Monday, April, 28 from the Pecos River to Apache Springs

Today we left Field Track Campground. Arrived at the exit at 7:30. Stopped to chat with the Hosts and take pictures. It has been a good stay and the Hosts are really good folks.

Up the Pecos river valley, at the campground, no leaves are out on trees though the cottonwoods have catkins, and the shrubs bear a few very tiny beginnings of green. As we came down the valley the leaves were coming out and some trees seemed to be in heavy bloom, possibly they were Ash Leaf Maple (we did not stop to check the identification). As we came into the small town of Pecos flowering trees were beginning to show colored blooms.

The architecture here is really attractive. No buildings over two stories high and all of mission style either real adobe covered walls or if not adobe painted the tan and rust earth tones of the landscape. The building blend into the landscape and are not eyesores like so often happens in the north country of Michigan.

As we drive south on I-25 the country is becoming more and more arid. The occasional arroyo shows a topping of black columnar basalt where the flat terrain is broken by the arroyo. The Basalt at or very near the surface could explain why the country is so desolate looking. The rocky tan soil must be very thin and supports only scattered shrubs and very thin growth of last years grass. We saw only an occasional grazing cow. In the low areas there are trees, probably Cottonwoods and Ash Leaf Maple. Here at lower altitude than the campground they are showing small spring green leaves.

We crossed the Rio Grand river so suddenly I did not get a picture. The braided river flowed through a wide shallow typical western river valley with levies along the sides far from the small stream of water that is there now. Large wide topped trees grew all along the sides of the river right out to the levies. The trees must be really old to be so large, they are really narly looking. I think the large ones are Cottonwoods.

The agricultural landscape has changed suddenly. There are huge “basins”, surrounded by low burms, with what look like little trees with collars planted in rows in the basins. These basins extended about 400 feet back from the road to the foot of the hill behind. We discovered that

they are wine grapes after passing a building with a winery's name on it. These basins must be flood irrigated as we passed one very large irrigation ditch running full with water flowing straight toward the road down from the hill behind the basins creating an impressive "waterfall". It was amazing to see so much water running openly in this arid area.

The landscape changed repeatedly today. First we left a forest of Cedar, Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine with Cottonwoods along the Pecos River. We descended to arid grasslands that were interspersed with hills covered with thin woodlands of Cedar and Pinion Pine. At times we came down hills onto flat-lands where the road went straight as an arrow and disappeared between the next hills which we would then climb. The land was empty and beautiful in its
constant changes.

VLA = Very Large Array = It was right on the way to where we were headed, a campground on he Gila National Forest. If you have see SF movies you have seen the VLA. This is not new technology but it is still providing researchers with radio photos as good as advanced optical Telescopes. We stayed long enough to take the walking tour and get up close to one of the antennae, each antenna is very large and the array extends in a Y formation that spreads across the high desert for 13 miles.

There were lots of Jackrabbits just hopping around mostly unconcerned about us.

We finally pulled into Apache Springs Campground in time for a late dinner of leftovers. The campground is very near the road but the grove of Ponderosa Pines in which it is located is spectacular. I don't think I have ever seen any larger trees, not even the huge White Pines at Hartwick Pines State Park in Michigan (the last stand of virgin White Pine timber in existence in Michigan). Ponderosa Pine are also called Western Yellow Pine, and are closely related to our Red Pine from home. These trees are capable of growing to 150 feet in height and to a huge diameter. They are growing in an almost pure stand with just a few MUCH shorter but also mature Junipers and the ground covered with long tan grass from last year. The trees are breathtakingly spectacular and grow spread out like a planned park due to the shortage of water. The arid west does not allow for the dog hair growth of trees that we see in the much wetter midwest.