Alright, it’s Day 5 and we’re back on the road. Started off in Ruidoso, NM at 22 degress (pretty damn chilly) with Taos, NM as the destination (total of 339 miles). After I defrosted on descent of the mountain we decided to make a stop in Albuquerque and have lunch with my friend QiaoQiao. Well lunch was at this pretty sweet place called Frontier Restaurant. The food was great and the atmosphere even better. QiaoQiao had about an hour or so to kill, so after lunch we crossed the street and headed to the University of New Mexico campus to take a few impromptu shots. Of course I knew this was going to be fun because Craig was with us and well, I credit him with getting me back into photographer and he’s a pretty damn talented photographer.

Well funny thing is that in the last 5+ years or so that I’ve known Craig and have done a few shoots around him, I’ve never really gotten to much advice from him. You know a bit here and there about composition, colors, what to look for etc… But now that we’re taking a few shots of QiaoQiao (pronounced ChowChow) and her being a fine arts major/fellow photog, the advice and wisdom was flowing like Niagara Falls. Hell, he transformed into this philosophical photography guru and explained how the light bounced from one object to another, picked up some color along the way etc.. The guy was on a roll. Hell I should have had a note pad with me. Note to self – bring a beautiful girl around Craig and the knowledge will flow.

After lunch it was back on the road. A few stops along the way bring you the below photos and videos including a nice view from a gas station, the incredibly cool Valley of Fire (can you say lava!) and rounded out with a shot of the Rio Grande Gorge. Tomorrow we’re going to head towards Utah and guess we’ll see how far we get.

Photo List – 

  •  QiaoQiao!
  • Getting some fuel, a view of the mountains and Mooty.
  • Rio Grande Gorge