San Clemente Cemetery is located off of Main Street in Los Lunas, New Mexico. It is not abandoned. There is an old section and a new section but there are graves in the new section from this year so it is very much an active cemetery with frequent visitors so being quick, respectful and discreet was vital to the success of my visit. All of my photos are from the old section but there were visitors bringing fresh flowers to graves in the new section while I was there.

A word on possible side effects...
I never go to cemeteries at night (no light = no photos) and of course I never mess with the graves or take anything home but nonetheless, there can still be side effects from spending time with the draining energy of a cemetery.

I only spent about half an hour here at 11:30am but when I got home I suddenly felt completely exhausted, like I hadn't slept in a week. I took a two hour nap and wasn't able to get any other work done for the rest of the day. My personal feeling is that it was the energy from the grave pictured in the first image.

These photos were taken September 23, 2018.

Sandia Crest sits at 10,653 feet and overlooks the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

If you plan on making a visit, be sure to bring water and a jacket. It's high and dry but also tends to average at least 10 degrees colder than the temperature in Albuquerque.
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Additionally, if you come from sea-level, the air is very thin here so be prepared to pace yourself. Altitude sickness is a real thing, y'all.

These photos were shot on November 29, 2018.

Boca Negra Canyon is part of Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Most of these ancient rock drawings were created between 400 - 700 years ago though some of them are over 1000 years old.

It is a wonderful privilege to have a place like this in the middle of the city. You can walk through the silent desert and watch a raven fly up over the canyon wall, exactly the way ancient people did hundreds of years ago. The city doesn't need more strip malls and convenience stores, it needs more places to breathe and connect to nature.

How your presence can be beneficial: be a paid visitor to the park and don't mess anything up while you're there. Remember, take only photographs and leave only footprints. No one likes "new petroglyphs", so don't try to create your own. ;)

As with many old cemeteries in Albuquerque, San Jose has fallen into a sad state of disrepair. It is no longer an active cemetery, meaning that new burials are being performed elsewhere and it doesn't seem that anyone is officially charged with it's upkeep. Meanwhile, city life goes on and the unkempt cemetery becomes a haven for tweakers and vandals.
Postscript: If you go there, don't be part of the problem. Remember the golden rule of visitation and photography: Leave only footprints, take only photographs.

In these old cemeteries, it is unusual to find a new(ish) grave and especially one with a news story.

Buried here at San Jose Cemetery is Albuquerque boxer, Vicente "El Picosito" Garcia. In 2006, he was found shot to death in a car. The young boxer was only 20 years old.

Johnpaul and I were at the cemetery on November 17, 2018 and there had obviously been recent visitors to Vicente's grave as evidenced by the relatively fresh jack-o-lantern and half bottle of Modelo beer.

​To learn more Vicente "El Picosito" Garcia and what happened to him, click here.

No matter how many years I experience autumn in New Mexico, it never gets old.

With the exception of the first two images, which were shot just up the road in Rio Rancho, these photos are from the Bosque in Corrales.