ABQ: Cranes

ALBUQUERQUE

Cranes


Brochure about Sandhill Cranes in New Mexico.

Sandhill Cranes migrate to New Mexico for the winter, stretching from Albuquerque south to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

About the Refuge:

The Refuge is 57,331 acres located along the Rio Grande, and is located at the northern edge of the Chihuahuan desert, and straddles the Rio Grande. The heart of the Refuge is about 12,900 acres of moist bottomlands--3,800 acres are active floodplain of the Rio Grande and 9,100 acres are areas where water is diverted to create extensive wetlands, farmlands, and riparian forests. The rest of Bosque del Apache NWR is made up of arid foothills and mesas, which rise to the Chupadera Mountains on the west and the San Pascual Mountains on the east. Most of these desert lands are preserved as wilderness areas.




The Refuge is an important wintering home for Sandhill Cranes, and will host as many as 14,000 during the winter months. Cranes will begin arriving in November, and will leave as late as the end of February, heading for Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge and Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge for a month or two before migrating onwards to Greys' Lake, Idaho, their breeding grounds.


The Bosque provides a critical Refuge for Sandhill Cranes and other migratory birds, providing food, protection and shelter. The Bosque is a critical habitat for a large number of resident birds and wildlife as well.

The Bosque is also home to over 32,000 Snow Geese and Ross Geese, dozens of Bald Eagles and Goldens, Great Blue Herons, Occasional Pelicans, Avocets, and many, many other birds. This beautiful Refuge is also home to small herds of Mule Deer and families of Coyotes. Seeing the sunset "Fly In" and the dawn "Fly Out" is an experience you will never forget! If you are lucky you can also see what we call "Puffs" of Snow Geese, thousands rising into the air, sometimes within 10- 20 feet of you. The sound of wings and the sound of geese talking is a fantastic, primordial experience, guaranteed to "wow" you out of your worries and "wow" you out of your own body, and guaranteed to lift your soul to join them.

ABQ: Halloween

ALBUQUERQUE

Halloween on Forrester in Downtown.

View the photo journal.



Where there is no imagination there is no horror.  ~Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.

ABQ: Autumn

ALBUQUERQUE

Autumn in the Bosque, Downtown Albuquerque


Changing Seasons:

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” 

― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld, #32)

Secret ABQ: Halloween on Forrester

SECRET ALBUQUERQUE

Halloween on Forrester in Downtown

View the photo journal of Halloween.


While most people around Albuquerque know about trick-or-treating at the stores in Old Town or by cruising the Country Club (Huning Castle) neighborhood, one of the best spots is on Forrester just north of Lomas in Downtown.

All of the neighbors pitch in together to make the entire street a fantasy of lights and bonfires. Not only do they hand out candy, but also books and toiletries like toothbrushes to area children that might otherwise do without. The street fills with music, spooky sounds and laughter.

ABQ: Dia del Dulce

ALBUQUERQUE

Dia del Dulce, Day of Candy, in Old Town

View the photo journal of last year's Fall Festival celebrating Halloween in Old Town.

Dia del Dulce (Halloween)

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Dress up in costume and bring the family down to Old Town!

4:00pm to 7:00pm:  Trick or Treating from Old Town Merchants

5:00pm:  Pet Parade & Animal Costume Contest around Old Town Plaza & Gazebo

6:00pm Halloween Performance at Gazebo (By Interplay School of Music & Art)

7:00pm:  People Costume Contest in Plaza Don Luis (Sponsored by Aceves Old Town Basket & Rug Shop)

ABQ: Restoration @ Route 66

ALBUQUERQUE

Middle Rio Grande Restoration Project

Study for Ecosystem Revitalization at Route 66

Crew are working on adding recreational facilities to the Tingley Ponds area of the Bosque Restoration Project along the Rio Grande. The changes include two new pedestrian bridges and two overlooks on the ponds along the paths just south of Central Ave. (Route 66) in Downtown Albuquerque.



