More than a year ago, we visited the Rio Grande
Nature Center State Park.
Today seemed like a good day to return.
Amaya was happy to get out and go for her
own adventure outing!
With fall starting at the end of the week,
we looked to see if any trees were turning fall colors yet.
A smaller tree was by the wall along the pond.
It was most noticeably turning fall colors.
This nature center protects the animals that live here
with walls open for viewing.
Through the windows, we saw the pond and the mountain!
There were some larger trees along the path
that were also starting to fade to yellow in some
areas of the tree.
We walked down the path to the visitor center.
The entrance to the visitor center is down a tube!
The visitor center has displays, information,
and windows to see the viewing pond.
Amaya most enjoyed the children's educational room.
There were tree blocks to build!
We viewed the pond from a window inside.
The turtles were nearby on branches.
Ducks swam in the pond.
We then went and viewed the pond through wall
windows outside of the building.
Hummingbirds came to the feeder.
The pond is a beautiful view in the area!
We walked away from the outside wall
to go for a short hike.
Amaya asked to see the Rio Grande.
We crossed the bridge over the arroyo.
The first thing that we noticed were the jetty jacks!
The jetty jacks were installed along the Rio Grande
for several reasons. My understanding is that they were
installed to prevent floods, prevent the "scouring"
of levees or banks, and allow the retention of sediment
and flood debris.
Many jetty jacks are still present. I don't know how
many are used for their original purpose, but they
certainly are of historical interest to view.
Amaya found some wire that she could sit on!
I enjoyed the black and white editing of the jetty jacks!
Do you see history? Do you the angles?
We continued walking down the trail.
One beautiful aspect of walking down the trail
is that their are many yellow flowers for the end of summer.
Amaya posed on a log on the ground.
We headed toward the Rio Grande.
Yes, the river!
The Rio Grande was lined with plants that have grown
during the summer, making it more difficult to view.
The Rio Grande is a river that carries the spring snow
melt down from the mountains up north. By this time of year,
it is not as high and muddy land is visible in the river.
Amaya found it to be very interesting that a man
carried his young son to one of the muddy land locations.
They looked like they had fun exploring!
Well...the last time I was here, I got lost on the looping
trail around, so we went back on the shorter trail.
We arrived at the arroyo and the bridge we had crossed.
It was a fun Sunday adventure!
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