I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday
November 10, 2013
Happy Veteran's Day..I am thankful for the brave Veterans and our present Military service men and women.
I am still sharing some New Mexico trip photos, I hope you are not tired of seeing them. After leaving Carlsbad we headed to our next stop on our loop around southern New Mexico. Hubby and I enjoyed a one night stay in the spa city of Truth or Consequences. There are several local hot springs and the first bath was built in the 1800's.
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Our hotel was the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa, the stay included the private hot springs soaks.
There is a story behind the name Truth or Consequences, originally called Hot Springs. The city changed its name to Truth or Consequences to the title of a 1950 radio show hosted by Ralph Edwards. Ralph announced that he would air the program from the first town that would rename itself after the show. Hot Springs won the honor. Ralph Edwards visited the town during the first weekend of May for the next fifty years. This weekend became an event with a beauty contest, parade and a stage show.
Above two of my trip lifers..the Say's Phoebe and the Black Phoebe. When planning the night stay at Truth or Consequences I noticed that there were two state parks nearby that are considered hotspots for birding. I knew both parks were a must for some birding. We stopped at Caballo State Park before checking in to the hotel and we visited the Elephant Butte State Park the next morning . It was at the Caballo State Park where I saw my first Roadrunner, another lifer for the trip. It ran into some brush on the side of the road so fast, no Roadrunner picture of my first sighting.
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Say's Phoebe lifer.
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Pictured above a Townsend's Solitaire, Junco and Chipping Sparrow, top right is the Red-naped Sapsucker..bottom left is a House Wren and bottom right my lifer the Say's Phoebe.
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The water line is just amazing to me...how low can it go?
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In the mosaic above is the Elephant Butte lake, New Mexico's largest body of water. It is amazing see the water line and just how low the water is now. It is reported to be the lowest since the 1970's. The Rio Grande River delivers water to the Elephant Butte reservoir. The water level is at 3% of the reservoir's capacity. Another one of my lifers is the top right photo of a Western Grebe.
Our one night stay in T or C rewarded me with 4 lifers. The Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, the Roadrunner and the Western Grebe.
As always, I hope you enjoy my post and thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit Mosaic Monday and more
from Our World Tuesday
Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer. I wish everyone a happy week!
November 10, 2013
Happy Veteran's Day..I am thankful for the brave Veterans and our present Military service men and women.
I am still sharing some New Mexico trip photos, I hope you are not tired of seeing them. After leaving Carlsbad we headed to our next stop on our loop around southern New Mexico. Hubby and I enjoyed a one night stay in the spa city of Truth or Consequences. There are several local hot springs and the first bath was built in the 1800's.
.jpg)
There is a story behind the name Truth or Consequences, originally called Hot Springs. The city changed its name to Truth or Consequences to the title of a 1950 radio show hosted by Ralph Edwards. Ralph announced that he would air the program from the first town that would rename itself after the show. Hot Springs won the honor. Ralph Edwards visited the town during the first weekend of May for the next fifty years. This weekend became an event with a beauty contest, parade and a stage show.
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Say's Phoebe lifer.
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The water line is just amazing to me...how low can it go?
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Our one night stay in T or C rewarded me with 4 lifers. The Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, the Roadrunner and the Western Grebe.
As always, I hope you enjoy my post and thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit Mosaic Monday and more
from Our World Tuesday
Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer. I wish everyone a happy week!
77 comments:
Nice bird shots! Congratulations on the lifers! That is some beautiful country!
I am really enjoying these photos of your New Mexico vacation. The scenery, animal and bird photos are breathtaking. We have toured Guadalupe National park on motorcycle a few years back on our Big Bend trip and have been throwing around the idea of going to southern New Mexico in March of 2014. Your photos are really inspiring us :)
PS - your date on this post shows 2913 instead of 2013 :)
Beautiful mosaics, Eileen. I never tire of seeing your travel photos. AWESOME!!!
Interesting about the name of the town, Truth or Consequences. I always wondered if it got its name from the old radio show. NEAT!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
Beautiful photos of the birds, Eileen.
Very well photographed.
Greetings Irma
hooray for seeing a roadrunner! like the phoebes and that handsome grebe.
cool history on the name!
New Mexico must be lovely.....i see it on these very good pictures....thanks for sharing Eileen.
Greetings, Joop
We could never ever get tired of these pics!! I love them all as always. Love the woodpecker pic.
Lovely photos of some beautiful country. Congratulations on your lifers!
Great capture Eileen, pleasure to walk on your blog,
Have a nice sunday!
It seems that you had a beautiful and interesting weekend !Your photos are wonderful and I see that the lake's water is down .....May be a little rain would be salutary ...
Have a nice week !
That's a great story about the town's name change and of course I love your bird photos. Pretty scenery too. Happy Sunday Eileen!
Thanks you for the explanation about Truth or Consequences Eileen. The hotel there looks a fine place to stay. The phoebes are quite lovely and even better to be two lifers! Looks very dry in that area, and is that a Western Grebe there?
Have a lovely week ahead.
Congrats on the lifers. The countryside is so unique and beautiful.
Happy travels!
Hi Eileen,
Beautiful images of the birds and lovely mosaic! That little street scene in the first mosaic is very pretty. Thanks for the history of the name; very interesting!
Have a great week!
Poppy
Eileen,
I've enjoyed visiting my old home state through your images. I didn't pay much attention to birds in my younger years and now I wish I had -- just how many of these did i see?!!!!!
