The Rejuvenated Stands at the Madrid Miners ballpark.

I needed to get out today, so about noon I got my stuff all in the truck and headed for NM-14.

Why NM-14? I have no idea.

My original plan was to end up at Santa Cruz Lake by Nambe at dusk, and I guess NM-14 was a more interesting way to get there.

And it sounds like I stopped a lot, but really, I made short stops in each town.

In Golden, it was to see the church.

St. Francis de Assis Church

In Madrid, it was to visit the old ballfield.

Panoramic view of the historic Madrid Miners Park

In Cerrillos, it was to make a quick loop through town.

In Nambe, it was to visit my beloved church there.

The church in Nambe.

And the detour into Chimayo was kind of an after-the-fact, as the sun was dropping fast when I was leaving Nambe, and Chimayo was on my loop to get back to I-25.

Sorry, Santa Cruz Lake. Another time.

It was a good day to get out and to just wander for an afternoon.

Some nuggets form the day…

The adobe on the church in Golden needs some attention. There is a gouge in a back wall that looks pretty bad that I hope gets some care ASAP.

The view from the stands at the Madrid Miner park was not bad. But their dugouts were really small. Like, each team must have been comprised of players only under 5 feet tall.

Grandstand view of the Madrid Miners ball field. The Oscar Huber Park was THE first lighted baseball park west of the Mississippi. And it had a “miner” league team.

Cerrillos is still pretty.

Adobe and a great gate in Cerrillos.

Museum window, Cerrillos.

I blurred all of my dusk pictures because I put the camera in Aperture Priority mode instead of Shutter Priority mode. And I don’t know when I did that. And I knew not to do that. And I was really mad when I got home and saw the photos.

But at least I got one here.

A view of the hills near Chimayo.

I have long been drawn to the eroded sandstone formations that sit to the east of Pojoaque, and north of the Los Alamos exit from US-84. If you’ve ever headed towards Espanola from Santa Fe, you know the ones I am talking about. Those unique structures are a definitive part of the northern New Mexico landscape, and I finally learned today what they are. They are members of the Tesuque Formation.

I am glad to know this now.

And it was just simply a pretty day to get out.