61 or 91 - You Decide - Ruidoso, NM

We have a few weeks between trips and decided to get out of the Texas heat and head to the cool mountains of New Mexico. 

The nearest place to us for some cooler weather is Ruidoso.  We have stayed in Ruidoso many times.  I think the first time we took our RV was in 2005.  It was a favorite summer vacation spot for us when we worked.

It’s a long one day drive for us (about 560 miles).  So now that we have the time, we break it up into a two day drive.

We live in central Texas so it takes quite some time to get to the TX/NM border. 

This time of year there are thousands of acres of cotton. 

West Texas is pretty flat, and dry. 

We spent our first night in Brownfield.  An interesting thing about small towns in this part of Texas is that many of them provide free RV parks. The Brownfield RV park is adjacent to Coleman park which has a pretty nice disc golf course.

There seemed to be a migration of Mississippi Kites in the park. We saw a couple of dozen, including some juveniles that were hatched this year. 

Mississippi Kite - Adult

Mississippi Kite - Juvenile

The next morning, cotton fields turned into cotton fields with many oil rigs.  We finally made it out of Texas and had only a 3 hour drive to Ruidoso.  

We didn’t stop in Roswell this time but it’s a fun, quirky town to visit.

Not too far into New Mexico we started getting into the mountains.

 

When we got into Ruidoso we headed straight to the Eagle Lake Campground in the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation.  We have stayed here many times in the past, but hadn't been back in over ten years.  

Office

We stopped coming to this campground when it began having bear problems. The campground didn't use bear-proof trash cans, and the bears had figured out that this was an fine place for a meal. When we saw bears walking on the campground roads at 5:00 p.m., we decided to find another campground. After more that ten years, we decided to give it another try, and were glad to see that they are doing a better job with the trash. We did not see any bears on this trip.

The fee for camping is $45 a night, which is pretty typical for this area.  Most of the sites are not at all level but we like the campground because it’s very quiet and not particularly crowded. Most of the commercial campgrounds in this area have sites that are very close together.

 

Alto Lake is very close to the RV park.

It’s a beautiful area.  We spent a morning hiking the trails of Alto Lake and Grindstone Lake.

There are lots of wild horses in this area.

We saw several on our hikes. 

We also saw a few on our drives. 

And even this one in the campground, right behind the trailer. 

There are a couple of new disc golf courses that Mark hadn’t played before.

Even though our favorite restaurant had moved, we were able to hunt it down.  There are several good restaurants here.

This is one of the reasons we come to the mountains in the summer.  1:00 pm and only 61 degrees!

We also come here for the birds.  Especially the many hummingbirds.

We took three hummingbird feeders with us, and fed dozens of hummingbirds. We filled the feeders 3 - 4 times each day. 

We fed three different species of hummingbirds:  Broad-tailed, Rufous, and Calliope.  

The Rufous Hummingbird is named for its overall rusty red color.

The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest in North America, and the male has an interesting purple striped gorget.

By far the most common were the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. The males have a special feather in their wings that produces a distinctive trilling sound when they fly. 

We had a great week before heading back home.

We stayed at the San Angelo KOA for one night to break up the drive.  We didn’t even unhook.  We ordered some great Mexican food and had UBER Eats pick it up and deliver it to us! Another UBER first for the McClelland's!

This why we like to get out of Texas in the summer.

1:00 pm and 91 degrees.

I bought a few souvenirs for the house.

So, would you rather be at 61 degrees or 91 degrees in August?

It was a very enjoyable week.  If we had time we would have stayed longer.  But, we have another trip coming up soon.

Stay tuned!

 

Costa Rica July 2021 - Day 11 (Travel day)

July 16, 2021

(Teri) We knew today would be a long day when it started at 4 am. 

The US requires a negative covid test no earlier than 72 hours before entering the country and we had to have the test done no more than 4 hours before our flight left Costa Rica.

We left Hotel Bougainvillea at 5am for a 9:30 flight to Houston.  Our driver knew that the covid testing area was not at the airport and drove us right to the testing area.  He explained that a free shuttle would take us to the airport when we were ready. 

