This place has been on my wish list for years. A hidden treasure most people have never heard of.
A lot of the information I read about it online including directions to landmarks and where to camp turned out to be totally false – but the gorgeous scenery was certainly true.
Giant hoodoos, balanced rocks, rocks shaped like every animal you can think of, even rocks that look like they must be dinosaur eggs — Bisti Badlands is a spectacular wilderness of unusual rock formations hidden in the northwest corner of New Mexico.
Once I decide on a photo location, one of the first things to figure out is where we can camp close-by. I read on a bunch of websites that there is only back-country tent camping allowed in Bisti – there are no established trails or campsites. We’re looking for a place to park the RV. Everything I read led me to believe the closest place was in Farmington about 35 miles away.
So we decided to head over to the BLM office in Farmington to get some advice. On the way there, we pulled over to review our maps, and the ranger stopped by to see if we needed help. We talked to him and found out that we can just camp in the parking lot! Well, isn’t that handy!!
The ranger was very helpful giving us all sorts of information about the area including where to get water and propane, where the best sights are and how to get there. He even dropped by to see how we were making out a few days later.
I just love these places where I can wake up, stumble out of the RV, and be on location ready to shoot!
We even invited some of our RVing friends to come over and join us for some parking lot happy hours (that lasted about a week!)
I made all of the photos in this post during my first foray into the park on the first day. There were a lot more discoveries still to come.
Hello, I live in Farmington NM many great areas to shoot close to here. Just getting into photography, I took b/w and digital photography in college last semester. I really enjoy your posts and am learning more each day.
So foreign to me it seems ethereal (not sure how that word came to me but… ). So desolate yet begging to be encroached on. Simply… amazing Anne.
That New Mexico scenery looks other-worldly…gorgeous pictures, Anne!
If you like weird landscapes Anne – Have a look at the Cappadocia region of Turkey. Lunar is an understatement!
Those rock sets look so much like buildings!
I previously lived in New Mexico and was part of an outdoor photography group. One of our trips was to the Bisti Badlands. It was awesome until we found mountain lion tracks!
Awesome pictures and mysterious place…
Thanks for taking us there through your lenses…
stunning formations.
keep shooting.
Your photographing bring a pleasuring respite..to my busy days.
Very impressive photos Anne.
Great pictures Anne. Did you use a ND filter or a polarizing filter? I’m always interested in settings and filters. Thanks
Anne, I was glad to read your Bisti post; I suspect you will find many appetizing shots which keep you ’round a while.
65 million years ago, Bisti was the edge of a Cretaceous seaway stretching to Canada. A few miles east, a T Rex skull added to the ambiance,
Those red dog hills make a provocative backdrop for Magic Hour shots…