Info about the project:

The Bosque Ecosystem Restoration Project at Route 66 is a project for the environmental revitalization of our Bosque. This area is bounded on the north by the north side of the I-40 Bridge Crossing of the Rio Grande, and at the south end at the south side of the Bridge Street Crossing.
 


Project features are being constructed just north of Central on both sides of the river and between Central and Bridge on the west side of the river. Project construction includes removal of jetty jacks and non-native vegetation across 121 acres of bosque. Non-native vegetation has been removed including salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima), Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) and Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila). The project also includes recreating 3 high-flow channels, and enhancing one outfall wetland at the Gonzales Drain. Additional restoration features include planting of native vegetation throughout the project area (121 acres) and creation of a number of willow swales. Improvements of existing facilities for educational, interpretive and low-impact recreational uses have also been incorporated into the Route 66 Project. 

ABQ: CC Halloween

ALBUQUERQUE

Halloween in Huning Castle, aka the Country Club Neighborhood

View the photo journal of the neighborhood decorating for Halloween.



About.com has a list of Halloween events around Albuquerque.


The Huning Castle neighborhood attracts trick-or-treaters from around the city. Neighbors decorate their houses and hand out tons of candy.

ABQ: Autumn

ALBUQUERQUE

Autumn in the Bosque


“October is a fine and dangerous season in America . . . a wonderful time to begin anything at all.”        
Thomas Merton   Source: recalled on his death, Dec. 10, 1968

ABQ: Day of the Dead

ALBUQUERQUE

Day of the Dead

 

Wikipedia:

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed. The celebration takes place on November 1, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.

 

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to anAztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world: In Brazil, Dia de Finadosis a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.

In Albuquerque, Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos)celebrations take place over several weeks in October and November, although the holiday is traditionally celebrated between October 31st and November 2nd.

See the Albuquerque calendar of events at About.com.

ABQ: Bosque Wetlands, Fall

ALBUQUERQUE

Bosque Wetlands Restoration Project

Fall 2006

View the photo journal.


The photo was taken in 2006 of the Bosque wetlands in Downtown Albuquerque. This is early in the restoration project, as not much vegetation has grown up yet around the ponds. It was still easy to walk around the perimeter of the ponds on paths.

Now the south end of the ponds has returned to marsh. I suspect it's an excellent spot for watching birds. The cranes will likely come in November. Black boxes are attached on the telephone poles in the pictures at the photo journal. They are "bat houses," like bird houses, but with slats instead of round holes.

ABQ: Postcard Copper Ave Homes

ALBUQUERQUE

Postcard: Copper Avenue Homes 1940


This postcard is Copper Avenue in Downtown Albuquerque. The house in the foreground is now used by MRCOG, the Mid-Region Council of Governments.

I can't read the postcard clearly, but it may say that the homes were located in the Roundhouse District. I have never heard this reference to a Downtown Albuquerque neighborhood. Usually when people talk about the Roundhouse, they are referring to state government in Santa Fe.

The Wheels Museum has records about the Albuquerque Roundhouse that was used to service trains at the Rail Yards in Barelas.


AT&SF Albuquerque, NM Roundhouse

According to the Wheels Museum:

"The 32-stall Albuquerque roundhouse was built in 1914-15. It included four "long" stalls on the east side that could accommodate Mallets and other large engines. The turntable was an 85-foot through plate girder table that was extended to 120 feet.

MRCOG:

The Mid-Region Council of Governments is a multi-county governmental agency that is helping our region plan responsibly for the future, in light of anticipated growth in New Mexico's mid-region.  Representing the counties of Bernalillo, Valencia, Torrance, and Sandoval, we provide planning services in the areas of transportation, agriculture, workforce development, employment growth, land-use, water, and economic development. We also manage the popular commuter rail service: the New Mexico Rail Runner Express. Our regional water planning effort addresses a fundamental concern of local governments: how will we meet future water needs? Likewise, the Agriculture Collaborative focuses on another scarce resource: local farmland, which as a result of urban encroachment, is dwindling.

ABQ: Fall in Bosque

ALBUQUERQUE

Fall in the Bosque

View the photo journal.


