BITTER LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
Day 165 – At 7:30 a.m. it was sunny with some fog in the distance, breezy and 25 degrees, ice on the Honda pumpkin. We both slept well; it was so quiet without the roar of the wind. Two of the cats are already ensconced in the sun on the dashboard; the other two are in Rob’s lap.
We packed a lunch and went to Bitter Lake NWR, which was about 20 miles northwest of our campground. From their brochure: “Like an oasis in the desert, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most significant wetlands of the Pecos River watershed. The Refuge provides habitat for some of the rarest creatures in NM. With its unique gypsum substrata, limestone terrain, and underground water supply, a wide variety of plant & animal communities thrive on the Refuge. More than 360 species of birds (including migratory waterfowl), 55 mammals, 50 reptiles & amphibians, and 28 fish species have been recorded on the refuge. This harsh desert environment dotted by sinkholes and springs that feed the Pecos River, is home to many rare & endangered species. In the fall people come from great distances to view the dragonflies and damselflies as they gather at the Refuge.” Bitter Lake NWR, 4200 East Pine Lodge Rd., Roswell, NM 88201, (575) 625-4011, www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges. We stopped at the very nice Visitor’s Center, watched a short film about the refuge, looked at the displays, and the wonderful lady volunteering at the counter gave us a fantastic large map that listed details about all the National Wildlife Refuges in the country. She also suggested that we consider coming back at sunset, saying that it is most active at that time.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
We spent a couple of hours on the Auto Tour. Most of the migrating snow geese and cranes had already left for their long trip north, but supposedly if we came back in the early evening, we might see them. We did see other birds and plenty of ducks, and we were lucky enough to see some snow geese flying overhead. It was a beautiful day, cold at first, but it eventually reached 60 degrees. After the Auto Tour we stopped back at the Visitor’s Center to use the bathroom and eat our lunch. Halfway through his sandwich, Rob pointed to a small, beautiful coyote or dog, creeping cat-like down a hill nearby. He grabbed the camera and went after it, but by the time he got there, it had moved on. When he got back to the car, he said he’d never seen an animal like it, and looked it up on Google. Turned out to be a Kit Fox. And according to the picture on the phone, it really was pretty. We wish we’d gotten a picture. A goal for the future.
We drove to Roswell to run an errand & on the way out of town we stopped at a used book store we’d seen when driving through yesterday. A very fruitful stop, this store turned out to be run by volunteers for the Roswell Library and it was filled with shelves of books the Library was getting rid of, ranging from 10 cents to $3 per book. We walked out with 17 books for $15. Not too shabby. On the way back to the RV, we stopped at a turnout in the State Park, and Rob took a picture of our campground and the sink holes from above to get an overall view.
Roswell, NM
Lea Lake Recreation Area, Bottomless Lakes State Park, Roswell, NM
We hung around for the rest of the afternoon, then left to go back to the NWR for a sunset drive. On the way out of the Park, we spotted several Pronghorn Antelope grazing in the field.
Pronghorn Antelope, near Bottomless Lakes State Park, Roswell, NM
At the NWR, the lighting was just right for some good pictures, and this time we saw several hawks diving in the grasslands for prey, many blackbirds coming in to find a place to stay for the night (like hundreds), a decent amount of Snow Geese circling above the lakes to find their perfect spot, and we got to see & hear the wonderful Sandhill Cranes as they came back from a long day. It was worth the drive and we appreciate the advice from the Visitor’s Center.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
After the sun went down, we drove into Roswell and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant that we’d passed several times, and it was always busy (a good sign). We had a very good meal, quite authentic Mexican food seasoned with the wonderful New Mexico green & red chiles. The food was great & so was the service; the margaritas were so-so. The restaurant was called “Margarita’s” and it was on 2nd Street (a.k.a., the 380) in Roswell. Back to the RV with full bellies, a good day.