New Mexico

In the southern tip of New Mexico in the Guadalupe Mountains lies a network of beautiful caves that you can explore. All around you are thousands of stalagmites and stalactites. The cave network can take you two hours to walk through.

When I was younger, one of my favorite TV shows was Roswell. The title sequence had a lightning bolt in the distance with “Roswell” superimposed. I was apparently subconsciously thinking of that scene while getting this shot. This supercell storm, shaped like a flying saucer, was producing tons of lightning bolts and the only sound around was the thunderous roar.

Driving through southern New Mexico I had the Sierra Blanca volcanic mountain range on one side of me, and the Trinity test site on the other side of me. The early morning sunlight hit the mountains just right to give them each a distinctive shade. I’d like to think the ambient Plutonium and Uranium still floating in the air from 1945 allowed just enough haze in the air to give these mountains a nice contrasting color between each of them as well. It’s also good to know that I probably inhaled some leftover radioactive isotopes.