Over the Thanksgiving weekend, a friend told us that they had been to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (about two hours north of Las Cruces) and the Sandhill Cranes were back for the season. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is made of wetlands on the Rio Grande River and is primarily a migratory site. Last year we heard the Sandhill migration was beautiful, but we missed it. So we had been waiting for their return. On Monday 12-2 we took a day trip to go see them and whatever else might be there. We had seen Sandhill Cranes before, in Texas, but never so many. They were great, and we shot hundreds of pictures. Then we came upon thousands of Snow Geese as well as other birds. It was an amazing visit.

It had snowed 5 inches on Thanksgiving day, but most of it had melted away by the time we got there.

Rio Grande wetlands, forest, desert mountains, and snow capped peaks.

Cat-tails along the wetlands.

Dennis next to one of the planted fields. They plant some grains to feed the migrants. 

Red-Tailed Hawk patrolling for rodents

Sandhill Cranes

Dancing Crane

Courtship in flight

Masses in flight

And then we came upon thousands of Snow Geese flying in the distance. 

If you would like to see it, we have posted a 4 minute video of the Snow Geese coming in for a roost on YouTube. 

https://youtu.be/d3fT073ma08

This is a roost of Red-Winged Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, and Snow Geese. It seemed they were countless birds - always moving and always talking to each other. 

Another canal in the wetlands

And finally, driving home along New Mexico Highway 1.

Both Dennis and Michael have visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon several times in recent years. Dennis had not visited the South Rim since he was a boy and Michael had never been there. We favored the North Rim because it was less developed and less crowded. We quickly discovered that the South Rim provided much better lighting on the canyon for photography.

We were very impressed by the Desert View Watchtower a stone tower designed by Mary Coulter in 1932. The tower fits beautifully into the rugged landscape. We were not prepared for the interior walls covered in Native American images. We had planned to stay in the National Park for three nights, but only stayed for one. The weather forecast changed. Overnight lows were predicted to be in the single digits and daytime highs in the 30s. The campground we were staying in did not have electricity so we were not able to run our heater. So we departed early with plans to return another time. Although our time at the South Rim was short, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Desert View Watchtower

Views from the Desert View Watchtower at the eastern end of the national park

A raven

Breakfast at the El Tovar Hotel in Grand Canyon Village

Sunrise from Grand Canyon Village

Views along the road to Hermit's Rest on the western end of the national  park

Woodhouse's Scrub Jay

Yearling Mule Deer

An elk

Trailhead for the Bright Angel Trail that leads to the North Rim with a bit of exertion