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Yesterday morning (4.20) we worked on our projects before deciding to take a walk along Hwy 4 with the intention of getting some information from the NPS Ranger Station. Unfortunately it is closed to the public and the NFS Ranger Station being built across the road isn't finished yet so we checked out the Jemez Historic Site When we walked up to it, it was clear that it would take a long, luxurious time to fully appreciate these ancient ruins and Jo had a phone appointment in the afternoon so we strolled down past the historic bathhouse in the town square. Then onto the library where we bought six used paperbacks fo $3 from their "Book Barn" and met the head librarian who, after hearing what Paul is working on for his essay made several suggestions of titles and let us check out three under the name of one of the Mission Street Arts owner/directors. So only one photo from that day.
Today we drove up to the Jemez East River Slot Canyon trailhead and took a very pleasant, if not spectacular hike to the East River and East River Box. The Forest Service has been doing a great job here - the facilities at the trailhead/picnic area are in great shape, the trails have been maintained well (except for some fallen trees on the downhill section to the river), and the forest is being well managed. Even so, we saw too many dead snags indicating some problems with the health of the forest due to drought and/or disease. We enjoyed a light lunch near the river and Paul recorded the sound of bees in the blooming pussy willows.
Because our last hike provided few birding possibilities we decided to forego the extra weight of our binoculars - big mistake - several birds perched above us for long periods to allow us to gaze at them. We were hearing a woodpecker pecking away near a very large and impressive snag but couldn't see it. Jo put her ear against the snag and confirmed that this was the tree. A little while later we saw a bird fly out of a hole in the snag and then another head poked out and drew back in. For several minutes we watched this bird stick its head out and drop off some sawdust from its beak repeatedly as it was cleaning up the nest after doing some demo to expand the place.
On impulse as we were driving back we stopped at the Soda Dam, a grouping of fifteen hot springs which have formed a unique calcium carbonate and travertine formation creating a bridge over the Jemez River just outside of town. The rock formations are fascinating.
Today we drove up to the Jemez East River Slot Canyon trailhead and took a very pleasant, if not spectacular hike to the East River and East River Box. The Forest Service has been doing a great job here - the facilities at the trailhead/picnic area are in great shape, the trails have been maintained well (except for some fallen trees on the downhill section to the river), and the forest is being well managed. Even so, we saw too many dead snags indicating some problems with the health of the forest due to drought and/or disease. We enjoyed a light lunch near the river and Paul recorded the sound of bees in the blooming pussy willows.
Because our last hike provided few birding possibilities we decided to forego the extra weight of our binoculars - big mistake - several birds perched above us for long periods to allow us to gaze at them. We were hearing a woodpecker pecking away near a very large and impressive snag but couldn't see it. Jo put her ear against the snag and confirmed that this was the tree. A little while later we saw a bird fly out of a hole in the snag and then another head poked out and drew back in. For several minutes we watched this bird stick its head out and drop off some sawdust from its beak repeatedly as it was cleaning up the nest after doing some demo to expand the place.
On impulse as we were driving back we stopped at the Soda Dam, a grouping of fifteen hot springs which have formed a unique calcium carbonate and travertine formation creating a bridge over the Jemez River just outside of town. The rock formations are fascinating.