Mon April 1: cold temps today (high of 50 forecasted)! 2 years ago it was 90! on this day. Kind of a rainy/snowy windy day. Not great for hiking/birding but we managed to get out and see a few birds and get our steps in. One of our favorite places is closed on Tues and Wed so our only option is to go today. We went early
We tried a different place not up the canyon but oh boy the wind and rain came as we walked out to the river. back to the hotel for lunch and a break. then later in the afternoon we went back to Ramsey Canyon for an hour or so before going to Pizzeria Mimosa for a wonderful early dinner.
A little time in the hot tub when we got back to the hotel. lets hope tomorrow is better...
April 2: a bit better weather day, the day began a little colder than we like but the sun finally came out and turned into a beautiful day. We hit a few birding hot spots, some places we got lucky, others not. A brief nap then off to the West Tombstone Brewery for a delightful dinner, ribs and burger. We got there at abut 4:45, the place was packed by 5:30.
beautiful waterfall! did not expect to see one
snow up in the mountains from yesterdays weather
April 3: off to the 4 Bar Cottages in Portal AZ for 3 nights. about a 105 mile journey. Our host sent us a note that the housekeeper was having medical issues and would be late in cleaning our cabin. could we arrive after 5pm. of course we said yes.
We made a few stops at our fav places and found a new one!
We arrived in Portal at about 1pm, easy for us to kill 4 hours. Our cottage is cute! the owner is very nice and keeps the property in very good shape.
We enjoyed a nice fire and a sky full of stars! We had "dark sky" in Green Valley but nothing like here in Portal. The neighbor dogs came over for a visit and so did the local javalinas.
April 4: up and out early, 50 deg in Portal, but probably in the 20's up on the mountain! brrr... it was a bit cold walking until the sun found us.
Eric had to see how cold the water in the river is...
By 9:30 am I was able to put my shorts on! We ran into one of our birder friends at one stop. We did not find most of our target birds but did get a few new year birds. Late lunch at the cafe in Portal
then back to the cottage for a much needed nap. (15000 steps before nap). Beautiful night for a fire, no dog friends but the javalinas came by, a little closer this time. hmmm. not liking them to come so close.
April 5: it's supposed to be a very windy day. We went back to the tanks and to the south fork trail. a bit too windy for the birds to feel comfortable. We went to Cave Creek Ranch, where they have a lot of feeders and are right on the river. We spent a few hours walking around the compound and looking at the feeders. We had been there in 2015. The Elegant Trogan had been there for about 6 months but left 5 days ago! must have heard we were coming....
Suspension Bridge
After nap, we found a nice place to put our table and chairs away from the wind. The birds did come by the feeders as well as the javalinas and one bat.
Saturday April 6: time to leave Arizona. it's been fun but time to move to the east. Our destination is Alamogordo, about 240 miles away. We have a few stops planned. very very windy so our stops were not too long nor did we walk too much.
We stopped in downtown Las Cruces at the Boneyard Cantina Brewery. there was a Farmers Market that closed off the street. We looked but did not buy! Eric had the best Green Chili Burger and I had 2 carnitas tacos that were very good. got a couple of 4 packs of Green Chili blond beer to go.
Arrived at the Hampton Inn at 3:20. The wind was dying down a bit on our last stop.
We went to the 575 Brewery for a snack and beer and wonderful music! We have been here before and enjoyed the atmosphere, service, food and drink.
Nosh Board
Sunday April 7: finally the wind is dying down. We found a new park to walk around in Alamogordo, then switched into our winter gear for our ride up the mountain to Cloudcraft, 8700 ft elevation. It was sunny, cold and windy but with the right clothes it was ok.
we did make a stop at Pistachio Land! been there before, of course bought some pistachios!
A short nap before using the fitness center and pool at the hotel. Dinner at La Hacienada, not very good but the only restaurant open on Sunday night..
Monday April 8: Solar Eclipse day! we were be between Alamogordo and Tucumcari NM. our journey today is about 240 miles. We have made this same journey in 2022, it was much warmer then...
new stop for us:
We ended up in Vaughn NM for the solar eclipse. The sun was about about 80% covered. so cool to be able to see it. We tried to take pictures with our phones and camera using the glasses as a filter but no luck.
We made a few more stops before getting to our hotel in Tucumcari NM. Since we arrived at 3:00 it was time to do a load of laundry before dinner. Dinner was at Del's, we have eaten here before, my hamburger was pretty good and so was Eric's taco salad. We like to try new places but... we did that last night and it was just ok. We know Del's has good food and great service. We arrived by 5:15 at the restaurant, it was kind of crowded but by the time we left at 6:15 there were at least 20 people waiting line to be seated. It's Monday night! why are they all eating out? where are they getting the money? this is a tiny town not much bigger than Spooner.
Tues April 9: off to Liberal KS. about 200 miles, we will be in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and finally in Kansas. Liberal is home to Dorothy and Todo! We stopped a few times to walk but it sure was windy and cold... I was not dressed appropriately for the cold weather... cloudy too! We found a few new places to walk and some old ones too.
We arrived at our hotel at 3:00. Our room is right next to the pool and exercise room! We went to the grocery store to get salads for dinner. then enjoyed the pool and hot tub! We had the pool room all to ourselves! What a fun luxury after such a cold day.
Wed April 10: a full day in Liberal. Oh boy, I am not going to learn! I did not dress properly again for the cold morning. It was windy, sunny but cold.. by 10:30 the temp had increased enough that I stopped whining. We went to a new place but it was not so good in the late morning. Cimmeron Grassland.
Dinner at Brickhouse BBQ. Very good ribs and brisket. Again the place was packed when we left.
Thurs April 11: off to Hays KS, about 100 miles away. We have a bird tour tomorrow with the Kansas Audubon Society to look for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Windy and cool but I had my flannel lined jeans on today! dinner at Applebees, we were looking for something light!
Fri April12: up at 4:20 to meet the group at 5:00, we left the hotel in a van at 5:25. We had two vans, our first stop was about 1 hour away. 24 deg and little breeze but we could hear and see the Lesser Prairie Chickens from about 1/2 mile away! Life bird. Then went to look for the Greater Prairie Chicken. The sun came up, got a bit warmer and was a little closer to the birds.
Dinner at Thirsty's, good food, good service and a bit of a different place. Friday night it was crowded.
Sat April 13: final day in Hays. We began the morning at about 45 deg ended at 90! We went to the Cheyenne Bottoms, it was pretty windy but got a few birds, and not many steps. We went for a walk at a local park before dinner to get our old bones moving...
Pelicans by the hundreds!
Dinner at Gella's Diner and Lb Brewery. our food was really good! Beef short rib stroganoff and a hamburger with fries.
we took a walk around downtown and found some cute statutes and found another brewery Defiance
Wild Bill Hickok
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