More Pancho Villa photos

I think Katie and I might leave Pancho Villa State Park today and move on to Rockhound State Park.  The HIGH winds - WOW - are finally over.  Two nights ago I went to bed at 10:00 and was buffeted so much I finally got up at 2:00 am and turned on the computer and read blogs for a while until I was really tired and thought I could sleep.  Last night I went to bed really late so I could fall asleep easier.  We've been waking up at 10:00 am lately. It's still a little breezier than I'd like, but no high winds today.

I want to drive into town to do laundry, get propane and access the free wi-fi at the library, and I'm not sure if we'll drive on or come back. 

I have photos of birds and their nests and also some campground photos, so I want to do two posts in one today.  So - following are the photos I wanted to post that are representative of this park.

The electric/water sites are very nice, pretty well spaced, and have  covered tables, bar-b-ques and most are drive through sites.  They will accommodate any size rig.

There is a hill in the park with paths leading around it in the cactus gardens and up to the top, where there is a flag pole and three benches facing in different directions to rest and oversee the whole area, all the way down to Mexico on one side.

Cootes Hill - the large water tower is outside the park, across the street.

Visitor's Center

There are a lot of signs explaining the old buildings (or parts of buildings, etc.) and history  throughout the park.  Here are a few:

The first Grease Rack - see sign above. (My site was at the end of this grease rack.)

And finally, some bird and nest photos to finish up Pancho Villa State Park.  I hope the nests are all still there after the high winds the other night.  It was too windy to walk over and check them or the owls.

Pyrrhuloxia - male

Pyrrhuloxia - male

Eurasian Collared Dove

White-Winged Dove

 

Female House Finch

White-Crowned Sparrow

I never did see a Roadrunner. :(

And here are some cool nests, they were high up on the branches.  Between me and Bea e-mailing back and forth, it was determined they are Bullock's Oriole nests.  I didn't see any Bullock's Orioles in the park, but I sure saw a bunch of their nests.  Here are a few:  

And this nest - obviously constructed by a different type bird.

LATER:  That's about it for Pancho Villa State Park.  After doing my chores in town, I continued on to Rockhound State Park and was lucky to get the last non-electric site - there are only six without hook-ups.  I thought I'd better finish this post -- the next one will be from Rockhound.

From Me and Katie, have a great Wednesday, everyone!  :)

The Village of Columbus

Pancho Villa State Park is actually in the Village of Columbus.  There's a lot of history here.

Katie and I walked into town yesterday - I wanted to use the wireless at the library to update some apps on my phone, but the library closes at 1:00 on Saturday and we got there at 2:00, so we'll have to go back.  Maybe tomorrow.  I shot a few photos while we walked around.  It's a very small town with a couple of restaurants, a library, post office, hardware store, grocery, lounge, police department, etc.  As their website says, the town is "largely undeveloped."  All the necessary things for a town, but not much more.  The town was very quiet, no traffic, and I didn't see anyone walking around.

I took a few photos as we were walking to the library.  The following were taken at the old train station which is across the street from the State Park;  we walked around it and found some interesting things:

 Next to the old station is this little caboose:

And in the back was an old fire "engine."  It looked really old:

And here's an old gas pump, it it was about half as tall as our current pumps:

The rail road crossing sign at the corner:

And finally, an old cart with some really old suitcases that were very cool. They reminded me of the suitcase/storage I have in The Palms:

Here's a picture of my site, which is one of the three "slots" in this area that is part of the overflow parking.  Two or three rigs could fit into each slot, but there are only two of us here in this area so we have lots of room and privacy.  I was told I could also park my motor home anywhere along the outer fencing where there are no utilities.

There are cactus gardens all through the park.  It seems like there would be a lot of work involved keeping all the gardens looking nice.  Unfortunately a couple of years ago there was a really bad freeze and it killed many trees and cactus. Some of the cactus are coming back and growing up through the dead ones.  In a few years, it should be beautiful again.

Here's one of our beautiful sunsets:

 From Me and Katie, have a great evening, everyone!  :)

Great Horned Owl at Pancho Villa State Park, NM

Katie and I arrived at Pancho Villa State Park in southern New Mexico early Thursday afternoon.  Most of the sites here have electricity and water, and only six have water only. That's what I wanted, but I didn't like either of the two sites that were empty and available.  So I drove around a little, and found out that they have a lot of overflow parking here that can be used as boondocking sites.  I talked to a fellow camper who told me this, and so I just picked out a place I liked and settled there.  Yesterday I confirmed with one of the Rangers that I was parked in an overflow site and was okay to stay there.  I always thought overflow sites were only used when a park was full, but am happy to say that's not the case, at least here.

