El Cap

El Capitan is the signature mountain of the Guadalupes.  The dramatic cliffs of the mountain marking the end of the chain rise a mile above the salt flats west of the park. 

The view from above is like that of a prow of a ship riding across the desert.  It is my favorite mountain to photograph and one that offers up possibilities at sunrise and sunset.

It is a target for my camera on every trip and I work it into any image I can.

On a trip to the Guadalupes, I always look forward to that first view of El Cap across miles of desert.  It was an important waypoint for travelers and is still a beacon in the desert.

With the ephemeral nature of the lake on the salt flats, I knew I would spend my sunsets there, but I still managed to stop and photograph El Cap from different angles on the trip.

I have some of them here.  These are all different times of day but I think they begin to give you a sense of the size and the many angles to see and photograph this wonder from just these few classic views.