Devil's Backbone with friends

Devil's Backbone is this really great hogback ridge near Loveland, CO.  There's a nice down and back trail that runs the length of the ridge and this is also the area that Em and I did some volunteer rattlesnake research this fall.  So when our dear friends Kristy and Ashley came to town, we couldn't think of a better place close by to go for a stroll.

We loaded up the dogs and headed to Devil's Backbone.  It was a gorgeous winter day and the trail was in good condition despite the melting snow. Our friends also seemed to enjoy getting out on the hike.

The trail provided us with a great lookout spot of the sun setting over the Rocky mountains. We watched the last sun drop over the mountain horizon and then we headed back to town.  Our final stop was the Big Beaver Brewery and Blown Spoke Cidery for some tasty spirits.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful visit from our friends.

Puerto Rican Food and Beverage Tour

Many vacations center around the destinations: the beach, the rainforest, the birding spots, but one of my favorite parts of traveling to a new place is trying the new foods and drinks.  We sampled all that Puerto Rico had to offer and we came away with a lot of winners and only a handful of items that we didn't like very much.  I'll outline a few of the highlights below:  

The beer in Puerto Rico was always cold and delicous.  Now I can't say that it was some special microbrew or anything exotic but it always did the trick and satisfied a thirsty traveler.  In our hotel we had little micro cans of Coors, the national drink of the Puerto Rican olympic partner but mostly we drank Medalla while we were out.  Medalla is a good beer if you're looking for something simple and cold, this is like the light lagers of most Caribbean islands.  

The food was hearty and delicious.  I was always happy with the rice and meats but the beans were where the magic was at.  Those slow cooked beans that seemed like they had simmered for days were the best part of each meal.

The Mayo Ketchup condiment was found at every table.  Strangely I do not like mayo or ketchup but when combined it was like heaven on every meal.  I don't know what happened to me and once I found out that this delicious condiment was a combination of two things I disliked I was mortified.  Plus, who wants to admit that they put this on every meal.  Emily and I ate this condiment readily until one day we were at the grocery store and learned the truth about the pinkish sauce.  Oh Mayo Ketchup, it was nice knowing you but we can't be friends anymore, even if you do add garlic and make things taste better.

One of the biggest highlights of the trip was the drink you see below, yes that's a Painkiller and while on Vieques Emily and I consumed our fill of them.  Do you see that brown grated material on top, that's nutmeg and let me tell you, it's soooo delicious.  I could drink these every day of my life. 

Yuca chips and beer, I think this was our lunch one day on the beach.  It was better than you can imagine.  I've had chips like this before but never were they so crunchy and salty and perfect with an ice cold one.  Just seeing the photo below reminds me of blue ocean waves lapping on the shoreline and the taste of salt in my mouth.

When everything is going peachy you feel like you can try anything and it will be perfect but the Coco Rico was far from perfect, it was down right terrible and after 3 sips I sadly threw it away.  I know, a perfect waste of money but you couldn't pay me to drink this super sweet concoction.  Luckily, this was one of the few misses of the trip.

On our last day in San Juan I may have taken a few years off of my life by consuming the super-meaty tripleta sandwich.  It was divine and horrible all at once.  With each bite I thought my arteries were clogging but oh, I loved the triple meat sandwich with crunchy little shoestring chips ON the sandwich.  Yes, it was an extravagance but worth every morsel.  

Bosque del Apache

Chili Ristras are a dominant decorative theme in New Mexico. The above chili ristra at Megan and Uly's house was the first thing to greet me on my night arrival into the state. The first day's adventure will have to be posted later due to a little mix up with Andy and the photos. So we will start out the story on Day 2 in New Mexico. For those keeping score I saw 9 lifers on my first day including all three Rosy Finches...but like said before Day One will come later. For now we are starting with Day 2 in the Land of Enchantment.



Day 2 came just the same as the day before with White-winged Doves, Eurasian-collared Doves, and American Robins flying about the neighborhood. A Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon race) was on the fence before we said goodbye to Megan and started our journey south. Our goal for the day was to make it to Bosque del Apache NWR. Along the way we made a few stops like the one above. Just before entering that field by the Rio Grande Andy and I had my first and only look at a Ferruginous Hawk. At some Water Management Areas we were graced with fierce winds and lifer looks at Greater Roadrunner and Horned Lark. The day was shaping up nicely and despite the cold air and wind the skies were bright blue.

Rio Grande in New Mexico somewhere between Albuquerque and Socorro.
We left the water management areas and made our way to the infamous Bosque del Apache NWR. At the visitor center we learned that the Flight Deck was no longer functioning as the area that the Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes were settling. So reluctantly we circled back to the entrance ponds but just as we approached via our car a Red-tailed Hawk swooped down and took out a goose. Chaos ensured and the ponds were cleared of hundreds of Snow and Ross's Geese. We followed the geese to some nearby fields but they were too far away to see from the road so we retreated back up the road to The Owl Bar.

After having a beer we decided to give it one more go on the geese. Our target was to find some Ross's Geese in the pack of Snow Geese. After parking in the local RV park we found that the flock had moved closer to the highway so we trekked over the train tracks and spotted our birds. Surprisingly we found lots of Ross's Geese in the pack. It was a great relief to see them so easily. And to top it all off we also found my lifer Yellow-headed Blackbirds mixed in with some Red-winged Blackbirds at the RV grounds.

Snow and Ross's Geese near Bosque del Apache.

We celebrated the day and our lifers at the Socorro Springs Brewery where Andy and I had some good local beers and some delicious sandwiches. After our rewarding dinner we headed to the local store to stock up on supplies before returning to our Couchsurfing pad. I was in love with the chili section. I was beginning to really enjoy this New Mexico chili celebration!

Day 3 in New Mexico was the earliest one of the trip. We woke up by 5:30 for the morning flight at Bosque del Apache. It wasn't as grand as years past (so they say, I've never seen it) but it was still pretty nice to watch. And it was totally worth it an hour later when Andy and I spotted our lifer Aplomado Falcon perched in a tree. It quickly took off but we both had nice looks.

The temperature was still cold but the winds from the day before had subsided so Andy and I took a nice stroll on the Canyon Trail. This loop was fun to hike but we didn't see many birds. At the very beginning we had my lifer Sage Sparrow but other than that we didn't see anything else except for one lone Say's Phoebe.

At this point in the trip I already had 20 lifers and a few more on the way in the days ahead. We said our goodbyes to the refuge and took the interstate south for a night in Las Cruces. But the day wasn't over and we had a few state parks to visit before nightfall. Check back tomorrow to find out what awaited me down the road.