New Mexico’s skies often seem like an artist’s canvas. But the painting’s subject matter isn’t always rich and vibrant. Sometimes it’s dark and moody – a Rembrandt rather than a Monet. These photos show the spooky yet bewitching side of New Mexico.

  1. Storm clouds create a creepy contrast to the neon lights along this stretch of Route 66 in Gallup.

Flickr/Wolfgang Staudt

  1. The landscape around Lamy turns dark and ominous.

Flickr/Charles Fulton

  1. Lightning splits the horizon in two, above Grants.

Flickr/James St. John

  1. Fog, thick enough that it looks tangible, drapes across Valles Caldera, in the Jemez Mountains.

Flickr/Barclay Nix

  1. Coyote howls are always a little unnerving. The sight of one baying while engulfed in fog is definitely magical, but also eerie.

Flickr/Larry Lamsa

  1. Storm clouds roll in over the grasslands.

Flickr/Jeremiah LaRocco

  1. Hot air balloons participating in the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta ascend through the fog.

Flickr/Virginia DeBolt

  1. The mist shrouding the Organ Mountains makes this road seem like one best left unexplored.

Flickr/Samat Jain

  1. The Very Large Array appears to command these storm clouds, near Magdalena.

Flickr/Chris Chabot

  1. Fog billows across the Espanola Valley.

Flickr/Jeff Hay

  1. A dust storm kicks up near Las Cruces.

Flickr/Sharon Sperry Bloom

  1. The fog makes this road through the Jemez Mountains appear surreal and enchanting.

Flickr/Brian DePalo

  1. The clouds and soft hues of the sky make the tree limbs stand out more starkly.

Flickr/optictopic

  1. A rainbow battles the clouds to shine over Albuquerque.

Flickr/Raul Diaz

  1. Dreamy mist floats in front of the Organ Mountains, near Las Cruces.

Flickr/Sharon Sperry Bloom

  1. Lightning overwhelms the glow from the lights of Albuquerque.

Flickr/Robert Adams

These otherworldly photos are really something else. We’re very lucky we get to live in such a magical place!

Flickr/Wolfgang Staudt

Flickr/Charles Fulton

Flickr/James St. John

Flickr/Barclay Nix

Flickr/Larry Lamsa

Flickr/Jeremiah LaRocco

Flickr/Virginia DeBolt

Flickr/Samat Jain

Flickr/Chris Chabot

Flickr/Jeff Hay

Flickr/Sharon Sperry Bloom

Flickr/Brian DePalo

Flickr/optictopic

Flickr/Raul Diaz

Flickr/Robert Adams

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