Thursday after we got here I took Katie out for a walk and looked up and there was a Great Horned Owl roosting in the tree overhead.  I couldn't believe it; I've never seen an owl in the wild before.  I took a bunch of photos and these were the best:

Great Horned Owl

 I walked around the tree and used my zoom lens to get the best close-up I could.

I thought this final one was funny - I think it was giving me the "stink eye."  Like - "Let me sleep!"

 Isn't it beautiful?

Thursday evening we walked around the park again and discovered the owl's nest. As I was looking at it and trying to get a good shot, a few other campers came over with their cameras to see what I had found.  Below is the best shot I could get, but I wasn't sure what it was.  One of the men said it was the tail feathers of the owl.  I wasn't sure about that because the coloring was wrong and I don't think owls have long tail feathers like this - but this is the photo, what do you think?

Yesterday we were walking around again in that part of the park and went to check out the owl's nest, and we were lucky to find an owl sitting on the nest.  I think I even got a shot of an owlet. You may have to click on these photos to see what I'm talking about.

So, first of all - look at this picture.  It looks to me like there is a bird laying in front of the owl, and I think it is this bird's tail feathers that are showing in the photo above.  I think this is food for the owl family.  

The next picture - see the broken egg shell?  Right above it appears to be a perfect owl face, a little owlet.

Owlet sitting over a broken egg shell.

See under the arrow, I've circled it.

Look at that little face. :)

Such a stern look - okay, okay, we're leaving.

I've found a few other nests, one is particularly interesting - I'll post it next time.  There are lots of birds here and I'm told the Roadrunners are very friendly, so maybe I'll get a great shot of one.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

The weather has been warm and breezy, but a huge wind storm is expected, so I'm hunkering down. It will be coming from the west, and then the north/northwest, and I think I'm in a perfect spot.  The Palms is facing west so we won't be broadsided by the wind, and I have a hill close by to the north which should eliminate some of the wind.

This campground is quite close to the Mexican border, and throughout the day I see Border Patrol vehicles driving through the park.  Right next to Pancho Villa State Park is the small town of Columbus, and I plan to take Katie there on a walk.  Maybe later today depending on the wind, which is pretty strong right now.  The library has free wireless and I need better wireless than I can get through my phone to download some programs that have been lining up.

I'm having a heck of a time getting Blogger to Save, Preview or Publish - is anyone else having this issue?   I keep getting an error message - over and over and over.  :(

WELCOME to our newest Follower, Cheryl Ann!   I can see your photo and name under the "Members" section of  Me and My Dog, but can't pull up anything about you.  I don't know if it's my Internet connection (which appears to be good) or if it's a Blogger issue.  I'll check back later and see if you have a blog or other information I can add.  Thanks for following along with me and Katie, Cheryl Ann!  We are happy to have you on board!  :)

Happy Saturday, everyone, from Me and Katie!  :)

Goodbye City of Rocks -- we'll miss you, Ravens

We're all packed up and ready to go to another New Mexico State Park tomorrow morning.  I filled the water tanks this afternoon and will dump the black and grey tanks at our new park - there isn't a dump site here at City of Rocks.

I cleaned the truck and the solar panels and skylights on the roof this afternoon, as well as all the windows and the sides and back of The Palms as far up as I could reach.  Between the rain and the wind and the sand and the dust, wow, I forgot The Palms is white.  So she's looking much better, for sure.  And bugless.  :)

When Katie and I drove over to the water faucet, I noticed a couple of ravens sitting on the huge rock by the big nest with all the twigs, and on our way back, there was a Raven sitting on the nest.  I was hoping to see her and get a picture before we left.  Is this the coolest photo, or what???  Look at the size of that nest.

I love this nest, what great construction with all those twigs and grasses.

This is where the nest is, and the male raven was sitting on the rock to the right.
 

I've never been much interested in Ravens, except that they look so cool soaring on the drafts when it's windy.  Blue Water Lake State Park has a lot of them, and they are always flying overhead.  This is the first time I've seen nests and been able to observe them a little.