Photo of the Bosque Wetlands Restoration Project.


October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again. 
Hal Borland 

ABQ: Conservatories

ALBUQUERQUE

Conservatories

View the photo journal of conservatories in Albuquerque, the Bonsai Museum at the Steinhardt Conservatory in Brooklyn, and the orchids at the Lincoln Park Conservatory in Chicago.


The ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden, located in Greater Downtown on Central Ave. (Route 66) and the Rio Grande, features one and half miles of paths through a variety of gardens on 36 acres and two conservatories.


Mediterranean Conservatory

The Mediterranean Conservatory shows off a variety of plants native to coastal areas with hot dry summers and mild rainy winters, such as the Mediterranean Sea coast, the California coast, southwestern Australia, South Africa and coastal Chile.

This conservatory is also the locale for several flower shows, including Bulbs in Bloom and the Orchid Show.

Desert Conservatory

Its hot, dry climate supports a collection of plant life from deserts of the American Southwest.

Saguaro cactus and palo verde trees from the Sonoran Desert, creosote and yucca from the Chihuahuan Desert and elephant trees from Baja are just some of the incredible xeric-adapted plants on display.

ABQ: 2nd Tallest Building

ALBUQUERQUE

Hyatt Regency

View the drawings.


The second tallest building in New Mexico, and the tallest hotel, is the Downtown Hyatt Regency.


Wikipedia:

The Albuquerque Plaza complex was designed by Hellmuth, Obata, & Kassabaum and built in 1990.

The hotel offers a Southwestern decor with a mountain or city view. Amenities include a heated rooftop pool, hot tubs, 24-hour attended gym. The 24,000 sq ft (2,200 m²) conference center contains four ballrooms, three boardrooms and 22 meeting rooms.


Emporis:

Technical Data

Height (tip)

256.00 ft

Height (architectural)

256.00 ft

Height (roof)

256.00 ft

Floors (above ground)

21

Construction end

1990

SECRET ABQ: Courtyard

SECRET ALBUQUERQUE

Courtyard

Courtyard tucked away in Downtown Albuquerque. The back portion of the building looks older, with a newer addition in front by the street.

This courtyard is open to the public--if you know where to look.

ROUTE 66: Former Hotel Franciscan

ROUTE 66

Former Hotel Franciscan

Pictured is the Hotel Franciscan on Route 66 (Central Ave.) in Downtown Albuquerque. Beside it, on the left side of the picture with white columns, was the Masonic Temple. Both were torn down and the empty land continues to be used for parking lots.


1941 postcard of the hotel said:

This structure, typical of the architecture brought to the Southwest by the early settlers, is regarded as the most unusual building of its type anywhere in the world. It was built by the Community Spirit of Albuquerque. The Hotel contains 175 guest rooms. In lobby, magnificently decorated, is the most artistic interior in this section of the country. The Hotel is especially adapted to the entertainment of Clubs, Conventions and large social gatherings. Every attention is paid to the comfort of cross country tourists, whose prolonged stay is desirable to all Albuquerque.


Wikipedia about Pueblo Revival:

The Pueblo Revival style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States which draws its inspiration from thePueblos and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. The style developed at the turn of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, though it is still commonly used for new buildings. Pueblo style architecture is most prevalent in the state of New Mexico.

Pueblo style architecture seeks to imitate the appearance of traditional adobe construction, though more modern materials such asbrick or concrete are often substituted. If adobe is not used, rounded corners, irregular parapets, and thick, battered walls are used to simulate it. Walls are usually stuccoed and painted in earth tones. Multistory buildings usually employ stepped massing similar to that seen at Taos Pueblo. Roofs are always flat. A common feature is the use of projecting wooden roof beams (vigas), which often serve no structural purpose.


Emporis:

Technical Data

Height (architectural)

96.00 ft

Height (roof)

96.00 ft

Height (main roof)

82.00 ft

Floors (above ground)

7

Construction end

1923

Demolition end

1972

Elevators

2

Involved Companies

Architect:

• Trost & Trost