The life birding experiences you had must have been amaazing, and oh my that water level really is down...LOW...kind of scarey for that area I would imagine~
I'm glad you had more lifers on this excursion. The lake looks like it might not be there in the future if the water level keeps dropping.
Judith
That is a lucky place to stay. Congratulations on ticking off 4 lifers. Enjoy your week:)
I knew things are dry out West, but it's amazing how low the lake is. You had a very successful stay in Truth or Consequences with four new lifers.
I am enjoying this vacation of yours :)
those little birds are so sweet...
Hallo Eileen!!
What an interesting post!!And so many beautiful birds!!A lovely place to stay!! Congratulations on your lifers!Have a nice week!!Hugs!!
Dimi...
It is very dry, reminds me of our Central Australia we have Lake Eyre which comes and goes when it is wet it can fill up but when it's dry all the water disappears.
Merle............
the hot springs would be quite the indulgent package Eileen; what a lovely way to end a day of sightseeing/birding. A lovely series; I enjoyed each scene and bird you shared today.
Looks like a wonderful place to vacation and love all your bird shots!
What an interesting name! I enjoy reading about your New Mexico trip and watching the pictures of the colorful birds. Looks like you had a great trip Eileen :)
Always enjoy what you have to share about your wonderful travels. Really appreciate your sharing with us.
Have a great week.
those boats look very inviting. great birdies views. ( :
So many cute birds. It is a treat to the eyes.
Such sweet little lifers! It's always so exciting adding to the list! Lovely collages.
You know- I so enjoy your beautiful and interesting posts. I always come away with new information and thankfulness for our unique and beautiful world!
Jemma
Beautiful Eileen . . . More lifers too, congratulations!
Great series of shots, Eileen!
That's amazing how low the water is! Love your birds!
I am certainly not tired of seeing your trip photos Eileen. Thanks for taking us there. Happy travels.
Beautiful photos, Eileen!
Have a nice monday! RW & SK
I definitely would like to visit all the place you saw in New Mexico, Eileen, so I have been enjoying all your posts!
I can never be tired of seeing your shots. They open a window to different world for me. :)
Lovely work again.
Another most enjoyable and interesting post. I hope some rain falls soon to provide more water in the rier, and then the dam.
I started to the day seeing your beautiful shots, Eileen! Amazing views!xo
Hello dear Eileen
I'm always glad to see your bird photos!
Both of these Phoebes are so cute - do they have a pretty singing voice!
It looks like a nice place to spend time.
Hugs
Shane
Great series, and a nice place to visit. Love your bird shots too!
Irene
Lovely photos :)
Always wonderfull fotosand article, greeting from Belgium
Have a nice new week.
Have a nice new week.
Great pictures / beautiful collages you show Eileen. Wish you a good new week :)
Thank you for the tour in and around T and C, and for the story behind the
extraordinary name of this city.
Thanks for your visit!
Awesome shots and spottings!! So many that I will probably never see. The western grebe is so regal looking...and that say's phoebe looks like our eastern, but with a burnt orange tummy. Nice job on the collages, Eileen! I think that's a great way to present them.
Beautiful photos, thanks for showing us more of your trip ..
I'm really enjoying all these photos from your trip! That water line is pretty amazing. Beautiful birds.
You know someone is a fantastic birder when they get four lifers during a one day stay!! Amazing. Beautiful pictures.
I was sick a lot as a child and used to listen to T or C on the radio when I was home in bed....I remembered about how they renamed the town when Bill and I visited it. And I remember my mother saying "That's ridiculous!" But I think she was wrong...the publicity stunt didn't seem to hurt the town at all.
The water situation is bad. I hope they get rain soon. It must be hard for the birds too. Exciting to get 4 new lifers.
Just got back from New Mexico myself. We retired and lived there 11 years before moving to Florida and I still feel that part of me is still there. The water situation is really critical, as it is in the Texas Panhandle where we stayed before driving to Albuquerque. Thanks for the nice shots and congrats on the new lifers!
Lovely bird pics! I am hoping to see some winter visitors here in India!
Love your beautiful birds, Eileen!! And such wonderful captures as always!! You do have a happy world!! Thanks for sharing!!
Can't believe there's a place called 'Truth and Consequences'. I wonder where the name originated.
Wonderful shots! Happy Veterans Day.
Beautiful as always dear Eileen.
Don't you just love birding out west? Awesome.
Beautiful place, amazing photos!
Have a happy week!
Nice pictures of these sympathetic birds!
We drove through Truth or Consequences once, but I don't remember all that beauty. Thanks for sharing.
I've never been to that part of New Mexico, but it looks very pretty. Nice shots!
Congrats on adding four to your list!! Looks like a beautiful place!!
You always have your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary and see so many wonderful sights. I lived in Northern NM in the '70s...it's very arid in that part of the state. I love to travel back there in the Fall when we can. Have a good week!
I enjoyed your post very much, Eileen. The story behind the town's name is fun! Gotta love it. Your bird photos are gorgeous.
Congrats on your lifers, Eileen! These two parks look like fun places to explore! The Western Grebe is a beauty; I would be super excited to find one of these!
Great photos. The scenery is beautiful and seeing that many new birds is very special.
beautiful shots. new mexico is a beautiful state.
Another fabulous set of shots! So beautiful.
curious name of town, I like the Grebe.
Love the phoebe shots!
shot of the day
Marvelous photos of this special area and the nature there. So lovely !
Best regards, Synnöve
Very nice Eileen, and the woodpecker I find very beautiful.
Apart plumage has he :-)
Very nice evening.
Sure is beautiful countryside! Three lifers?! Very cool!
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