Today was a perfect day. Perfect. With winter in its waning days and after weeks of wind and dust, seeing clear blue skies and having sunshine pouring through our windows this morning meant only one thing: its time for a bike ride. So we grabbed grabbed our gear, topped of our bike tires, donned our helmets and hit the pavement for a nice roll in and around the UTEP campus. But that roll suddenly stopped when we saw this.

Now, after seeing the buildings under construction for over a year, it was exciting for us to finally be able to stop and walk through the new engineering, chemistry and computer science buildings. The colorful glass blocks lining the stairways and serene desert plants stand at the feet of the grand new buildings that blend modern architecture with the traditional Bhutanese style that has become a part of UTEP’s identity.

Since riding a bike with a DLSR swinging from your neck really isn’t comfortable, I used the iPhone 4s to capture these shots and I have to say that it is by far the best camera-on-a-phone that I’ve ever used. I also used the Camera+ app to process these photos, which has become my favorite photo app over the past few months.

Now combine all of this with an Einstein Bagels breakfast and it really was a perfect day.