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.