Come see the Southwest!

For most of my life, I have heard people rave about the fall foliage displays in America's Northeast. One year, my wife and I spent a week in New England, and the raves were justified. The fall foliage was beautiful. At one point, my understandably proud host remarked, "You've never seen anything like this in Kansas!" Wrong. Much of Kansas is hilly and hardwood forests are abundant. Fall foliage there is as spectacular as anywhere else.

Now, I declare that foliage in the Southwest is also worth the trip. It is true that our tall mountains, (we think of New England mountains as foothills) are mostly populated with conifers that do not change colors, but there are lots of hardwoods, principally aspen, which turn beautifully gold each fall.

In this photo from New Mexico's Gila National Forest, groves of aspen in the distance leave the appearance of spilled gold paint.

In addition, New Mexico offers many other visual surprises. Like the Cliff dwellings, also in the Gila National forest:


And there is the huge Chino copper mine near Hurley, New Mexico.


Plus, such strange and wonderful geological wonders as New Mexico's City of rocks!


I have wandered and photographed New Mexico for over 60 years. This truly is "The Land of Enchantment". That is our state slogan... it is also a fact!

Remember, too, that by the time Europeans (principally from England) settled New England, other Europeans (principally from Spain) had occupied the Southwest for a century.

From Carlsbad Caverns to the oldest continuously occupied government building in America, New Mexico is a visual feast. And there are many other western states to explore.

Come see us!