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Spring
Last updated on Monday, February 24, 2003
In 1937, some very farsighted conservationists realized the need to protect the nation's remaining wetlands. The Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge was one of those acquired during that period under the Department of the Interior and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Strategically located on the Great Plains of the Southwest, it is near the Pecos River east of Roswell. The water of the shallow lake is very brackish, too bitter to drink, and was so named by early cattlemen. It is fed year round by small springs but often goes dry during the hot summer months.
It catches you by surprise. Unseen from the state highway, down a two mile spur of blacktop, the City of Rocks State Park rises, suddenly, from a vast yellow plain of waving grama grass. The columnar, pastel stones make an uneven and disheveled skyline. Some tower as high as fifty feet. Others hunker to the earth like brooding trolls. In the interior of "the city," the rocks meld and merge to form arches, curvaceous streets, and dark alleyways. Off to the side, isolated on the yellow plain, small groups of standing stone look like gentle giants - caught in a gossipy conversation. A broad spectrum of scenery awaits the traveler who takes New Mexico Highway 12 through Reserve north to Datl. Though sparsely settled there are sheep, cattle and horse ranches throughout the four settlements along this area, Cruzville, Apache Creek, Aragon and Old Horse Springs. What is known as the ghost hotel of the 80s? Fall and winter are perfect times to trade the baster for the binoculars and head for the birds at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico.Here, a temperate Rio Grande Valley climate and 57,000 acres of wetlands, wilderness and cultivated fields comprise a comfortable stay for thousands of waterfowl and sandhill cranes seeking refuge from northerly ice-covered waters, short daylight hours, cold nights and diminishing food supplies. The population starts building in September and extends through the second week of March, when the last of the cranes starts their migration northward.
Located on the east bank of the Rio Grande, one mile southeast of Radium Springs, (Exit 18 off I-25) Fort Selden's post office was known as Fort Selden from 1866-1877, and again from 1881-1891 (the missing years from 1877 to 1881 indicate the Fort was temporarily abandoned, then permanently in 1990 when the railroad was built). Next it was known as Leasburg from 1891-1898, as Selden from 1911-1913, and as Fort Selden from 1913-1923. No post office exists there now. "Oh wow," was the response of a photographer taking the tour for the first time. These are natural, flowing pools. Water comes up from the bottom of each pool separately. No water intermingles from pool to pool. No water is reused. And no water goes through a treatment plant. No soaps, shampoos, or loofahs are allowed in the pools. Hot springs in the Gila vary in their accessibility. A trip to the Middle Fork hot springs, for example, only requires a half hour walk and a couple of river crossings, while others are a full day's hike and an overnight stay away. But whether you're feeling adventurous or mellow, you can always find a chance for a relaxing soak in a beautiful outdoor setting. With a little exploration, visitors can discover quiet, remote springs. I've been to Kilbourne twice and each time I came away with a five gallon bucket of peridotite for my rock garden. Outside of Kilbourne, you can only find this gemstone in Southwest Arizona, St. John's Isle in the Red Sea, and in Burma. What hath Bacchus wrought? Drive down to 4201 Highway 28 at La Union, New Mexico and you'll find out. Twice a year vintners Ken and Denise Stark stage their festivals at La Viña Winery - the April Jazz Festival and the October Wine Festival. Both times of year are delightfully sunny and warm in Southern New Mexico. The flora and the fauna come together in the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park at the north edge of Carlsbad, New Mexico, on U.S. Highway 285. It takes visitors through the diverse Chihuahuan Desert, the largest in North America, that spans Southeast New Mexico into the rugged terrain of the Guadalupe Mountains and Mexico. The Park is located on top of the Ocotillo Hills overlooking Carlsbad and the Pecos River valley.I used to lug rocks home. I saw a work of art in the form of an easily pocketed little rock, and just had to claim it for my own. In the Southwest one finds so many interesting rocks, this is a common response to a stroll in the country. You can't do this just anywhere, believe it or not - the Park Service doesn't permit it in the National Parks, for example. There are places where rocks should not be picked up: At Trinity site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated, a green glass, 'trinitite,' was created by the blast, and though visitors were begged not to pick it up, they did, and it's all gone.March, whether lionish or lambish, is a month of motion in upper Southwest New Mexico. Snowbirds from Minnesota and Michigan crowd U.S. 60 with their fat motorhomes, heading back north from the sun-burnt winter in the deserts of Arizona and California. The highway is further clogged by residents of southwest Catron County departing during school’s spring break for exotic destinations like Alamogordo or Las Cruces. Hidden away in Southwest New Mexico lies the Trail of the Mountain Spirits, a loop drive through the historically rich and beautiful Mimbres Valley, Lake Roberts, and Gila Hot Springs area, still called the Inner Loop by most locals. Intriguing stories about this area abound, beginning with the ancient Mogollon, Mimbreno and Apache Indians and continuing to the 1500s and beyond when Spanish settlers, mountain men, soldiers, miners and cattlemen arrived. Located two miles off U. S. Highway 54 to the east, this large eight-room railroad depot displays the history of a thriving town's brief life and economic demise. It was built in 1902, the same year Ancho was established. Is windsurfing a popular sport in this desert land of ours? Travel only as far as Caballo Lake on any breezy day and you can witness a dozen or more windsurfers (also known as boardsailors), sporting wide smiles on their wind-blown faces, as they glide seemingly effortlessly over the white capped waters.
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