View driving to and standing in the Caldera this morning for the second “Instant Film Photography Program” run by NPS. Cleared up enough by the time we were walking, though looks like some of the film might've fallen victim to the cold.

Scheduled to be a monthly event, including in the winter when they'll offer snowshoes: https://www.nps.gov/vall/planyourvisit/ranger-led-activities.htm

Fun comparison.

Circle: Albuquerque

Bell pepper: Valles Caldera, one of the biggest calderas (collapsed volcano) in the US, snoozing for the last ~million years…but not out of the game yet.

We've tried, and tried, and tried to get the agencies to follow their legal obligation and kick out the cows... BUT... nevertheless, the trespass persisted. *smh*

#VallesCaldera #PublicLand #LivestockGrazing #Wildlife

https://westernwatersheds.org/2023/11/monitoring-reveals-hundreds-of-livestock-trespassing-in-valles-caldera-national-preserve/

Can’t get enough of this. I wish I could have experienced a starry night. The gate closes at 5. #VallesCaldera #NewMexico
#roadtrip #panorama

Guy in the parking lot at Valles Caldera, after hearing I’m semi-local: “You come here often, then?”

Me, having a realization: “Not nearly often enough.”

While the Yellowstone Caldera gets all the public attention, an older and smaller caldera in New Mexico also has an important story to tell. In fact, the Valles Caldera is where scientists first sorted out the workings of volcanic systems that produce large explosive eruptions that make calderas.

#volcanoes #calderas #VallesCaldera #NewMexico #geology #volcanology

https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/new-mexicos-answer-yellowstone-geological-story-valles-caldera

Valles Caldera, New Mexico. August, 2020 #color #Photography #newmexico #nm #landscape #grass #panorama #panoramic #valles #vallescaldera