Here's my little lonely Raven tonight - again. I think this is the third night she's been alone, unless her mate comes after dark.

All fluffed up against the wind and cold.  :(

The chairs are in (after being examined closely-no spiders!), and pretty much everything is put away for traveling.  This will be a short trip, a little over an hour, I think, but I'll stop in Deming and do a little Walmart shopping on my way.

Beautiful desert plains surrounding City of Rocks

I've definitely got hitch-itch and can't wait to be on our way.  Our next post will be from a new location.

From me and Katie, have a great Wednesday evening, everyone!  :)

PS - When I woke up at 6 am this morning, it was just barely getting light and I could see one fat Raven on the rock.  But when I turned on my light, they separated and there were two, close together in the cold.  The male must have been coming after dark to the rock.  A little later I heard them talking; it's not a whistle bird-like noise, more like a soft garbled sound, and then whew-whew-whew-whew, and they had flown off at 6:20.  :) 

Meeting more fellow RVers

Today I was visited by three female RVers who came up to The Palms and looked around, and I realized (watching them through my window) that they were wanting to say something to me.  So I opened my window and screen and met three of the nicest people!  They have a friend, Kyra, who reads Me and My Dog and texted DJ that if they were going to be at City of Rocks, they should look me up.  And they did.  Thanks, Kyra!

Gina, Donna and DJ

Oops, wrong photo, sorry ladies!  I've been playing with my new graphics program and got carried away. :)  Here they are:

Gina, Diane and DJ

Diane and her husband Dave have a blog, which I enjoyed reading after they left, but Gina and DJ don't blog -yet.  Thank you all for coming by to visit with me and Katie.  I had such a good time talking with you - I hope we meet up again in the future.

Some other photos taken since I've been here at City of Rocks:

City of Rocks Lizard

Sign to the Desert Botanical Garden

I like the way they let you know how long it is to the nearest bench, restroom and water.  I was also interested in what was written about the number four - my favorite number all my life. I've always categorized things into fours. It's the symbol that's on the New Mexico license plates. If you click on the photo you should be able to read about it.

Hike and Bike Trail Marker

When we first got here, I found this large dead spider on my chair folded up in front of Katie's car seat. I put it on the edge of her blanket to show it's size.  She wasn't too happy about having it there.

Later, I took out the chair and opened it in camp, and this is what was inside the chair:

Wolf Spider

Is that a creepy spider, or what?  It's large and looks like it has a black pincher mouth.   I did a lot of spider research, but couldn't find out what kind it was.   I think I must have brought them from the Hot Springs LTVA in California, one died and one lived.  But not for long...  At least I hope there were only two.  :(    NOTE:  Thank you Cyndi for letting me know this is a Wolf Spider!

Look at the pretty center of this big rock. The other half is on the ground.

This is a Raven's nest in one of the hollows in a large rock.

The hole on the left is the nest.  This one has really been built up with twigs.

In my first site I put out a bowl of water for the critters, and here is a raven coming in for a landing.  He is flying toward the left side of the photo and has one foot on the ground as he lands.

Ta-Da - I should put a ballet skirt on him. :)

And here is is again, flying away after having a drink. I love to get photos of birds in flight, but I don't get many good clear ones.

So graceful.

And finally, here's a Black-Throated Sparrow, the first I've seen.  He flew in, hopped around, and flew off, and that was that.  I was lucky to get this one photo and I haven't seen one since.

Black-Throated Sparrow

Katie and I are leaving City of Rocks by the end of the week, heading south to Rock Hound State Park and Poncho Villa State Park. We've never been to those campgrounds and want to see them.  I have a loose itinerary written up to try to see as many of New Mexico's State Parks this summer so that next year our travels will be more focused on the parks we like best.  I'd like to stay two weeks at each park, that's the limit set by New Mexico for 2013, but I'm expecting the heat to drive us north sooner than I'd like, so will probably have shorter visits at some of the parks.

This last photo isn't the best - but I love it anyway.  Last night the female Raven came first, as expected, then the male flew in, jumped around a bit, and flew off.  I just barely got the photo-as you can see.  Reminds me of Mary Poppins.  Then the female flew off, too, returning later to their rock.  I looked out later in the night and didn't see two ravens, so maybe the male didn't return, for the first time since I've been here. I felt kind of sorry for the female Raven.  Do you think they had a tiff?

I had to try it:

From Me and My Dog, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)