Words and Light

On Tuesday of spring break, Jeff and I drove an hour out of Santa Fe to visit Bandelier National Monument. Known for its ancestral pueblo homes, kivas, petroglyphs and other whatsits of archaeological and anthropological interest, Bandelier also features hiking trails along Frijoles Canyon.

Because I was feeling misanthropic that morning and was in no mood to encounter a lot of people, we opted to take the Falls Trail along Frijoles Creek, instead of the Main Loop Trail that would have taken us to the archaeological sites.

The first waterfall along the Falls Trail. Portra 160VC, 35mm.

I also got to change my film in my Olympus OM-1 to Portra 160VC. I’m so pleased with how the colors came out.

Yucca plant. Portra 160VC, 35mm.

Gotta love that light temperature. Portra 160VC, 35mm.

Probably the best part about the Falls Trail — although you wouldn’t know it by my photos here — was the smell of Ponderosa Pine trees. It’s a delightful scent that takes me back to Philmont every time I catch a whiff of it. Jeff can tell you that every now and again, I stopped at a tree just to smell its bark.

Another cool thing about the trail was an animal carcass we found:

Ribcage and backbone, and some hide. Portra 160VC, 35mm.

The skull — sans antlers — lay along the side of the trail, and then we saw the rest of the skeleton a little further down. I’m guessing now it was an elk, but at the time, we jokingly assumed it was some wayward cow.

Check out a few more photos I didn’t post here. More to come, soon!