chasing clouds

Among the things I’ve always loved about New Mexico are those big, white, puffy clouds set against intense blue skies. But you can’t always count on clouds to cooperate. You can see them from miles away, but they shift and reshape, moving this way and that. They may grow or dissipate or turn into rain clouds before they reach you. Serendipity and patience are the key words here. Sometimes you get lucky.

On my recent trip to Santa Fe, the sky was hazier than usual. Smoke from Colorado fires was the culprit. At times it acted like a diffuser (which had its benefits), but mostly it washed out the intensity of the sky. Also, dense evening clouds resulted in rainstorms more often than dramatic Santa Fe sunsets.

The Saturday before I returned home ended up being my day for chasing clouds. On my way to explore in the Jemez Mountains I decided to stop at Valles Caldera National Preserve. The first time you come around the curve and see Valles Caldera is one of those moments you grab the dashboard and shout, “Oh my gosh. Quick, pull over!” It is truly that dramatic. You’ve been driving along a tight, winding road through a thick evergreen forest when, suddenly, the trees part and there before you is this enormous, lush valley.

This land was formed by volcanic activity long before it was inhabited by humans. In addition to serving as a national preserve, it is also a working ranch where cattle, elk and other wildlife often graze side by side. There I found my clouds. Puffy clouds floating in shifting formations. I took the gravel road down to the small visitor center. By the time I came back out, more clouds had rolled in—some of them very dark. They cast long shadows across the land. Still, the remaining white clouds reflected in the stream running through the valley.

And then the rain came. Rain so dense I couldn’t see a thing to my left beyond the narrow roadbed (where those puffy clouds and clear skies had floated by just an hour before). To my right, the scene was dense and steamy. I took a few photographs from the car window and got soaked. But I was happy. Beautiful, puffy clouds and dark, moody weather in the same day. What could be better?