Sevilleta was established in 1973. It is one of the largest refuges in the lower 48, consisting of 229,674 acres...359 square miles, and borders I 25, with the Rio Grande River flowing through it. The area reminded the Spanish soldiers of Old Seville in Spain...hence the name.
The Sierra Ladrones (Mountain of Thieves) lies west of the refuge at 9,176 feet and the entire Los Pinos Mountain Range, 8,320 feet, is located within the east side of the refuge.
This is the visitor center with the color that blends in well with the surroundings.
Most of our days have been spent inside learning the operations.
The raising of the flag to start the day.
We don't have that many visitors that stop by, and that makes for a long day. However, we have been kept busy.
There is a lot to learn about the refuge and I keep busy reading and learning all I can passing it on to Wallace.
It is a beautiful visitor center.
Here we sit behind the desk.
A small bookstore where there are things to buy.
This is my favorite, the puma. We were in the day a fellow walked in wanting to see how we displayed the animal he killed. He worked for the game and fish. The animal needed to be disposed of.
There are four biomes: The Colorado Plateau Shrubs Steppe (treeless), the Chihuahua Desert, The Great Plains short grassland prairie, and Pinion Juniper Woodland.
There are nine natural springs and 16 man made wells in operation in 2009 when 21 motion detector cameras were placed around the wells to see what uses the "drinkers." Currently, there are ten drinkers with cameras. We have a slide show of all the animals that come to the drinkers that will keep one entertained.
In 1995, this refuge was chosen as the Mexican Gray Wolf Facility for the reintroduction of this endangered animal. The canyon represents typical wolf habitat they would use in the wild. They are located on a remote piece of the property. We now have 5 in the acclimation pen. It is a controversial subject around here with the ranchers. I may have more on this later.
The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher is another endangered species that nests in the riparian corridor. Salt cedar removal is now taking place where more native plantings of willow and cottonwood can be done which will improve the habitat.
We finally got out in the field to collect the prairie dog traps. The season is over for them.
There were three sites where we walked with our bags, picking up the traps, flags and gutters.
We were each given a bag and a row which we walked to collect the traps, etc.
We walked back to the trucks to empty our bags.
The interns really appreciated our help and we finished before noon. It would have taken them all day.
Here we are putting our collections in the back of the truck to transport them back to headquarters taking them out again to store them there.
600 Gunnison's prairie dogs each year since 2010 have been reintroduced to the refuge and it will continue until it is determined that the population is stable and healthy. Their colonies provide benefits to other wildlife.
We have so many readers who are not signing up to follow...I am not sure why the hesitancy in doing this!?! Okay, Nathan, now that we know you are one of them, we are waiting!!! Please do this to let us know who is reading, and we appreciate all comments.
Until next time...
Another State Capitol to visit...Santa Fe, N.M.
You notice right away the circular building, called the "Round House."
There is a reason for it being round.
It is fashioned after this design, the Zia sun symbol. It is also on the N.M. flag. The circle is the suns rays in four directions, four directions of the earth, the four seasons of the year, four times of the day, and life's four divisions of childhood, youth, adulthood and old age, all bound together in a circle of life without beginning, and without end.
The Zia believe man has four obligations: He must develop a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit, and a devotion to the welfare of his people. I found this very profound.
The State Seal illustrates the ancient myth in which the gods ordered the Aztecs to settle where they saw an eagle perched in a cactus devouring a serpent.
The motto "Crescit Eundo"...it grows where it goes.
This is the very center of the building which has four levels.
The Rotunda measures 49 feet in diameter and is inlaid with a turquoise and brass mosaic of the great seal. The skylight 60 feet above represents an Indian basket weave, the blue for the sky and the pink for the earth.
The flags of New Mexico's 33 counties encircle the area on the fourth floor, and art from artist's who live in the area are on permanent display on the third floor.
Following is some of the art as well as handcrafted furniture.
You can click on the photos to enlarge. The text talks about the painting. "Hoshonzeh" translated from Navajo means "Harmonious Way."
I especially liked this. A quilt made by 5th graders.
They were each given a piece of material to create their art.
It is called their Peace Quilt.
There is not a lot to say about the house and senate chambers and they are both pretty much the same, pretty boring in fact.
New Mexico claims the oldest as well as the newest capitols in the United States. The one you are seeing here is the new one dedicated in 1966. The oldest one was built in 1609 which we did not see as it was raining after our tour here.
