Blue Goose ~ Day 152

October 28, 2014 ~ Guymon, OK to Las Vegas, NM

I spent the day driving west to Springer, New Mexico, in sunshine, the land flat to the horizon until I got near NM when buttes and the distant Rockies became visible in the distance. The road had gentle hills and the land was more western than midwestern.

Panhandle of Oklahoma

I got gas in Springer at the slowest pump in the world. A large snake was on the main street, probably a rattler. All through the SW, the impression is of aridity. Lawns generally have no greenery and are either covered with a type of stone or just packed dirt, usually fenced, sometimes with potted succulents and always with trees. The leaves were dry, curled up and collecting on the ground so even more sun shone through.

I hadn't even thought about going to Las Vegas NWR, about an hour south of Springer, but it was closer than I thought and just off I25, a great Interstate. It isn't busy and runs north-south, kind of between the prairies to the east and the hills / mountains to the west. The topography is dramatic with earthy colors and distant slopes dotted with small dark-green pines. And, of course, the sky! So it was an easy decision to check out Las Vegas, to which I give the Refuge Zen Award, at least for the Visitor Center. I didn't expect it would be open as so many close by 4 p.m. or aren't open at all, but it was. The soft-spoken gentleman behind the desk was immediately helpful with no sign that he had anything more important to do. Often there is a bell which one rings if the office is empty: "Ring for Help," which I hardly ever do. But this office had a gong for that purpose which rang with one solemn heavy note. There were expensive spotting scopes set up by comfortable seats, at two different levels, trained on a pond with sandhills, herons, ducks and grebes. Two of the exhibits were especially compelling: one of birds' eggs and the other of grasses, tied in small bundles, standing upright on a high shelf and against a white wall, labelled and arranged by size, artistic and also informative.

Sandhill Cranes at Las Vegas, NWR - NM

The eggs were lovely: some speckled, some plain, in many colors, and generally egg-shaped, but with considerable size difference as would be expected. The Common Loon egg is a large, completely matte black egg. I thought of their nest, hidden in the wetlands at Big Star Lake with its two black eggs.

The refuge reminded me of Arapahoe in northern Colorado, out in the expansive open west with mountains in the distance. Almost all the grounds directly around the VCs are now planted with native species or, as here, pretty much left alone. (I think anyway; it looked like that).

The gentleman at the VC told me about a new refuge, Rio Moro, not far north and about five miles west of the Interstate. He said it wasn't open yet, but "the sign is up....perhaps you could go and see if you can drive around..."

And there were Mountain Bluebirds EVERYWHERE.

Mountan Bluebird at Las Vegas NWR - NM

When I  drove slowly, four or five would escort me, flying from fence post to fence post. For once, I was at a refuge late in the day and birds were more active, with dozens of meadowlarks and White-crowned Sparrows, a single Vesper Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos, occasional hawks and ravens....

It was, as I said, a zen place and I lingered as the sun settled in the west.

I found a Walmart on the north end of town, stayed there and woke up at 3:30. It was 28 degrees. Cold nights and warm days at this elevation in late October.

Las Vegas NWR - NM