New Mexico Map
I went back to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to visit my sister, Linda, and my brother–in–law, Rick and also to see more of New Mexico. Today, we took the I–25 south to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge––see map, outside San Antonio. Other places visited on this trip to New Mexico are circled on the map.
New Mexico Map
On the Road
On the I–25 south on our way to the wildlife refuge. Originally, this day we were planning on traveling across the state to Gallup to the Navajo Nation. However, very high winds were forecast for the day, so we went south instead, believing the winds wouldn’t be as strong––it was quite windy but my rental car could handle it okay. The refuge is about 100 miles from Albuquerque. (Linda’s photo)
On the Road
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
The best time to visit this reserve is from November to February as this is when 10,000–plus sandhill cranes and 20,000–plus Ross and snow geese migrate here. The Festival of the Cranes is from November 13–18 every year.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We still believed that we would see many birds in residence in this 57,000–acre preserve, 13,000 of them wetlands. But we saw few birds. There were very few other visitors––because of the time of the year and also because of the wind––so we almost had the whole refuge to ourselves.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
The scenery was so beautiful that we could almost believe that we were in a landscape painting.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
The wetlands.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We did see ducks in the water.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We spotted these geese off the road.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Close–up of the geese.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
There is a boardwalk that you can walk over. We didn’t walk far on it as the only birds that we saw were at the beginning of the boardwalk.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
You should be able to see those birds in the photo.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Photo of the birds taken using my zoom lens.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
There were also two turtles near the birds.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We spotted a small bird in these wetlands so we got our cameras ready.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
I caught it on camera before it flew off.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
More geese.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
More wetlands.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
And two birds––these were by the side of the road. I think they are herons.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
I caught one of them in flight.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Close–up of the heron (?) in flight.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Linda caught both of them in flight.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Another wetland. Odd to see that there was a fire here. We saw fire–damaged trees also in other areas of the refuge. We spotted some birds here.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Closer–up photo.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We also spotted these birds from our car.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
I very quietly got out of my car and tried to walk silently toward the birds.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Any movement seemed to put most of them in flight. It is recommended that you just find a place to sit in the refuge and wait for the birds to come rather than to try to find them or sneak up on them.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
These three didn’t fly away.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
A beautiful wetland with a bird near the water.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We spotted some birds here.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
More geese.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Close–up.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We also spotted a heron (?) here.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Close–up.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
We went back to the Visitor’s Center to walk around a small catcus garden.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Cactus in bloom.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Cactus with orange blooms.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Hummingbird feeders were hung here.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
I found out that it is quite hard to catch a good photo of a hummingbird.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Leaving the refuge. What a beautiful New Mexico sky. Linda and I both enjoyed the time we spent at the refuge––very quiet and very pretty–– even though it was quite windy and we didn’t see many birds. I would like to go here again but in the winter when more birds have migrated to the refuge.
Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
On the Road
Seen on the road from the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to San Antonio and the I–25.
On the Road
On the Road
Sheep were grazing along with the cows.
On the Road
On the Road
Interesting scarecrow.
On the Road
On the Road
A very old church. I could not find out the name of the church or its age.
On the Road
On the Road
Side view of the church.
On the Road
On the Road
On the I–25, a horse motel. Neither Linda nor I were aware of there being horse motels so this sign was of interest to us. I looked up “horse motels” on the Internet and found that there are quite a number of them in each state for people transporting horses. Linda’s photo.
On the Road
On the Road
We saw this vineyard on our way south on the I–25 and made sure that we could get a photo of it on our way back to Albuquerque. From the road, we couldn’t see the house or the trees, just the vineyard in the middle of the desert, its placement there seeming very odd. However, we noticed a winery on the other side of the highway––in the town of Valencia, which has a yearly wine festival complete with grape stomping. According to an Internet site, the wine industry in New Mexico was revived in 1978 and today there are 26 wineries in the state. Linda’s photo
On the Road
Isleta Pueblo
The Isleta Indian Pueblo was on our way back to Albuquerque. Linda snapped this photo of its casino.
Isleta Pueblo
Isleta Pueblo
Linda also took this one of the pueblo itself as we were driving through it. At the entrance that we took into the pueblo, there was a Welcome to Isleta Pueblo sign, but when we got near its mission church and the center of the pueblo, there was another sign, this time not so friendly: it said that no photos could be taken in the pueblo and if you were caught with a camera, cell phone, video camera, etc., etc., they would be confiscated.
Isleta Pueblo
Isleta Pueblo
We took the warning and didn’t get out of the car or take any more photos. But we did view, from our car, the beautiful Isleta church. I found this photo of it on a website. When we saw it, it was in bad need of what is probably a yearly whitewash. In this photo, it was in perfect shape. We drove back to Albuquerque from the Isleta Pueblo.