First thing we had to do was wash our hands.

We each filled out paperwork.  The costs of the test was $60 each which we had pre-paid.

We went right back to where the testing was done.  The woman giving the test was very nice.  We’ve been tested before but this was the first time I had had the swab up the nose.  It is not pleasant!!

We sat out in the waiting area for about 45 minutes before getting an e-mail with the results.  We could have gone ahead to the airport right after getting the test, instead of waiting, but we didn’t want to have to come back to the testing area if there were any problems.

What happens if you get a positive result?  We had to buy travel insurance (about $250) that would cover expenses such as medical coverage or extended hotel stays.

It wasn’t long before the shuttle came by and took us to the airport.

We finally got a decent meal on the plane. 

Breakfast

Our flight left San Jose on time and we arrived in Houston, retrieved our luggage and made our way through customs.  We then had to check in our luggage again before getting on our last plane to San Antonio.

We didn’t see the hotel shuttle when we landed in San Antonio so Mark ordered us an UBER.  He immediately got an e-mail saying it would be there in about 5 minutes!  We’re really starting to like UBER!

Our driver dropped us off right behind our car at the hotel at 5:30pm.  We were not able to get a room for this evening so we drove the 1 1/2 hours back home.

Final thoughts: (Teri) It was a great trip but I don’t think I would want to go back in the rainy season again.  We saw 171 bird species (a lot fewer than previous trips) with 17 life birds (birds we had never seen before).   

Final Thoughts: (Mark) 

Costa Rica Focus – Seemed to be a very good agency, and the ability to communicate with them via WhatsApp was very helpful in a few cases. Would use them again without question.

Monteverde Area – Overall was a disappointment. Obviously a very popular vacation destination with a ton of adventure type activities. The birding was slow in Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve mainly due to the density of the forest and limited sightlines. It seems to be a popular destination not only for birders but also for general tourists. Curi Cancha was better due to the variety of habitats. We are not really sure if there are a lot of other birding locations in the area, but with the exception of the Three-wattled Bellbird (which was amazing) we feel that Savegre is much better for high-elevation birds and variety of habitat.

Arenal Volcano Observatory – The observatory was great, once we got into a Smithsonian Terrace room.  The first room was small and cramped. More local visitors, families, etc. as it was summer.  Don’t buy the meal package as we didn’t eat the appetizer/main course/dessert every time.  Just pay as you go.

However, the rainy season was really rainy, and it definitely impacted our activities. The bird walk with Nestor was good.  The Caño Negro tour was much better logistically as a private tour, but our guide was not knowledgeable with regards to the birds. Also, the wet season meant the river was higher and very muddy, so not as good for shoreline birds.  Overall, we felt like we saw less than in 2017.

Laguna del Lagarto – First of all, the last 20 km of road getting in were awful and took almost an hour. We just got pounded going in, and then leaving again.  Certainly the best photo setup that we’ve ever experienced.  Not crowded at all while we were there.  This was the most basic lodge that we’ve stayed in in Costa Rica, and things were run more loosely with regard to time and schedule than other places.  Again, the rainy season had a significant impact.  And the warm/hot, very humid weather was just a constant drain on us while we were there. We slept well due to a good fan in the room, but it was super muggy the entire time. The boat trip that we took really wasn’t a good wildlife trip, but mainly a trip to the last town before Nicaragua.

Go to the warmest, muggiest place FIRST while you still have good energy!! Cooler is better at the end.

We took a power strip and it was a life-saver given the number of camera batteries, Kindles, cell phones, etc. that needed to be charged.  But a power strip with “sideways” outlets would be better as most of the chargers cover two or more outlets on a linear strip.

The special high-power USB charger with 4 ports was great as we could charge both Kindles and the phone off of it. Having two battery chargers for the Canon helped in at least one location.

Bring a washcloth?  Neither Laguna del Lagarto or Hotel Bougainvillea provided washcloths. Not sure why but maybe throw one in the luggage next time.

