Posts Tagged ‘Caja del Rio’
Killer releases his son after SWAT standoff, kills himself
The scene at sunrise this morning – Soto’s SUV at the right
Update 5:10 a.m.: César Meléndez, the 5-year-old boy abducted by his father Tuesday after a shooting in southwest Santa Fe is safe and in the custody of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
His father, 39-year-old, José Meléndez-Trillo, was located shortly after midnight Wednesday morning and, after a short police pursuit in southwest Santa Fe, barricaded himself and the boy in a 1997 Ford Expedition off County Road 56 west of the Santa Fe Municipal Airport.
After about a four-hour standoff with police, Meléndez-Trillo released the boy and immediately turned a gun on himself around 4 a.m., according to Sheriff’s Office Lt. Adan Mendoza. Police fired no shots and Mendoza credited all local law-enforcement for their assistance with the case.
Update 12:54 a.m.: Lt. Adan Mendoza of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that the suspect in Tuesday’s fatal shooting, José Meléndez-Trillo, has been found off County Road 56 west of the Santa Fe Municipal Airport, and officers are negotiating the release of his 5-year-old-son. Mendoza said the man and his son are in a vehicle, but could not elaborate.
The road toward La Cienega was blocked off at Huey Road, one mile west of N.M. 599. By 1 a.m. members of the Santa Fe Police Department’s SWAT team were beginning to assemble near the scene. One officer said Meléndez-Trillo was still armed and officers were in the process of moving the road block east to N.M. 599.
RTFA. This is why we didn’t get any sleep, last night. It all happened just beyond the bosque behind our home.
We were woken by the sirens of the cars chasing Soto down county road 56 just a tad before midnight. By the time I’d run out into the courtyard they were stopped – you could hear him shouting “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! Yo soy an Americano.”
I went back into the house to get shoes on – and as I came back out the scene moved to the petroglyphs parking area a couple hundreds further south – on the west side of the road.
The coppers were superb, professional – especially whoever was in charge of trying to talk Soto out of his Ford Expedition over a loudspeaker. In very good Spanish with an Anglo accent.
He kept ask “Señor Soto” to release his niño – tried to get him to call a phone number which I presume was the officer’s cellphone so they might negotiate. I have no idea if that ever worked.
Around 4AM we heard the shot which must have been Soto killing himself – after releasing his little boy.
Monsoon thunderheads just sprouting in the Jemez
The Jemez Mountains are just out of sight beyond the mesa, the Caja del Rio.
Late morning monsoon breezes start to sprout thunderheads over the Jemez and hopefully they will drift this way and rain on Lot 4.
This morning, the sunrise behind us, first walk of the day
This morning’s first walk, the sun was just starting to rise behind us. As we walked west, the light caught the edges of small clouds above the Caja del Rio mesa across the valley.
What I usually call a “Walt Disney” photo – 
– but, still pretty nice.
Hundreds of cave paintings found at new sites in Somaliland
Striking prehistoric rock art created up to 5,000 years ago has been discovered at almost 100 sites in Somaliland on the Gulf of Aden in eastern Africa.
A local team headed by Dr Sada Mire – of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London (UCL) – made the finds which included a man on horseback, painted around 4,000 years ago – one of the earliest known depictions of a mounted hunter.
Leaping antelopes, prancing giraffes and snakes poised to strike are among animals and reptiles depicted with astonishing clarity. Such is the quality of the paintings that at least 10 sites, scattered across semi-desert terrain, are likely to be given World Heritage status.
Mire’s research study will be published this month in Current World Archaeology. He said: “With wars, droughts and piracy in Somalia, hardly anyone has researched the archaeology until now. But it’s absolutely full of extraordinarily well-preserved rock art.”
Dhambalin, about 40 miles from the Red Sea, features horned cattle, sheep and goats painted about 5,000 years ago. The animals have distinctive bands around their backs and bellies, which suggests farming or ritual traditions.
We live about a quarter-mile from the rim of the Caja del Rio. A mesa overlooking what was valley grasslands and prairie with swamplands and bosque forest along the course of the Santa Fe river.
Until the coming of Spanish colonial settlers – and their cattle – this was the home of Pueblo Indians. Their rock art, petroglyphs decorate the whole southern rim of the mesa. Pictographs tediously chipped into sunglazed rock surfaces.
One of my favorite places to sit in the autumn sun and reflect upon the families who lived here for hundreds and thousands of years. Gone, now.
Weird western cloudscape
Here’s what’s weird about these clouds. This about 6:45 AM MDT. I’m facing West at the beginning of my first walk of the day with Rally.
These clouds are ahead of me – to the West. The sun is going to be rising in a short while – behind me.
I’ve seen clouds illuminated like this with the sun behind them. But, not with the sun ready to come into view facing the clouds.
Pic of the Day from Lot 4
The sunrise reaches La Bajada pass, running east and south of Caja del Rio on El Camino Real from Santa Fe to Mexico City.
First monsoon of the season
First monsoon of the season coming in over the Caja del Rio. Moisture from Mexico and from California.
As always, we can use it.
