First Hike in the Mountains

We finally have adjusted to the altitude here!
(Or so we tell ourselves.)

Currently it's cold and drizzly, reminding me of the French fall days.

Reminds me of the Misty Mountain song in The Hobbit

And it's weird because I thought being in New Mexico would be like living in a desert...

But in a way, I'm glad. It means we get seasons here.
Which might also mean we get snow.

And I love snow!
(Even more so now because I don't have to drive an hour plus to work in the worst of it- thank you very much!)

But anyway, because it's a grey day, I've decided to reflect back on our first hike here, when it was sunny, and share with you some warm weather fun. So grab your mug of cocoa, cider, coffee, or even iced coffee, for anyone who might be on the other side of the world, and read on!

For our first hike, we decided to stick to a paved path on the Canyon Rim Trail. We had no idea where we were really headed and it was great.  We took our lunch and of course, the camera.

Just a wild flower shot as we started out on the trail. I love the bright red!

I started to think of fun artsy shots as we walked. Then I remembered that the camera had a black and white setting. Awesome!

Looks like something from a Western film, huh?

The path was easy and the weather divine.

I love nature. And I think I'm in love with the area. I can't seem to get enough of it here.
Everyday is different and well, just beautiful.

The texture alone is fun!

 And of course, we had to get a shot of the trail.

And this shot sums up what I thought we'd be moving to...complete with the cacti!

No, we didn't touch those.

 Apparently, it's a thing for new comers to want to touch a cactus.

I don't understand it really. I can only imagine the conversation going like this:

Local: I wouldn't touch that if I were you.
New Comer: Oh really?
Local: Yup. They'll hurt you mighty fierce.
NC: Nah, you must be kidding. It probably doesn't hurt that much. *touches cactus* Aieee!!
Local: Told ya. Hurts something awful, doesn't it?

Or maybe not. I like to think we NCers are pretty intelligent beings.
I grew up in FL and we didn't have cacti. But I in no way shape or form wish to subject my typing fingers or legs to such a prickly encounter.

No thank you!

Let's move on, shall we?

The canyon

Mr K and I were taking a shot when a HUGE shadow crossed over us. Looking up, we saw this creature soaring so close to us!

I don't know if you saw him, so I'll zoom in a bit.

Yup, a hawk.

A most majestic bird if I ever saw one, but that could also be because it was about six feet from our heads. We must have startled it when I took Mr. K's photo here.

They had lookouts on the bridge!

Just beautiful.

But my favorite shot of all, is this one. This is where we moved to. The mountains.

I think you will agree. It's just breathtakingly gorgeous here.

And that reminds me of the most awesome thing of all: rainbows. Yesterday, we had a terrible storm.

It rained. It hailed. It lit up the sky with lightning and the thunder shook the windows. Repeat three times.

But at the end of it, we had this:

Yep, that's right. A double rainbow.

My friend, Mrs E and I ran up a small hill in her backyard to take a better shot of it.

And I realized then that we belong here. Mr K and I are in the best possible place, at the best possible time, doing the best possible things we're supposed to be doing.

And that makes me very happy.

Until next time,
Bisous