Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge – 16 Nov 12 – Part III

Warnings:   At several places, we saw these warning signs for mountain lions.  We didn’t see any, but on our hike back to the next blind we did see what we were pretty sure was their scat on the trail.  Also on the trail, we saw elk scat and some we thought could be bobcat, but could have also been a dog.  I didn’t see any dogs, but there was nothing that said you couldn’t have one.  Not a good idea.  The trail was of somewhat loose material so tracks were not distinctive, but could make out plenty of wild turkey tracks.

Be on the lookout for mountain lions.

By this time, it was getting to be late afternoon and starting to get dark especially with it being a mostly cloudy day.  It was the longest hike we did and to be honest, I got turned around and think I might have gotten lost if it hadn’t been for Chris being with me.  Thank you, Chris!

Getting late when we got to this blind.

Just when we thought there really wasn’t much to see here, all of a sudden the sky came alive with the honking and flight of a multitude of geese.  And they kept coming and kept coming.  We did see and hear a few cranes later, but not in great numbers like the geese.  It was fascinating to see them reflected in the water, but try as I did I could not seem to capture it for the photos.

I thought these clouds looked like fingers.

The geese were still coming when we left the blind for the hike back to the vehicle.  We sure wondered where they were headed so was surprised to find out almost immediately after we left the parking area.  They were heading for this marsh for the night.

OMG, I wonder how many are there?

We were able to hike back a short distance to still another blind.  Chris snapped my picture and when I saw the results I had to laugh — now I knew I was relaxed and having a great time, but talk about “hanging loose” – that was me in this shot!    😉

Havin’ Fun and Hangin’ Loose!!

This blind must have been used quite a bit for groups since it had table and chairs, etc.  Notice the many square doors at different levels that covered peepholes.  There were hardly any ducks on the pond.  A train did come through while we were there.  That was a surprise as we didn’t know there were any tracks on the other side of the pond.

Train passing near Observation Blind.

Through a peephole.

There was a sign that said “Don’t go beyond this point” so you know what I had to do.  I wanted to see what it looked like on the other side. 

Serious Chris.

Not serious Chris!

It was getting dark, but we drove around some more.  We saw some killdeer and a number of sandhill cranes settling down for the night.

Kildeer.

We saw four mule deer out for an evening feed.  A little later Chris saw a skunk wandering around looking for a snack.  I didn’t get a picture of it, but think he did.

Sadly, it was getting to be time to wrap things up.  I’m glad we didn’t do that too quickly as we were in for a gorgeous sunset!

What a wonderful day!  There was a tiny gas station in San Antonio, but opted to go the 8 miles up to Socorro to gas up before heading the 130 miles to get home.  We didn’t want to chance running out of gas in the middle of nowhere as it was 55 miles to the next gas station going east toward home.  I got home about 9:00 p.m. (16 1/2 hours after leaving) tired, but happy.  I was surprised to note that we had driven almost 350 miles total that day.    You can view some of Chris’s photos also if you wish at: http://chibnerphoto75.smugmug.com        (Sorry. You may have to cut and paste).

Enjoy!!  😉