Who won the bet? 

Souvenirs

Hope you enjoyed our 2021 Costa Rica trip.

Costa Rica July 2021 - Day 10 (Hotel Bougainvillea)

 July 15, 2021

(Teri) We got up and packed before breakfast at 7am.  It was the typical scrambled eggs, beans and rice, and fruit.  Mark was supposed to go on a hike with Donato but that fell through so he went by himself.  It sounded like he didn’t see many birds and it was really hot.

We sat outside our room until it was time for our driver to arrive at 10:30.

The road leaving the lodge was as awful as it was three days ago.  Very slow going and even then the potholes couldn’t be avoided.  The air conditioner in the car got less and less cool as we drove the 3 1/2 hours to Hotel Bougainvillea. 

 

It was so nice to get back into air conditioning!

 

We had a very early dinner (Mark was able to get one last coconut flan), then walked around the grounds for a while.

We’ve stayed at Hotel Bougainvillea every time we’ve come to Costa Rica.

I don’t remember seeing this planting before.

Bromeliads planted in a heart design.

This is the other side of the wall: 

Butterfly

This is the only Costa Rican money we ended up with: 

1 mil Colones.  About $1.60

The white on the upper right side is clear.

We were back in the room enjoying the air conditioning by 6pm.

7/15/2021 (Mark) We slept in a bit till 6:00 as we’d pretty much seen all of the birds at the photography platform. Donato was supposed to take me out to see the Red-capped Manakins “right after breakfast”, but the staff was very slow to get moving due to a late night, and the time just slipped farther and farther back. Teri was resting her knee and I decided to walk down the road to look for birds. But the sun was out and I just got hot and sweaty. By the time Donato finally showed up I told him I was just going to relax until our driver arrived. We did add Black-crowned Tityra, Common Tody-Flycatcher  and Gartered Trogan from the porch in front of our room.

Gartered Trogan - male

Common Tody-Flycatcher

The driver showed up and we were so glad to climb into the air conditioned car, but it wasn’t to last as the A/C started having issues and was blowing only coolish air for most of the drive. The first part of the drive was brutal once again due to the road condition, but once we got back on pavement things were fine. We arrived a Hotel Bougainvillea around 2:30 and checked in. Showers and A/C felt really nice.

Next time:  Travel days have gotten even longer, final thoughts, and who won the bet (did you forget about the bet?).

Costa Rica July 2021 - Day 9

July 14, 2021

(Teri) Breakfast was at 7am this morning and consisted of an omelet, fruit, and bread.

We stayed on the photo deck until 9am.  The manager of the lodge (Adolfo) lived just a short drive from the lodge and had lots of hummingbird feeders and bananas out for the birds.  One of the outings offered was a visit to his garden.

Our ride was a 50+ year  old Land Rover owned by the Lodge.  In fact, they had two of them! 

There was no way I was going to be able to climb into the back of the Land Rover so I was the lucky one that got to sit in the front.

It was quite cramped in the back for three people and a bunch of camera equipment. 

From what I could tell, none of the gauges worked and I could see the ground from several holes in the floorboard.  But the windshield wipers worked and it got us to our destination even in the pouring rain.

When we got to Adolfo’s place it was raining and when we got settled in it started raining even harder and got quite dark. 

Adolfo took us around to another patio that was more open and had a little more light. 

Mark and Adolfo

Eventually the rain slowed down and the sky lightened up a little bit and Mark was able to get some good pictures.

I always enjoy watching (and hearing) the parrots and parakeets.  I took a bunch of pictures with my little camera as more and more Orange-chinned Parakeets showed up to eat bananas.

We don’t get to see a full bunch of bananas very often and I always forget how large a stalk is.

The one other couple at the lodge came with us and they decided to try to hand-feed the parakeets.

Normally the parakeets are not very cooperative with each other and squabble and bite.

But when they were being hand-fed, they were very quiet and calm.

The bees were a bit of a problem.  

The Orange-chinned Parakeets stayed around until we left at 12:15.

