A Wall that's hard to argue with

We were lucky on our most recent Rio Chama trip to grab the fabulous Chama Wall campsite, from the dining room of which you get to see the view shown above whenever you look up.

We've camped here on some past trips, and I've posted lots of pictures of this amazing ridge before, but it's hard not to take more. 

Although it's very difficult—impossible, actually—to convey the simple size and the incredible majesty of this setting. That's what really struck me, as if anew, on this trip. I can tell you that the Wall is over 1000 feet above the river level, but that doesn't really mean anything, compared to how it feels to sit at its feet. 

I'm hoping some of these photos can show you, or at least start to show you, how wonderful a view this is. (I've borrowed some pictures from Henry's and Larry's collections, taken with their much fancier cameras, to help with this task. Thanks, guys!)

First of all, as you approach the campsite, you've already seen some pretty spectacular rock formations and canyon walls. But this one still takes your breath away when you first glimpse it...

You can just see the base of the Wall in this shot of our living/dining room (yes, we really rough it on these trips!). 

But I think, for some reason, that just seeing the base really gives you a better idea of the massiveness of the Wall than when you try to convey that in a panoramic shot. Here's another of just the base itself, in late afternoon sun, with no distracting humans in the way...

I mean, this is really, really a lot of rock...just sitting there and looking gorgeous for our entertainment!

The entertainment isn't always just static, either. Thanks to Mike's binoculars, we were treated to a great wildlife experience. 

In the little alcove that is framed in red in the photo on the left (it's almost at the top, on the far left of the shot—click on the photo to enlarge it) we got to watch a falcon having an early dinner!

Relying upon the lofty perch to save her kill from predators, she flew to and from it several times. Sharing the binoculars, several of us enjoyed watching "our" falcon for quite a while.

Here is a extra-closeup of the alcove, taken with Larry's super-lens:

Isn't that cool!?

Henry got another unusual perspective of the Wall when he and some of the more energetic members of our party took a hike up a ridge on our side of the river. This is what the Wall looks like when you're at a more comparable elevation...

I have still failed, I'm sure, to give you a good sense of what it's like to live for a couple of days in the shadow of this amazing formation, but I hope you at least got a taste.

just before sunrise over the Wall