The hikers: Scott Lake, Dawn Leach, Lucy Silva, Odile and Jim de la Beaujardiere, Maggie and Bud Garner, Tom Dorr, Neal and Audrey MacDonald, Audrey’s visiting sister Collette, and Pam Bliss.
Once we arrived at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, Neal, Audrey, and Collette—having a nonhiker within their threesome–split off from the main group to do the 1.1-mile Nature Loop. They then took off for Belen, where they stopped for lunch at Pete’s Café and went across the street to the Harvey House RR Station and Museum for a show and tour.
The rest of the hikers enjoyed the 3.8-mile Mesa View Trail, with views of the Magdalenas to the south, Ladrones to the west, and Pinos to the east. While having lunch on the patio outside the Visitor Center at the end of the hike, we were visited by the center’s manager, who briefed us on the refuge and some of the research that is being conducted there. We also found out that the center sponsors hikes to spots on the refuge where outsiders are otherwise not allowed access. These occur the first Saturday of every month but may also be scheduled specifically by private groups (namely, UU hikers), so we may arrange for such a hike in 2015.
After lunch Maggie, Bud, and Tom split off to explore part of the refuge to the east of I-25. The remaining six hikers went down to Bosque del Apache, where we discovered that not that many cranes are there yet, and those that are there have enough food in the refuge so far, so they don’t bother to fly out and then fly back in. However, we were able to see a spectacular fly-in by the snow geese. They turned a green field vivid white.
On the way home, we stopped to test whether the green chile cheeseburgers at the Owl Café and Bar in little San Antonio were as good as they’re supposed to be. Consensus: they’re pretty darn good, especially the green chile.
Pictures of Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge contributed by Scott and Neal.
Pictures of Bosque del Apache contributed by Odile.
