Ketchup day, cont...

On Wednesday, June 24th, I traveled to nearby Sunspot, NM to see the National Solar Observatory located there. There are two National Solar Observatory locations in the U.S, the other being at Kitt Peak, AZ, which I visited about 6 months ago in January.

the drive up to Sunspot was absolutely beautiful, and even if you have no interest in the observatories, it is still worth the drive. When i went there was lots of mountain laurel blooming, with it's lavender/purple flowers, and quite a bit of the yellow mountain sumac blooming as well. 

groves of aspen amongst the pine forest, and the occasional meadow added interest to the landscape.