Lunch was chicken and rice, pureed black beans, salad and fruit. 

Mark signed us up for a boat trip for the afternoon and luckily, it only rained a little bit while we were out. 

At 1:30 we headed out on the San Carlos River toward Nicaragua and the last town in Costa Rica (Boca San Carlos).  It was a private tour.  The driver didn’t speak English and our guide from the lodge was a young man that served our meals.  He didn’t have binoculars and didn’t know any of the birds.  But he was very nice.

With all the rain, the river was running high which left no muddy banks for shorebirds.

This is Nicaragua: 

It looks a lot like Costa Rica, doesn’t it?

We didn’t cross into Nicaraguan waters.  We docked at Boca San Carlos and walked the one path through the town.

 

We walked down to a small restaurant and bought a couple of cokes for us and a beer for our guide. 

We didn’t get back to the lodge until 5:30. It was nice to be on the river with a cool breeze. 

After dinner (fish, veggies, and plantain), Adolfo loaded Mark and me back into the Land Rover and once again headed to Adolfo’s place.  This time to look for frogs.  Adolfo would make a frog noise and the frogs would start talking back.  It was funny listening to the talk.

We were out for an hour and saw several tree frogs.

It had been a long, hot day.

7/14/2021 (Mark) We were up really early (5:30 ish) and out on the photo platform before 6:00.  Lots of great birds, but sometimes it was all Oropendulas, or Parrots, or Curassows that ran everything else away.

At 9:00 we loaded up with another couple into an ancient old Land Rover and drove down to Adolfo’s Garden. He is the manager of Laguna del Lagarto and a super-friendly, outgoing guy. He had created quite a garden and feeding area around his house. We got there just as a storm started to roll in, and it was so dark in the shadowy garden that I was using the same settings as from the bat outing the previous evening. Once it started pouring down rain, we discovered that the cover was so leaky that we couldn’t stay dry. Fortunately, Adolfo moved us to a larger back area that was dry, and he set up some staged flowers for hummingbird photography. But it was still dark and very hit and miss on the hummers. 

White-necked Jacobin - male

White-necked Jacobin - female (foreground) and male

We were beginning to wonder if this trip was going to pan out at all, but eventually the rain stopped and the sky brightened some, and we ended up getting decent shots at some new birds including Pale-billed and Chestnut-colored Woodpeckers. We finished at about 12:30 and returned for lunch.

Pale-billed Woodpecker - female

Pale-billed Woodpecker - male

Chestnut-colored Woodpecker

We didn’t have a lot planned for Lagarto, so I signed us up for a boat trip on the Rio San Carlos and we left at 1:30. The boat driver spoke no English but did a decent job of spotting some things and getting us on them. A young man (Donato) from the lodge accompanied us to “spot” but since he had no binoculars and didn’t know the birds really wasn’t much of a help!  The land adjacent to the river was pretty cleared out for agriculture and the thin line of trees along the river didn’t really hold many birds. The river was high and muddy which probably impacted what we saw as there was no muddy bank. 

American Crocodile along Rio San Carlos

The main thrust of the trip seemed to be to get up to the Nicaraguan border and visit the last Costa Rican town, Boca San Carlos. We got off the boat and walked the main street. Very simple place with only about 40 people living there. We stopped at a local bar and had Cokes or beer, and then got back in the boat and returned. We were out a long time (till about 5:15) and didn’t see a lot, but it was a decent way to spend the afternoon.

At 7:30 Adolfo loaded us back up in the ancient Land Rover and we headed back to his gardens for frogs. The Red-eyed Tree Frogs have a very distinct call. Adolfo would call to them and several would answer. It was fun to hear. We stalked around the garden and he spotted a couple of Red-eyed Tree Frogs and a Mexican(?) Tree Frog. I got some pretty decent pictures and we headed back to the lodge after about an hour. 

Red-eyed Tree Frog

Mexican Tree Frog

Red-eyed Tree Frog

We were both soggy and hot and ready for showers after a long day!

Next time: Back to the beautiful Hotel Bougainvillea

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