What keeps me breathing

Somewhere in New Mexico (or possibly Texas) I adore road trips. There's something about the vast stretches of ever-changing landscape that fuels endless imaginings. That little cave up there on the hillside? It's shelter for an outlaw on the run. How many secrets does that river hold? That barren tree there, standing alone, perhaps contains the legacy of the first settlers of the West. These are the times I wish I was able words to paper more skillfully, so I could make these imaginings into great, sweeping stories.

I wonder about Roberto and Vero. Do they still dwell within the slightly lopsided encirclement of their love? Or have they gone the way of the banana.....and split?

On the way to El Paso to visit my Uncle, we stopped in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico for and mostly so I could take a picture of the sign. I was curios as to what where the name for this town came from so I searched the magical whirlpool of knowledge otherwise known as the internet to find. It was originally called Hot Springs because of, you guessed it, the hot springs there. Then in 1951 a host of a well-known game show offered to do the show from a town that would change their name to that of the game show, as a promotional gimmick thingy-ma-jig. The higher-ups in the New Mexico State system thought the change would be good not only for the national publicity the town would gain, but it would also cease being confused with the many other towns named Hot Springs. The citizens voted to approve the change and thus Truth or Consequences came to be. The host, Ralph Edwards stayed true to his word and continued to visit the town, bringing it more publicity with his celebrity st

We found this beauty at The El Paso Zoo in Texas. Here's a few quick facts about Ocelots or dwarf leopards. They live mostly in Central and South America, but have been found in the far southern regions of Texas, as well. They are small and look similar to domesticated cats. Ocelots have very keen vision, and can see well at night. They hunt prey usually small than themselves, like rodents, small mammals, fish, birds and lizards. They live in areas with thick vegetation, like forests and thickets but will sometimes hunt in more open areas at night. I've now decided they are my favorite of all wild cats. Possibly all animals. Aren't they gorgeous?

The day I turned sixteen my family, plus one of my uncles, flew to Georgia for my other Uncle's graduation from Army Basic Training. We got to spend two days there, going to the HUGE infantry museum on base at Fort Benning, going to Ruby Tuesday's for a birthday dinner and just spending time with the family. At the final ceremony (and there were a lot, it is the Army after all) we all got little flags. I took this picture en route to the airport for our flight home. I wanted to forever capture the quiet peace of this moment. The feeling of being surrounded by family, incredibly proud and just plain happy.

 I really love taking pictures of people, but I don't often get the opportunity and my brothers are hardly cooperative.  So this was fun.

When I look up at the sky, I feel an overwhelming sense of smallness. This feeling that the world is so much bigger than my little corner of it. There's a calmness I feel when staring at the sky. It's like all my problems and hurt shrink to nothing in the vastness of our universe. Because no matter what's going on in my life at the moment, the sky is still there. The sun still rises and sets, the clouds continue their lumbering journey across the never ending blue. There's a peace in that. Because no matter where I am in the years to come, no matter how much has changed, I can simply look up and know that life goes on.

Window fences? Yep. View from the motel we stayed at in Las Cruces, NM

Ya hear?

At the Texas welcome center. We drove in at that perfect time, as the sun starts to set and everything is lit up with a warm glow. The magic hour. I can feel the warmth of the sun just looking at this picture.

Franklin Mountains State Park, El Paso, TX

I have a fascination with eyes. All the different shapes and colors and the feelings reflected within them. The light was just perfect so I went to try and get a few good eye shots. As I opened the back door, it closed right back again. Without any help from me. It was crazy windy out and I thought this picture was ruined by the wind blowing my hair around but it ended up pretty cool. It seems sort of mysterious and dramatic. Maybe that's just me. Oh well, I like it.

Flags at rest. Texas welcome center.

Somewhere on Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX.