks over the Sacramentos to begin another beautiful day.