And that concludes our tour.
Until next time...
Our luck has been bad ever since we entered the "Land of Enchantment."
First off was the problem we had with our new truck. That worked out...finally.
Next was a problem with a dripping air conditioner.
Here Wallace is up on the roof with me down below handing up things he needs.
After cleaning out the drip pan, the next step was to replace the gasket. It now works!!!
We met a very nice repairman at Central RV in Albuquerque who helped us tremendously. As a matter of fact, we could not have done this without his help. He just happened to walk in needing a part for another job he was on and while there we picked up conversation with him. He was a Godsend. His name is Dale Hanson and his number is 505-263-2255. If you are ever in New Mexico and need help with your rv, he is the person we recommend. He covers the whole state. I can't say enough about how accommodating he was, and it was FREE advice. AND, we just liked him...seemed like an honest, knowledgeable man.
Now no more dripping and we now have cold air once again. It is pretty bad being in 100 degree heat with no a/c. That worked out finally.
Now our Norcold fridge has gone out!!! I awoke at 2:30 in the morning smelling ammonia. I quickly woke Wallace and he turned off the fridge, we opened all the windows to air out. One good thing is, we have the fridge in the laundry room we can use until we can decide on what to do...replace the cooling unit (rebuilt) or a new one...buy a new fridge with a warranty, or replace it with a residential????
It gets better...I needed to renew my drivers license while we were in North Dakota and because I had renewed it online six years ago, now I needed to come to Texas or see an eye specialist. We decided to wait until New Mexico to take care of this matter. I went to an eye specialist here in Belen at a Walmart. After $90.00 he said I needed glasses (because I could not read the very bottom line on the chart). Now how many road signs do you see that is written that small? I do not need glasses to drive!!! So, we drive over 500 miles to Muleshoe, Texas...I go in, read the chart, I now have my license renewed....without needing glasses!!! What a jerk, he would not change his mind after conversing with him and because of him, we will never use Walmart's Vision Center!!!!!
My griping has gone on long enough...I am just getting angry again and I am sure you have heard enough as well.
Until next time...
WELCOME TO SAN LORENZO CANYON.
Part of our orientation was a trip to this beautiful area on the refuge.
The header picture was taken here in this canyon.
Would you ever expect to see anything like this here in this dry, arid desert? We didn't. Never heard about it either.
A little gem of a place.
Various layers of the sediment built up and tilted to form what is called "the bread loaf."
Okay, interesting...what is next?
Oh, big horn sheep. Will we see those?
Oh my, what is this, a canyon and we are on the floor of it.
We start seeing caves.
The beautiful red color is from iron oxidation.
It gets better!!!
Jeannine yells out, "there's one up there."
Our first look at a desert big horn sheep...a ram!
She says, "okay, where are the rest of you guys, I know you are up there somewhere."
We are glassing the place. I yell out, "there are two more down below him." It turned out to be a lamb with a ewe.
As we turn around to drive to the next place, I spot these two high upon a ridge.
This was pretty exciting.
I could have stayed right there, looking for more.
I wanted to climb up into this slot canyon to explore, but not enough time today.
There was a little trickle of water coming from somewhere in there.
I thought of Zion and the slot canyon there.
This is our header photo you see on our blog.
You just can't imagine how beautiful this place is without experiencing it, but maybe we have given you a taste.
This canyon is a place of chimneys, caves, towers, arches and hoodoos.
Wind and water have sculpted sandstone, mud and volcanic ash to form this wonderful place.
This will not be our only visit!!!
Until next time...
First thing Saturday morning, we wanted to explore. There are 3 trails from the visitor center and we wanted to do all of them...this helps with visitation.
This one is only a little over one mile with signs naming the plants.
There are nice benches for those who need a break. The tree is a one seed juniper.
We saw a few lizards and cottontails...no snakes!!!
This is the Nature Loop.
The visitor center and maintenance building in the background from the trail.
Sunday morning we start out early to do the Mesa Trail, we are headed to the little hills in the background. The Mesa Trail is 3.8 miles in length. The weather is nice, we think we can make it before it heats up.
Can you find the cottontail?
The first wildlife we see as it scampered across our trail.
We are on top of the mesa looking down on the facilities.
There are buildings for the UNM (University of New Mexico) where there is research going on, our visitor center, maintenance shop and where we live.
