Rio Grande Nature Center

I confess. It was my idea.

The organizer for our local BJD group asked for ideas
on where we could go in May.

I thought of the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park.

It has a picnic area where we could chat and enjoy our lunch,

a visitor center, and trails in the bosque that are short and flat;

unlike trails in the mountains.

First, we enjoyed our lunch outside.

Then, we went to the visitor center.

It has educational displays and a viewing area for a preserve.

We enjoyed seeing birds and other wildlife.

We chatted with and answered questions about our dolls

with a couple in the viewing room.

Then we found the children's room!

There were only three of us at this meet.
We each brought one doll.

Ella was the smallest companion

and the only girl among the dolls.

The preserve area was protected by walls,

but there were open places to view and photograph

the area outside.

At the beginning of the hike,

we posed for a friendly photo.

ADAD Friends

Ella reached out in friendship.

Redgrave kept his arm down.

Then, we set off on our hike.

We crossed the bridge over the arroyo.

Jetty jacks line the beginning of the trail.

An article with more information on the jetty jacks:

http://riogrande.texastribune.org/blog/2014/8/12/

We crossed another bridge with more water run-off under it.

Which trail should we take?
Should we walk around in the bosque, 

or walk toward the river?

Let's take the trail to the river!

Two of us exclaimed at once

"Dandelion!!!"

This was very large for a dandelion,

so we didn't know if it was a dandelion or something like it.
But, it was really interesting!

After a short distance on the trail,

we arrived at the Rio Grande.

We found some wood tipis set up by the river.

There were also more beautiful flowers along the trail.

But, we had also started looking for shaded areas to rest.

We were getting hot and tired!
It must have been challenging for the other two women carrying the larger dolls,

and feeling their clothes against their skin.
Even though Ella was easier to carry, I was also getting hot.

The two larger dolls were overheard in this conversation:

"I'm hot and I'm really tired!"

"Yeah, me too. Whose idea was this?"

"The little one at the end..."

"Next time, she doesn't get to decide where we go!"

"Especially if it is an outdoor hike!!!"

Hey look!

Shhh... a lizard!

The trail continued along the Rio Grande.

Where are those trees?

We need another shaded area to rest!

We stopped taking photos and focused on returning

to the visitor center and parking lot.
We finally found the jetty jacks and the bridges

at the beginning of the trail.

We stopped in the visitor center to rest.

There were cool, concrete stairs to rest on.
We all eagerly looked forward to getting home

to air conditioning and more water.

I am not sure if I have been voted off the island for this one,

but it was fun and interesting.
I enjoyed meeting with the other women in the group,

but we need to find some balance between going somewhere 

where we can take good photos and 

somewhere where we are all comfortable with our dolls

and the activity.