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| Hiking | 2.30 Miles |
440 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.30 Miles | | | |
| 440 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | When I was at the Frijole Ranch I mentioned to the rangers that I was going to head up to Smith Spring for the fall colors. One of them who had just been up there told me to be on the lookout for some sheep that were by the spring. About that time a call came in on the radio from park security asking about the sheep sighting and that they were coming over to check it out. Not knowing what they were talking about I joked, "What, are they going to give the sheep a ticket for trespassing?"  With that, I was on my way looking for sheep and color. First stop along the way was Manzanita Spring and pond, then it was a gradual climb to the pocket of colorful trees at Smith Spring. Didn't see any sheep, but took a nice break at the spring area under the canopy of beautiful trees. After taking a bunch of pictures, I finished off the last of a Subway sandwich, washing it down with a Shiner Bock Octoberfest beer. 
Just as I was finishing the beer, a female voice behind me said, "How are you doing; enjoying that beer?" I turned around and it was the park security ranger who had come up to look for the sheep. She informed me that it was not illegal to be consuming that beverage there, but it does cause dehydration and could increase the chance I might fall on the trail. I chuckled to myself at that and told her I understood (obviously she didn't know she was dealing with a professional when it came to such things ). That's when I spotted the rifle over her shoulder.  I mentioned the bit about giving the sheep a ticket and then found out what was going on. She informed me that these were invasive Barbary Sheep (Aoudad) that were introduced years ago, and could not co-exist with Bighorn Sheep. The park would like to reintroduce the Bighorn someday, but that wouldn't be attempted until the Barbary were extirpated from the area.
With that fun out of the way, I headed back to the truck to bid this fine National Park goodbye and start my long 420 mile drive back to Tucson. A stop at Andele Dog House in Mesilla for dinner was the perfect break on the trip home!  |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
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Smith Spring |
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| | | nice flow into the pools below the spring | | _____________________
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Route Editor
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