I just had to take my diamond willow walking stick with me!!!
Wallace just knows there is a bench up here somewhere. We found it eventually and sat for a spell...took in the surroundings.
The Rio Grande River flows through the refuge, the lush green in the background running North to South making its way to the Gulf of Mexico.
You can get a glimpse of where we are parked to the right of the photo.
We are making our way down on this nice trail.
You can't get lost as there are no trees to speak of, and you can see forever!!!
Off in the distance we see these big enclosures and several people milling around.
We found out later it is research about lizards conducted by the UNM.
I am delighted to see this collared lizard waiting for us near the end of the hike.
"Here's looking at you kid."
What a wonderful hike with some beautiful scenery with an ice cold watermelon waiting for us when we got back to our abode.
Until next time...
We left Valentine, Nebraska at 10:00am. We spent the night at the Wal-mart in Fort Morgan, Colorado. We left that next morning.
Our first view of the Colorado Rockies through the haze.
We came in on interstate 76 toward Denver.
Things were going well until we got to Las Vegas, New Mexico at 1:15pm.
We got a warning light on our NEW Ford 350!!! We pulled over in the town hoping to find a Ford dealership...not one there...not until Albuquerque, 70 ish miles further. Wallace phoned our mechanic in McAllen, Texas. He told us it needed a burn out. Oh, I did not mention it is over 100 degrees outside!!! We start out toward A town, the light is still on, I'm in a panic, we are needing fuel, took an exit that said there was gas. After about 20 miles on a narrow road, we find a diesel station that we had to back out of, finally got back on the interstate...to make a long story shorter, we get to
this nice park off interstate 40 West of Albuquerque. We were able to get a space, not knowing if it would be available while we have our truck tended to because they were closed by the time we arrived. We took the truck into the Ford dealership early the next morning, the first ones there. They shuttled us back to the park...we talked to the lady about our dilemma. She was very nice. We paid for another day not knowing how long repairs would take. At noon, Ford called saying it was ready, we were elated. We pick it up, get down the road about 10 miles and the light came back on!!! Finally, they did a burn out...it is now ready at 4:30. It worked!!! We stayed that extra day and chilled out.
We got to Sevilleta at 10:00am without any more problems.
Jeanine met us at the door and said, "Welcome home." Man it was good to get there.
We got all set up in this site, then went back to the visitor center to visit with Jeanine.
We are happy about our site and all feels well.
We had a couple of tiger salamanders in the water receptacle.
One of them looks like she may be going to have babies...I will keep my eye on them.
Anyway, we are here and set up in our site, at "home" for three months.
Until next time...
We left Sullys Hill at 8:15, August 2. As we got on the interstate 94, we started seeing motorcycles...headed for Sturgis S.D. Turns out, it is the 75th anniversary of the big gathering.
We found out they pay $100.00 for a tent space and beer is $15.00 a bottle!!! How wild is that? Motorcycles were everywhere...all the way to Valentine, Nebraska.
We drove through Pierre, S.D. and just happened to get a shot of the Capitol Building. No visit this time though.
We made it to Valentine, Nebraska where we stayed at the Wacky West RV Park. It is a Passport America park. It was an easy find...not much to look at but okay.
I really like this little town. It just had a good feel about it. It's the heart city!!!
We spent some time visiting Niobrara NWR. We drove part of the auto tour, but did not see much. The prairie dog town was pretty active.
We took the stairs down to get this picture of Fort Falls where we had to wait on a lady photographer forever to get out of the water for our picture. She climbed over the barricade...why do you think the barricade is there? Some people...she took her time and could care less about us waiting!!!
On the Fort Falls trail, we came upon the Niobrara River where we watched the people in kayaks...you can barely see them. There was a larger group of them just coming around the bend.
We left Valentine, another small town in America. Passed up Valentine NWR, but got this shot.
Now, back to my title.
From coteaus to sandhills. These rolling hills are created by blowing sand, and some of them were quite high.
They are the largest mass of grass-stabilized sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere. The grass is fed by the Ogallala Aquifer, which is the one of the largest groundwater sources in the world. It is a pretty amazing place.
Rolling on down the road as we head South to New Mexico.
We enjoyed our two day stay in Valentine.
Next time, we will stay here a little longer.
The second part of our journey is coming up next.
Until next time...
