74, sunny and 40 mph winds.
We hiked the Canyon National Recreation Trail today up a wash and onto the ridge. The view of the wildlife refuge below. The line of cottonwoods past the lake is the Rio Grande River.
Looking down the cliff from the ridge to John waiting for me in the shade. A couple faces in the rocks today.
Down in the narrow Solitude Canyon the canyon walls were beautiful shaped rock. Water formed holes in the rock.
Canyon walls.
John is standing in a dry waterfall. When the water comes down it brings sand with it and scours out the falls and in this one an arch.
Sandstone mining bees made these small tunnels to lay their eggs in. Parts of the canyon walls are layers of sedimentary rock.
John with an Earth Roamer in the parking lot. These seriously burley vehicles are made just north of Denver. The wind was blowing so hard the birds just hunkered down. There were none in the bigger lake, but in this small marsh by the RV park were a bunch of snow geese and sandhill cranes. The parking lot was so close to the water we could just sit in the car out of the wind and watch them.
Behind these cranes is a tumble weed. The water was so shallow they would roll across the water. The birds were so busy eating they just jumped and let them go under them. Non toxic shot is shot that does not contain lead. The lead is toxic to animals, desert marigold, chinchweed and club cholla cactus,
Lots of club cholla cactus, sand palafoxia, 4 winged salt bush, mallow, spectacle pod and some kind of bird nest in the cliff face. Today was cooler - high 50's sand sunny so we hung out at home. We went to see the cranes at sunset. There were not as many cranes, but these are mostly snow geese with a few sandhill cranes. .
The snow geese decided to all rise in mass and then settle back down. They show up real well being white. A few cranes and lots of red winged blackbirds. Sunset at the refuge.
Sunset back at camp.
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