About 40 years ago, I read Edwin Way Teale's fourth book in his American Seasons collection. Titled Wandering through Winter, it was researched in the winter of 1961-1962 and published in 1965. On his journey across the country, accompanied by his wife, Teale stopped at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, just northeast of Roswell, New Mexico, in the Pecos River Valley. The highlight of that visit proved to be massive flocks of sandhill cranes, returning to the refuge at dusk after feeding in nearby fields.
Teale's description of that spectacle has stayed with me over the years and I have long intended to visit Bitter Lake myself; that intention will finally be realized over the next two days. Early tomorrow morning, I plan to drive south on Interstate 25, cross Raton Pass at the New Mexico border and proceed to Las Vegas, New Mexico, before cutting off on smaller highways that will offer a more direct route to Roswell.
As always, the anticipation of that road trip, including the new landscapes and interesting wildlife that I will encounter, lends a sense of excitement to the journey. In the course of our brief lives, we best seek adventure whenever possible! More on my travels and the refuge in the next few days.
Teale's description of that spectacle has stayed with me over the years and I have long intended to visit Bitter Lake myself; that intention will finally be realized over the next two days. Early tomorrow morning, I plan to drive south on Interstate 25, cross Raton Pass at the New Mexico border and proceed to Las Vegas, New Mexico, before cutting off on smaller highways that will offer a more direct route to Roswell.
As always, the anticipation of that road trip, including the new landscapes and interesting wildlife that I will encounter, lends a sense of excitement to the journey. In the course of our brief lives, we best seek adventure whenever possible! More on my travels and the refuge in the next few days.
