I tried not to think of this as an ominous sign as we headed into the mountains.

Fortunately, only small patches of snow remained at the top of the passes we drove through.

The landscape was both large and wild, yet dotted with small farms and towns in various states of repair.

First pic above is the town of Cantavieja, seen from below, an especially dramatic place clinging to the prow of a mesa; the approach up that side is 1000 vertical feet of hairpins. But then on the other side you keep climbing, and climbing, to about 6000 ft. The last pic shows Cantavieja (left of center) far below, lost in the vastness of the landscape.

That was the first of three or four big ridges we crossed. Grateful for a brand new rental car (12 km on the clock when we picked it up) with new brakes.