New Year

January 1 marks the begining of a new year and this year, a new decade.

The first day of the year is also one of my favorite annual traditions as I go out for sunrise to photograph and greet the new year.  It is a tradition that started for me back in 2000 and has been going since.  Rain, sleet, or clear sky does not matter.  I am out there.  

I have to admit I rarely get good photos that day. It seems to always be poor conditions for photography, yet that never deters me.  

What started as a solo thing grew as my friends learned about and I would have as many as ten others meet me in the predawn cold to wait for the first sunrise if the year. Usually that meant staying out for a few hours with the cameras and then stopping in for breakfast and conversation as we talked over the prior year photography wise and made plans for the upcoming year.

We couldn't do any of our traditional group things this year.  I packed up after Christmas and made a trip out to Big Bend.  Fully self contained and camping where I could be socially distanced seemed like a good way to end the year.

And it was......

I spent several days in the park with a plan of returning home on Dec 31st.  However the weather forecast which had been calling for cloudless all week turned to having a winter storm hit the region on the night of Dec 30th. 

It even called for snow!  

Snow in Big Bend happens but it is still the exception.  I was going to get a chance to see eit so I decided to stay an extra day and return home on Jan 1.  I got to see some epic snow in Big Bend on the 31st.  But that will have to wait until another post after I have looked at all the images.

Jan 1 this year had me wake up at 0200 to clear skies and cold temps.  I packed up and started home driving through the park. The park roads were in decent condition despite the prior day snowfall.  The almost full moon shined in the night sky and it lit up the land and snow like daylight. 

I would drive and stop for photos here and there as I passed an interesting scene.  The cloudless sky made it like a clear day but I still wanted to make the most of this chance, even if it was a few stops along the drive.  

I made several stops in the park and finally headed north up US 385 to Marathon and beyond.

As I drove up from the lower elevation desert country to the higher grasslands around Marathon the road conditions deteriorated from mostly dry to mostly snow and ice.  Luckily my Honda Element is an AWD model that does amazingly well in these conditions.  I drive slow but never have any issues.  I might note I saw quite a few cars and pickups that didn't do so well.

The land around Marathon is a high desert grassland and I had to make a few stops to photograph them under the moonlight.  I really like this area and despite wanting to stay for sunrise, I know it is going to be a long drive and so move on.  

It is close to sunrise before I get up towards Fort Stockton and the Sierra Madera.  I can see Venus in the eastern sky and a glow over the mountains.  Unfortunately, I cannot really take the time to set up the tripod so I settle for a quick phone snap out the window and keep moving.

I make it to the Pecos River and catch the sun rising over the river.  It's a spot I always stop at.  I doubt any other person stops here, yet I do.  Every trip.  Perhaps it's the myths and legends that surround the Pecos.  It is like a dividing line between both east and west as well as past and present.  

Finally as I get close to Monahans I encounter patchy fog and hoar frost so make a few more images.  As I reach I-20 I think the snow is behind me and I will now be able to make my way home in five or six hours.  Little was I to know the snow has shut down the interstate and it would take ten hours longer to get home.......

This might be my best ever new years day photography. I saw some nice scenes and light.  I got a few images I really liked too.  I hope it is a good sign for a better year ahead. 

Looking forward to what travel I can and wonder where I might be next Jan 1.

Happy new year to all!