PhD candidate Nina Roberts (Advisor: David Wilson) sent these postcards from New Mexico, where she is conducting dissertation fieldwork. Her project is tentatively entitled "In Search of the 'Resilient' City: Balancing Economic Growth, Climate Change, and Climate Justice in the American Southwest."
Taken on a rural highway in central New Mexico. This is a view of the windward (eastern) side of the Manzano Mountains, which rise to over 10,000 feet in elevation. They may not appear that high from this view, because this photo was taken at an elevation of 6,500 feet. As you approach the mountains, they become increasingly forested, and the views from the peak are incredible in every direction.
Taken at the ruins of the Abó Mission to the Salinas Pueblos, near the town of what is today Mountainair, New Mexico. These are the ruins of an ancient church built in the 1600s by Spanish Catholic missionaries following Spain's expansion into its northern frontier in the New World. The church was completed in 1658 but was abandoned only 15 years later, in 1673, due to a combination of drought, famine, disease, and enemy raids. The ruins of the mission complex, still standing 350 years later, are now preserved and managed by the National Park Service.
Sunset over Ladrón Peak, in the high desert near Belen, New Mexico. It is said that the mountain was named "ladrón," meaning "thief" or "robber," to refer to historical raiding parties that would hide out there after attacking the surrounding communities. For context, this area lies about 70 miles southwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city.