I was lucky enough to be able to accompany my friend on her initial hike into the Manzanos to do research for one of her upcoming refugee wilderness program hikes. It was a beautiful drive a little more than an hour outside of Albuquerque, with mist laying in the low spots between trees and the sun shining a beautiful cerise halo through the smokey clouds as it showed its face to us for the first time that day.

The hike itself was lovely - up into the mountains through heavily wooded trails, with plenty of new plants to identify along the way. It was the first time that I'd seen so many maple trees in New Mexico, and look forward to re-visiting in the fall time when the trees will be brilliant shades of vermilion.

Read more about the refugee wilderness hikes here:
http://nmpoliticalreport.com/332967/into-the-wilderness-summer-camp-connects-refugee-children-with-nms-wild-places/
and here:
http://www.upworthy.com/theres-a-wilderness-summer-camp-for-refugees-that-lets-them-just-be-kids?c=ufb1

Some shots from the Marigold Parade celebrating Dia de los Muertos.