City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico is a must see, especially if geology and star time lapse are of interest to you. A volcano erupted here millions of years ago, blanketing the land with ash and then cooking it solid. Over the years it eroded into monoliths of varying heights and shapes. It literally is a city of rocks—there are hundreds of them. At night, the coyotes and Great Horned Owls serenaded while the stars rolled by and the milky way spread a blanket above the windmill. This is a great place to capture star time lapse.

Rock Stars in motion. (Canon 7D, Rokinon 24mm, f2.8, 10sec on 20 sec intervals) This is about 3 hours of time lapse.

The Milky Way blanketing the Windmill. (Canon 7D, Rokinon 24mm, f2.8, 10 sec on 40 sec intervals).

Full frame views of these are below:

This barely captures the full beauty of the star field in the dark skies above the City of Rocks.

Also only a small part of the sky that surrounds the City of Rocks.