Jan. 19th to the 23rd

Jan. 19th. [Whoops not September] We left Sanderson in the middle of the morning rush hour and headed out to Fort Davis / Indian Lodge State park.


Rush hour in Sanderson >>>>




Indian Lodge is a magic place with total peace and it's resident herd of tame mule deer.












The birding was also pretty good. I saw an Acorn Woodpecker. These guys nest and live in a commune and keep their winter stash of acorns in a nearby tree or in this case electric pole.

We also visited a local rattlesnake zoo. We had not realised that there are so many varities or that they can grow to 9 feet! It was all a bit creepy as everything was a bit ramshackle and there are a few stuffed ones lying around under the cages to give the visitors something to worry about, dead or merely sleeping?

Carol’s bit,

Went through El Paso today, well named, best thing to do. The place is a concrete mess. Just outside are the museums for the Boarder control, lot of info on K9 units and a museum of archaeology very interesting.
As we pulled in I could see a lady with a large “dog” walking through the garden.
Grabbed my camera and rushed over to see. The dog turned out to be a Malamute /wolf hybrid. Must have weighed about 10st plus and as soon as I started to talk to him, he leaned on me and squirmed. Good job I’m used to being shoved around by German shepherds that was some weight.
His name is Shadow and he is 7 years old . His mum Nancy had had him since he was 7 weeks old. Along with 4 other dogs, two of them pit bulls, she has her hands full. Apparently last year El Paso and other areas of Texas decided that it was illegal to keep wolf hybrids, so these dogs have suddenly become Malamute (husky) german Shepherds. Vets and park rangers won’t admit that anyones hybrid is wolf, so I hope that there aren’t any more dumped anywhere these animals are magnificent, he must be about 3ft plus at the shoulder. Nancy mentioned a wolf refuge near San Diego, so as we are heading that way so that’s on the list.
There are a lot of strays here, they just lay by the roadside or hang around where there are people and beg to survive. I’ve got a box of dog treats to hand out, I didn’t expect to see this is America. Good job I’ve got Charro or we would end up as a refuge for abandoned dogs (and cats) probably the odd parrot as well.