Dust devil drives toward the remains of the guard house and sally port at Fort Craig. The fort, just south of Socorro, was built in 1854 to defend settlers from Indians, outlaws, and Mexican revolutionaries was only marginally successful in its endeavor. It was decommissioned in 1885.

Dappled burro waits out the heat of the day in the narrow band of shade created by the roof overhang. Somehow the animal must have learned. It’s on the east side of the barn and, as the sun moves west, the band of shade will get wider.