Bosque Del Apache day four, a visit to the visitors center Where visitors go for a visit.

a visitors center is a good place to be if you need information and you need it for free, but along with information comes a lot of conversation so you should be prepared to turn around and flee. Click the pics.

Danged birds got in the way of my visitor center picture.

It was getting a little dark when I headed back to my pecan grove boondocking site because I wanted to get some sunset pictures of the cranes landing on the lake, so I stayed a little later than I should have. And when I started heading back to my boondocking site, I discovered that my headlights were very dim, and I could barely see the road.

This happened to me several years ago, and I had to polish the plastic that covers the headlights because it turned yellow after a while, and I had to polish it before I could see at night again. I seldom, if ever, drive in the dark, so I didn't realize how yellow my headlights had become and how little light they were putting out until I was out on a two-lane blacktop in the dark, heading back to my boondocking spot.

The lake I was at was four or five miles from my campground, and I could only see 20 or 30 feet ahead of me with my high beams on. It was a scary drive, but luck was with me, and nothing was on the road that I could hit because I certainly couldn't see it. And the worst part was winding my way through the barely visible pecan trees to find where I had been boondocking.

So I need to get out my polishing stuff and polish the plastic covering over my headlights in case there's an emergency, and I have to drive in the dark... By the way, back in the good old days, the headlights were covered with glass, and it lasted almost forever and stayed clear.

theboondork.

Visitor center at the Bosque Del Apache.

The visitor center at the Bosque, has several buildings in the visitor complex but most of them are garages and work areas for the Park Rangers. This is the gift shop.

This is the greeter at the visitor center. I don't know if he greets everyone, but he greeted me.

Why would a visitor center plant a bunch of Cholla cactus in the yard? Cholla is the worst cactus known to man.

You do have to pay a fee to get into the Bosque, and I think it's five dollars. I don't know for sure because I have an old federal geezer pass that gets me into things like this for free.

It takes a keen eye, and a deep knowledge of bird behavior like I possess to recognize that rare bird in the distance. Most people would never realize that the Australian Big Breasted Pot-layer disguises her nest as a large pot to fool any egg robbing predators. It takes her years to build that nest, and many months to paint it with yellow corn squeezins. this nest is one of the few remaining in the country and can be seen at the visitor center.

Nobody knows if that pot disguise works because she's to tired after building that nest to lay an egg.... And that explains why this bird is so rare.