Feb. 9th: Exploring Nogal Canyon

Hi all:

This Nogal Canyon (there are others) is located west of San Antonio, NM, and runs through the Chupadera mountains to the Magdalenas. The plan is to drive to the first really narrow part of the canyon, hike through that, up a side canyon, then down to the farther narrow canyon, and finally back to the cars. It is a very dramatic area with a wide variety of volcanic rocks that we'll walk through. Might even find some very early spring flowers (?)

Meet at 9 a.m. Saturday, February 9th, at Socorro schools administrative offices, 700 Franklin Street. This trip WILL require 4-WD vehicles in the canyon because the bottom is very sandy, so everybody who has one ought to bring it. Don't forget to dress for the weather, bring water, snacks, etc.

Bob & Debby

Black Butte and Sevilleta NWR

Today, we went to Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge north of Socorro.

We started by climbing to the top of Black Butte. The butte is just outside the boundary of the refuge, but it provides a wonderful view of the refuge and the Rio Grande valley. Here's a view to the southeast, towards the Los Pinos mountains.


Then we drove through the refuge and stopped at a couple of spots to view the plants and geology. Here's a picture showing the landscape at the foot of the Los Pinos mountains.


Along the way, we saw two bald eagles and some pronghorn antelope.