It is a long drive from where we were in Las Cruces NM, to Bosque del Apache up I-25 to the center of the state. It was 141 miles up and 141 miles back. That was two days in a row. But, it is a marvelous piece of real estate along the banks of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico.
A little background on the Rio Grande however, should be told first. For thousands of years , even before the Pino people came 500 years ago, the river seasonally overflowed and left the land adjacent, much good soil from overflow and flooding. This went on for thousands of years and allowed the vegetation to develop into a lush habitat along the river with plenty of water to grow and flourish. .See the green!
A few quick FACTS about the Rio Grande for your perusal here. It flows from The San Juan Mtns. in CO. to the Gulf of Mexico. IT is 1,896 miles long. Only 20% of its water empties into the Gulf Of Mexico. Most of that water is used for irrigation and human consumption. The are hundreds or water districts all along its borders. There once were riverboats that plied its courses. It is the border between the USA and 4 Mexican States and also between NM and TX. Many crops appear on your table from this great river valley. And,...if you like pecans.they probably came from here.
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| A piece of the Rio Grand shows here running adjacent to the NWR |
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| Similar section of the river downstream a bit. |
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To contrast to the surrounding land these photos below, show the terrain in Central NM looking west (The previous photos are looking east. Our back is to the NWR.
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| The mountains 40 miles west of the WWR |
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| Looking northwest IN the NWR the fields planed by the farmers and conservation groups assist the many birds that visit the NWR through the winter. Over1,000,000 birds use the NWR during the year. |
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Today we saw some 40 bird species and yesterday about 50. Today we saw for the first time on the trip ...CAVE SWALLOW (nesting at the visitors center), BLACK PHOEBE, WILD TURKEY, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, HERMIT THRUSH and the RING NECKED PHEASANT. I can include three of those that were close enough to photograph.
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| A Cliff Swallow building her nest at the Visitors center |
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| Female Ring Necked Pheasant |
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| Wild Turkeys |
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| Male Ringed Necked Pheasant |
And on the way home we give you, on I-25, a few scenes that are typical New Mexico and SW US.
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| Map of the area near Bosque del Apache. |
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| The rest stop, was one during the Camino Real days. |
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| Amsonia eastwoodsiana (Eastwood's Bluestar) |
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| PARAJE SAN DIEGO today. The rest stop. |
Tomorrow we head for Tucson AZ for a few days .Perhaps might get to The Huachuca Mtns. for some special species.
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