Although we heard the meadows wouldn’t be flooded until the middle of November, we are seeing more and more water every day. We’ve seen snow geese (no good pictures yet since they have been too far out). Here is what we have been seeing.
These deer have enormous ears
We’ve seen several of these pigs. There seems to be a couple of different groups.
We plan to stay here a while longer now that the water is coming into the fields. The songbirds can’t be far behind.
Stay safe friends. XO
This town has one thriving business, a bar lol. No gas station or store if any kind. You have to go into Soccoro, about 8 miles for anything. There is a post office but I’m not positive it’s functional.
It’s got a reputation for great burgers. We met someone who raved about their green chili burgers so we each got one. They were tasty but I needed a fire extinguisher after I ate it.
A few days ago was Road Runner Day. We saw at least 4 of them. They are very shy and elusive.
The wildlife refuge has some interesting animals we don’t normally see (like the black bear in my last post) and the buck elk (too far out to get a good shot) and the bobcat (ran across the road so fast there was no shot of that either. Most of the meadows are dry. Management floods these fields on a schedule. The Sandhills will be migrating in a few weeks and the fields will be flooded for them. We’ve seen many Sandhills and are not waiting around for that.
The visitor center supports birds and Gambel quail with bird feeders and blocks of suet. There is a large area filled with native grasses, cactus and other native plants, with meandering paths, a very nice man-made habitat. This is where Vic got the male and female Pyrrhuloxia.
He also got this adorable Gambel Quail.
Here are some of the animals we saw while driving around Bosque, an area of almost 6 thousand acres.
We are waiting out a heat spike before moving on from here. Our plan is to be on a military base before Nov. 5. No matter who wins I think there will be some unrest and I want to be in a safe place.
It rained hard last night so this morning we set off with high hopes to see what we could see at the Refuge. These kestrels were the only birds but you won’t believe what else we saw.
Vic has been trying to get this bird for years!
He’s so happy we saw this bird. There were actually two of them.
We’ve never seen one here before.
These were all from this morning in one pass around the Refuge.
We stayed two nights in Santa Fe at Elks Lodge 460. Last year we felt so bad from the altitude we didn’t see the city at all. This year we felt much better and spent several hours seeing the area around the Plaza.
If you squint real hard you can see Zoe and me on the steps.
We spent some time walking around the Plaza and seeing all the shops. It rained a little. It was brief but enjoyable.
With several days of rain in the forecast we left this morning for Bosque del Apache NM, a well known wildlife refuge. A man owns 13 acres with a house and an RV park with 25 pull through sites. He’s 75 now and has everything up for sale. Price is 1 million dollars. Hope someone buys it, it’s right next to the refuge. The perfect place to camp and go birding.
The weather here is windy and gloomy with rain possible. Hopefully we’ll get some bird pictures when it clears up.
Til then …
Quiet, peaceful, beautiful landscape and loads of wild animals. With so much to enjoy we decided to stay a few more days. Also, bonus, it’s free!
A person working at the only thriving business in town, namely the gas station/convenience store, told us there are camels in the area. Randomly, the owner of the camels was there at the same time and told us where exactly to go and see them. He rescued these two hump camels from zoos, circuses, etc.
The visitor center is open today. we spent some time chatting with a park employee who told us where to look for hawks. We had fun driving around seeing what follows.
Only one rest area open on 180 mile trip and it was 20 miles before the end. 😡
This place (lake 13) is really off the beaten path, we are the only ones here!!! It is very quiet.
The Aspens are shining and there are lots of birds since there is a good sized body of water.
We drove to the water, the road is designed to protect the animals. It’s raised and only goes a quarter of the way around the water. It ends with a turnaround loop. There was a herd of antelope.
We’ve enjoyed the quiet. It’s been amazing but strange to be the only campers.
We are going to Santa Fe tomorrow for an overnight. The high altitudes have been rough on Vic so I don’t think we’ll be able to do any sightseeing.
Next we are going to Bosque del Apache wildlife preserve in NM.
We wanted to stay another couple of days to enjoy Dawn’s company. Then Thursday morning Vic was checking all the tires and discovered one had a problem. Off he went to get two new tires. One to replace a front tire and one to replace the spare. All in all we have bought 7 new tires in this trip. Ugh
We visited Cheyenne Mountain, a state park. Well, we got as far as the visitor center since the elevation was between 9 and 10 thousand feet. I don’t think Vic will ever get used to the higher elevations.
The first night we were here Dawn did not stay over. On her way back to Calvin’s house where she rents a room she saw a wolf and took this video. We think it’s half wolf and half dog but it sure was scary at the time!
We may leave tomorrow or else Monday. We’ll see what happens.
XO
We have been staying at the campground at Fort Carson visiting Vic’s daughter Dawn. It’s a new campground laid out like an infinity loop with widely spaced generously sized spaces.
We’ve been here a week seeing the sights and hanging out with Dawn. It’s been great getting to know her and seeing Vic so happy to see his daughter.
Sunday was Manitou Springs, a quaint town full of restaurants and shops. Lunch at The Loop, fantastic Mexican food. We happened on a high quality jewelry shop having a mad sale so of course that was fun.
Monday we did the gigantic Ft Carson Commissary. Huge place, biggest Commissary I’ve ever seen and the selection was endless.
Tuesday we drove through Garden of the Gods, interesting and beautiful natural rock landscape.
Wednesday we drove to Cripple Creek, an hour plus trip and almost 3,000 feet higher up. Cripple Creek is mostly casinos. So many casinos.
Zoe likes Dawn a lot
We had several fires in the provided fire pits. The best ones were with aged pieces of downed trees that we gathered from around the campground.
Saturday we went to the ARC, a thrift store like nothing I’ve ever seen. It was huge and full of nice stuff for super cheap. I got some great outerwear and a red purse. Most things were half off as if the prices weren’t low enough to begin with. We never did get to Pikes Peak. The altitude is just too much.
We’ve been hearing about hurricane Milton. To all our family and friends please stay safe!
We will leave Monday morning heading to Sante Fe and Bosque del Apache, both in NM.
That’s all for now. Love to All.
We are having a wonderful time staying on Sandy’s property. Sandy told us there is a balloon launch each day Sept 20, 21 and 22. This morning’s launch was the best with several balloons, each one a different pattern. We could see the balloons being inflated from inside our camper. I went out a few times to take pictures. This was perfect since the morning started off being very cold.
Zoe wasn’t liking the show or the noise. She was growling her little growl of dissatisfaction.
The mountains nearby turn a dark wine color when the sun goes down, hence the name Ruby Mountain.
We sure had fun watching the show. Hope you enjoyed it too.
We will leave here on Tuesday heading to Colorado Springs.
Stay well friends.
Sandy and her husband have a 6 acre property in Elko, NV. She is a Harvest Host (there’s an app) and we are her guests for a few days.
We stayed here three years ago and feel like we are old friends. She is so warm and welcoming it’s easy to feel that way. She is a very sharp lady newly retired from being a surgical nurse.
We are enjoying tomatoes from her garden.
There is a hot air balloon festival this weekend. The balloons are clearly visible from her backyard. Talk about best seats in the house 😊. We were out early to watch the show this morning and were enjoying it until we realized they weren’t going up today.
https://www.facebook.com/rubymountainballoonfestival?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Tomorrow is the last day, hopefully they will have a successful launch.
We are laying back and enjoying her property for a couple of days. Then on to Colorado and a visit with Vic’s daughter Dawn in Colorado Springs.
Stay well everyone! XO
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