Honk honk honk honk HONK HONK HONK honkhonkhonkhonkhonk.
We hear the ruckus just in time to see what might be 100 geese fly over.
We’re standing on the east bank of the Rio Grande at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge.
Valle de Oro has arguably the best cottonwood fall color show in Albuquerque proper. The cottonwoods peaked at least a week ago. I thought to come here only because a trip to Jemez Springs yesterday reminded me how beautiful cottonwoods are when they turn past peak yellow to gold.
The colors at Valle de Oro today pulse instead of blaze, but they still command attention. So do the gaggles of birds.
We hear sandhill cranes’ rusty call from the other side of the river as we wander the east bank. Traffic noise rises. I guess that it’s from NM 47, the highway from Albuquerque to Isleta Pueblo and Bosque Farms.
The bosque path meets an acequia, and we can see the intersection of NM 47 and I-25. Isleta Casino rises up before us, the Manzano Mountains behind it. Between us and the highway, a field full of geese, with a good dozen more arriving every few minutes. A roadrunner darts across the acequia’s dirt track.
We turn around at the NM 47 overpass and walk back south on the acequia. Gold glints from a bosque receding to brown. Birds move over in waves.
The vibrant colors have flamed out, but fall in New Mexico still has more to give.
Hike length: 5.5 miles
Difficulty: easiest
Wildlife spotted/heard: dragonflies, crows, hawks, kestrel, sandhill cranes, geese, ducks, sparrows, downy woodpecker, great blue heron
Trail traffic: light
Woman Seeks Elevation 
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