Desert Oasis

Living in a remote area of the high desert, it is imperative to find a little Oasis

New Mexico. When I first told people I was moving here, the varying responses I received were either filled with shock as they forgot New Mexico was a state and thought I was moving to another country, or they still to this day think I live in Arizona. However, though there have been some interesting things I have witnessed living in the center of Navajo Nation (the largest reservation in the United States), I have found some little pieces of Heaven. My latest visit to Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge south of Albuquerque about an hour (a three hour drive from where I live), was the most refreshing visit I have experienced in a while. When I was in college, I would spend a good portion of my free time out photographing the Sandhill Cranes in Kearney, Nebraska. Listening to the gentle cooing of the thousands of Cranes was always so soothing. When I had a friend tell me that there are Sandhill Cranes in New Mexico, I was ecstatic. I made the trip through hills of sand and sagebrush and dry grasses and as I drove up to the visitors center, I already knew my day was going to be spectacular. I heard the sounds of thousands of snow geese and as I drove up to the fields, I heard that familiar sound of the Sandhill Cranes. I immediately felt at home and a calm came over me. There was water, (which is hard to come by in the Southwest), so much wildlife and an amazing sunset. I truly consider this wildlife refuge my little desert oasis.

When to see Wildlife

From November to late January you can see the Sandhill Crane Migration and Snow Geese. There were ample opportunities to photograph the cranes and snow geese. Right around dusk, I was driving and there was a field of wild hogs (Javelinas). The day I was there I saw a Roadrunner, Quail, Wild Hogs, Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes. It was a photographer’s oasis.