Don Laine —
The weather was fine and the fall colors even better for RMOWP’s 45th annual conference, with 50 members and guests gathering at conference headquarters in the southern Colorado community of Alamosa.
A number of conference attendees arrived early for a pre-conference opportunity to see wild horses on a dusty mesa just north of the New Mexico-Colorado state line, and then stayed late for a post-conference ride up into the mountains on an historic narrow-gauge steam train.
We explored Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve with Park Ranger and chief photographer Patrick Myers, and had both lunch and dinner at the park’s group picnic area. Then, next day, we spent the better part of the morning at the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, which was suffering a bit from a lack of rain. A group of early risers did their best to capture some sunrise photos at an Alamosa park.
There were several informative workshops, the writers’ and photo critiques, other programs, and as usual we concluded the formal part of the conference with the always popular banquet and awards ceremony.