Hello, Colorado COmmunity. I just got home a half hour before publishing, so this will be short and I hope to add more as I get the opportunity. I took a trip yesterday afternoon until now to the San Luis Valley and the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge to see the migrating Sandhill cranes as well as a tourist attraction I’ve long wanted to see — the Colorado Gator and Reptiles Park. I was originally going to go on Friday and into Saturday, but I decided to put it off because of predicted rain, snow and clouds. As you can see from my pictures, other than the cold, I made a good choice.
I arrived there after dark yesterday, in part delayed because I was stopped TWICE by the Rio Grande Sheriff’s deputies — once for speeding, which was fair, and once for not getting over into the right-hand lane when there was no other traffic, which was totally unnecessary. Both times I was let off with a warning; the first time the deputy was black, the second time the deputy looked either Hispanic or Mediterranean. I don’t know whether it was because they only wanted to bother writing up a juicy ticket like a DUI or worse, whether it was white privilege in action, whether it was my being friendly and driving a brand new (less than a week old) car, or some combination of all three. If anyone is driving the state highways, however, be aware the police and sheriff cars are out there even if they’re taking no prisoners like me.
Unfortunately, I learned that I was woefully unprepared for car camping. Fortunately, the temperature only got down to 18 degrees by morning, and I had two dogs to help keep the car warmed up, but I did wake up very cold multiple times during the night to turn on the car and warm up since I didn’t have enough blankets, pillows that would not conduct the cold directly into my head, an air mattress that should have been practiced with before having to inflate it for the first time in the dark and a few other rookie mistakes. Once the sun came up and I found where I could see a flock of the birds, I realized I could have used a camp chair and a heavier coat. It was still well worth the trip.
Clik here to view.
The reason for the trip was to see the annual migration of the Sandhill cranes (along with some other species like Canada geese and perhaps some Whooping cranes). They come to the San Luis Valley every year around this time, then fly up to the Nebraska Sandhills (in the western part of the state) and then continue north to their breeding grounds. I really love to see large flocks of large birds, but I have never gone to see this migration even having been in the state for over thirty years. I did see a number of them in the Sandhills of Nebraska back in the 90’s at dusk by happenstance, but it wasn’t deliberate like this trip.
Clik here to view.
I passed up the Crane festival at this refuge because of the weather, but for your planning purposes here is a link to a lot of information about the birds and what might be on tap for next year. This year, they are likely to still be around for another month or so.
After visiting the cranes and enjoying the sun starting to warm things up, I headed to my second destination — the Colorado Gators Reptile Rescue and Education facility in Mosca, Colorado. This has been on my radar for many years because this is a large Alligator rescue (large in size and in residents) that started as a tilapia fish farm that were growing in tanks fed by hot springs in the valley. The Gator rescue took over the facility and they still grow tilapia for selling for food for people and for alligators.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
The facility holds a large festival every year and I think they may still teach alligator wrestling as well as some other non-dangerous activities. They do have a number of alligators on display to be fed with a special dry food shaped into balls, but the above is as much interaction as I could have (probably a good thing).
In addition to the alligators, they have quite a variety of other rescued animals from pet stores, from people who discover their new reptile pets (snakes, lizards, turtles, emus (yes, friendly emus) and other creatures are too much to handle as they grow, so you can get a really good education and get chances to pet, feed and interact with many types of creatures.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
I’m going to publish this now, as I’m a bit late. I will post a few additional comments and try and get some of my videos onto YouTube so you can hear as well as see the cranes — it’s really a special sight. I also have pictures on two other cameras beyond my phone and it takes a bit more work to get the photos uploaded here. While I’m doing that, please feel free to comment and let us know if you’ve seen the migration or the Alligator Rescue. Or tell us what’s on your mind, even if it’s politics, since this is truly an Open Thread.
The floor is yours...