Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Blog 396: Southern AZ to Albuquerque
De Anza RV Park
Once again, we returned to De Anza RV Park southeast of Tucson and checked out a couple of good birding spots.
Canoa Ranch
At Canoa Ranch, we walked the Pups daily amid the hundreds of smells smelled by other canines. Even in this chilly off-season there were birds to spot and photograph. Here is an American wigeon, northern pintail, redhead, vermillion flycatcher, house finch, pied-billed grebe, and a white-breasted nuthatch who was viewing the world from another perspective.
Madera Ranch
As the pups slept or fidgeted in the back seat, we sat out by the Santa Rita Lodge and checked out the feeding birds. Here is a striking hepatic tanager, a painted canary city, and a well-fed squirrel.
Lucky for us, our good friend Ruth was visiting the area from Michigan. We shared a nice picnic at the ranch. Here is a photo of Ruth and Jan and Natalie.
Manzanos RV Park
As we departed our DeAnza RV park and headed north and east, traffic overall was light. Nice scenery kept the journey enjoyable. There were blankets of snow on the peaks and alongside the road as we approached and then crossed over the continental divide. Overall, roads were decent, but 1-10 could use a lot of work.
We arrived on a Monday afternoon and got settled in. However, before the diesel had cooled down, Jan made a family announcement based on her Clime weather app. At our elevation of 5,850 feet, we should expect five to eight inches of snow with wind gusts of over 60 mph starting the next day’s afternoon. Yikes!
Note: I’d wanted to visit the Silver City area for a long time. I remember a time a few months back, sitting in the shade to avoid the hot sun, contemplating the mild temperatures, abundant birds, and panoramic views of the Silver City area as I booked a week-long stay. However, spending most all winters for the last 20 years in Florida/Texas/Arizona, I guess I’d forgotten how cold it could be in February and March.
Trip to the Dentist
Before we could head out, though, I need to check out a tooth annoyance issue. Soon I found myself strapped in a dentist chair of a Silver City dentist, learning that I had a broken tooth requiring a crown as soon as possible. The dentist was booked and suggested we head for Albuquerque and get it taken care of there. So, with bad weather coming, we left early, heading east.
Cedar Cove RV Park
As you look at the map, our journey appears straightforward. However, that map does a poor job of accounting for the part of the journey through the Gila National Forest.
Take a look at the part of our trip through the snow-covered Gila National Forest. At over 5,900 feet there were more curves than a gyrating belly dancer and more changes in perspective than a gaggle of politicians nearing elections. Beautiful scenery, but a relief to complete the journey. Jan did an awesome job of driving. Here is a shot of the scenery and one with a deer.
Soon we were set up at Cedar Cove RV Park in Elephant Butte (a “suburb” of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico).
Bosque del Apache https://www.fws.gov/refuge/bosque-del-apache/visit-us
About 40 minutes north of our RV park off of I-25 is Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Located in San Antonio, Socorro County, New Mexico, it is one of over 560 units within the National Wildlife Refuge System. Situated between the Chupadera Mountains to the west and the San Pascual Mountains to the east, the 57,331-acre Bosque del Apache was established in 1939 to provide a critical stopover site for migrating waterfowl. The refuge is well known for the tens of thousands of cranes, geese, and ducks who winter here each year. Over 30,000 acres of Bosque del Apache are designated wilderness. We have visited Bosque several times over the years for bird photography.
This time of year, most all of the cranes and other birds are gone on their northward migration. However, around 600 or more snow geese ignored their migratory urges and were still on the water, along with many ducks and at least one bald eagle. A prescribed burn was taking place, but we still saw much of the refuge following their main tour loop.
A nice surprise was that we saw a “squadron” of about 20 javelinas, including a cute (well as cute as this critter gets) “red” (a baby). I took some pics, but the lighting was so bad that none were worthy of posting.
Here is a scenic shot of the refuge, a Say’s phoebe, incoming snow geese, and a good-looking American kestrel.
Isleta Lake and RV Park
Just a few miles south of Albuquerque proper, we set up at this RV park on an Indian reservation about half a mile from a casino. A really nice park that had some good-sized ponds that attracted ducks, geese, and other birds. In addition, the birds acted like a magnet, drawing in some fowl-hunting coyotes. In fact, most every late afternoon, Coyote Pete walked, strolled, or ran through our neighborhood passing directly in front of our coach. As you can imagine, this was great entertainment for Jack and Toby. Here is a sunrise shot, a black phoebe, and a snow goose in black-and-white.
Getting Crowned
I had taken a very scientific approach to identifying a high-quality dentist office in the Albuquerque area. I ended my online search immediately as soon as I spotted “ABQ Gentle Dentistry.” True to their word, they were gentle, and aided by generous amounts of nitrous oxide, I survived the ordeal, ready for an upcoming trip.
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge https://www.fws.gov/refuge/valle-de-oro
Just 15 minutes away from our campground was this urban refuge, designed to get the “nature story” out to city kids. Here we took a short hike and took pictures of their descriptive billboard murals and sandhill cranes.
Petroglyph National Monument https://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm
Within 25 minutes of our RV Park was the Petroglyph National Monument. It protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. Along with the Pups, Jan and I took a 2.2-mile loop trail in Rinconada Canyon to see some of the 300 petroglyphs.
See you next time.