Chasing Rainbows – New Mexico – Part 7 – 20185 min read time

After leaving the snowy crest of the Sandia Mountains (see Part 6), we drove back down the mountain road toward the desert. As we came around the mountains to the flatter area we saw

some large rain clouds popping up. As we drove along we wondered if there would be a rainbow forming.

I love to make images of clouds, especially big billowing clouds, when I have a lot of room to use my super wide-angle lens! Jim was happy to stop along the way.

As we got closer to Cochiti, Jim said that we were in the right position with the current lighting that we should see a rainbow.

I was watching as Jim was driving but it was hard to see anything forming.

Suddenly we were on a road that was a bit higher than the surrounding land and we saw a rainbow! It was not too intense so we continued on hoping the road would turn with a better angle to the light.

We went down the road that went past the turnoff we needed to take to go to the condo hoping for a better rainbow.

It looked like the clouds had moved off toward the mountains but we suddenly noticed clouds building up back in the direction we had come from. So we jumped in the vehicle and headed that way. We realized that we were opposite the Cochiti Lake that was formed in White Rock Canyon from a dam on the Rio Grande River that flows through this area.

We took the turn off into the park that was on that side of the lake. We parked and literally ran out to an overlook that we could see hoping the rainbow would not disappear.

And Wow!! What a view we had.

We decided to get down closer to the water. This area is definitely set up for high water in the spring or for floods as the road down to the lake was one of the steepest roads I have ever been on. It was like driving straight down! We parked at the base by the boat ramp and walked out to the shore.

The rainbow was still visible but much harder to see. But with the beautiful sky and the reflection in the water… I could not stop shooting!

The rainbow finally disappeared and we packed up our gear and drove straight up out of the lake basin and headed for the condo.

What a final day! First snow on the mountains and then rainbow chasing in the desert and ending up at this amazing lake!

See larger versions or purchase prints of these and other images by clicking the images or checking out my Gallery.

My last 2018 New Mexico post coming soon! I stayed an extra day (made a mistake with my reservations and decided to stay)! I always try to check out the zoological parks, aquariums, and botanical parks when I visit an area and I have the time.

That is all for now.

Lynn