Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, 9.21.12-9.25.12

We have arrived at our first refuge stop: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, NM. The refuge is 57,331 acres located at the northern edge of the Chihuahuan desert and straddles the Rio Grande, approx. 20 miles south of Socorro, NM (2 hours south of ALBQ).  The Chupadera Mountains run along the western edge of the refuge and the San Pascual Mountains are on the east. 

Oliver at work scanning some old refuge annual reports. We are enjoying this glimpse of the history of this incredible refuge which exists largely to allow a space for thousands of Sandbill Cranes that spend the winter months here. They start arriving in the middle of November and the refuge is preparing for their arrival and the 25th annual "Festival of the Cranes", scheduled for 11/13-18.

These bright yellow sunflowers are found all over the refuge. 

The landscape is beautiful and it is a very serene place as well. It actually rained last night! The annual rainfall here is 6-7 inches, so we knew the rainstorm was something special to experience here. In the photo to the left, Oliver is enjoying his taco dinner (one blue corn shell and two regular corn shells, along with homemade chips and salsa) one of the many good meals we have had in NM. This was at a small Mexican restaurant just a short drive from Bosque.

This is our humble abode at Bosque: a three room trailer, just steps from our work area.

There is a train track that runs through the refuge. We find it funny that in the middle of this quiet and gigantic refuge is a sign of civilization. We wonder what the animals think of it.

This is the volunteer lounge. A new building with a large kitchen area, laundry facilities, computers,

puzzles, dvds, and a television that we were able to watch Sunday football games on! As you can see, we have set up our work station in this space. Bosque del Apache has a very healthy and active "Friends" group of volunteers who help with special events and also help with the visitors center, gift shop, and special projects. This is a caring and committed group of people and some of them actually live on the grounds of the refuge in RVs and trailers. 

A herd of mule deer. 

 A blue heron who claims this rock as his own. We learned that herons will straighten their necks

when they are around Sandbill Cranes who always have elongated and elegant necks. We thought this little guy was funny and saw him at both ends of a "tour loop" we did through part of the refuge...he seemed to be the official greeter. 

These binoculars were very powerful. However, the only animal we saw at this overlook was a skunk! 

This is a flock of turkeys who were unphased by our presence. 

We will laugh out loud at the roadrunners. They are funny as they scamper all over the place - usually in large groups. There are many varieties at Bosque.

Albuquerque

U Haul in Elkhart, Indiana with our stuff ready to be stored in Papa Jerry's basement. Thanks Papa.

Chicago Midway Airport, waiting for our flight to Albuquerque. It is Monday, 9.17.12. We closed on our house in Burlington, VT on 9.10.12....things are happening fast!

Albuquerque Airport - we've landed! After some training at the SW regional office of the Fish and Wildlife Services here, we will spend the next year moving throughout the states of Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico scanning and uploading countless historic and one-of-a-kind documents at over 40 wildlife refuges. Once uploaded, this material will be available to staff throughout the Parks Service. Ultimately, it will all be available to the public. We look forward to our time in ALBQ and look forward to contributing to this important project. 

Courtyard at Church St. Cafe in Old Town Albuquerque, our first meal here.

Turtle passing through at Church St. Cafe

Church St. Cafe. We're happy to be here.

San Felipe de Neri Parish

Town square in Old Town Albuquerque

San Felipe de Neri Perish

Oliver at the gazebo in the town square

Jenny at a shopping center enjoying the climate

4th St. and Central Ave, downtown Albuquerque

Where we stayed: the Doubletree in downtown Albuquerque. Check out the blue sky.

In the room at the Doubletree

Another pretty area in Old Town Albuquerque

Enjoying the new floral and fauna

Tortilla burger, fried cactus with prickly pear dip, prickly pear lemonade, sopapilla, and chile. One of many great meals we had in Albuquerque; this one at the Red Feather Cafe in Old Town.

Poster in US Fish and Wildlife Regional Office. We will visit most of the Wildlife Refuges in AZ, TX, OK and NM and stay in housing at each place. We look forward to working with the crews at each place and to learning about how each contributes to the protection of plants, animals and habitats.

Our car for the year: Chevrolet HHR. Loading in front of the Doubletree, headed to Bosque del Apache National Refuge - our first refuge!

Enjoying sandwiches made on homemade green chile bread at the Neighborhood Bakery on our way out of the city. Out next stop is the first refuge: Bosque del Apache, located about 85 miles south of ALBQ. It is Friday, 9/21/12. So much has happened in the past two weeks!

Syracuse, 9.11.12

 The sweetheart and Otto. We stopped in Syracuse to visit Madison (now a sophomore there!) en route to Indiana where we would umload the UHAUL into Papa Jerry's basement for storage. We were tired after a long weekend of packing and moving, but had a great time on the campus with Madison.

 Getting some Syracuse stuff

 On campus

 Out to eat at Dinosaur BBQ

 At the rose garden

 Madison's sorority

Bubble tea

We had such a nice visit!