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Hi Clairz. Those all sound like great outings and we will definitely have to make to drive over to Portales one morning for breakfast! What kinds of wildlife do you see at the Muleshoe National Wildlife refuge? What is the zoo in Clovis like?
Hi Clairz. Those all sound like great outings and we will definitely have to make to drive over to Portales one morning for breakfast! What kinds of wildlife do you see at the Muleshoe National Wildlife refuge? What is the zoo in Clovis like?
I write a blog that is often about our travels here in New Mexico. Check my Public Profile for the address. This is from the Muleshoe NWR post:
Sandhill cranes winter over at the Muleshoe refuge and at Grulla [wildlife refuge nearby on the NM side of the Texas/NM border] as well. They start arriving in late September, with their populations peaking between December and February. According to the Muleshoe Brochure, an all time record of 250,000 cranes was witnessed in February 1982. The cranes “roost on the refuge lakes at night…at sunrise they fly to surrounding agricultural land where they search harvested fields for waste grain and invertebrates and graze in the grasslands and wheat fields.” (Brochure, p.5)
There are an amazing 320 species on the Muleshoe refuge bird list, ranging from raptors such as the bald and the golden eagle, to shorebirds like the snow goose and wood duck, to songbirds like the horned lark and the prairie warbler. Mammals include prairie dogs, coyotes, bobcats, badgers, skunks, rabbits, and porcupines. Prairie rattlesnakes are common throughout the area.
We only saw one other person during our visit to the Muleshoe refuge. She was watching the ducks at Paul’s Lake, so we just drove on over to White Lake so that we could have our very own lake to ourselves. We watched flocks of sandhills coming in for landings and joining the hundreds of birds already in the water. The sky was huge as it always is here, the sun shone on the lake below the mesa, and there was an incredibly peaceful feeling about the place. The night sky must be wonderful as there are no nearby light sources to interfere with stargazing. We want to go back and camp there and watch the stars. I suppose it will be just the two of us, the sandhill cranes, the stars, and the prairie rattlesnakes.
Believe it or not, we haven't been to the zoo yet. I guess we are saving it for the perfect day, but I also suspect my ambivalence about caged animals might have something to do with not having been there yet. I'll be happy to take lots of photos and report back on the blog as soon as we go there. It's certainly a popular place with families with children!
jrskarpe- El Rancho is a must,the best breakfast buffet I've ever had and the chile is good.
Amarillo(population 185,000)-To me its the cleaner city of the two and I like it better than Lubbock,they have the West Gate Mall its a good size and shopping centers around the city.Minor league baseball,hockey and arena football with a concert here and there.Lots more to do like museums and stuff like that.Amarillo has a zoo,water park,and a small amusment park.
Lubbock(population 212,000)-its the more lively of the two with Texas Tech University,so more nightlife,concerts and Texas Tech sports,they have a few minor league teams as well,no zoo,water park and small amusement park.South Plains Mall and other shopping centers throughout the city.
both cities are similar and about 1 1/2 hours away, they both have that true Western style Texas feel to them.
Day trips-
Ruidoso about 2 hours,nice small town in the forest with casinos,horse racing and resorts,I think you would like this place,its a tottaly different place than Clovis.
Alamogordo-maybe about 2 1/2 to 3 hours away with White Sands National Monument.
Carlsbad-over 3 hours with Carlsbad Caverns
Albuquerque-3 1/2 hours,you can find most anything here
If you like Target which I prefer over Wal-Mart the closest one is in Roswell about an hour away and the closest Starbucks too if you need that coffee fix.
Where are you moving from,just curious if ya dont mind me askin?
Thank you so much for the information Clairz and Desert Sun, it sounds like there are many things to do if you are willing to drive a few hours. Muleshoe sounds lovely Clairz. We will be moving to Clovis from rural Arkansas. We are accustomed to driving an hour-and-a-half to Little Rock to do most of our shopping, so longer trips to get to Lubbock and Amarillo will not be unusual to us. It really would be nice if Clovis got a Target though!
Dakota's Steakhouse is fantastic! Voted BEST STEAKS in 2007, 2008, 2009 & BEST OVERALL Restaurant in 2009. Known for their Certified Angus Beef Steaks and must order their Firebirds Appetizer. OUTSTANDING. Iced Tea is always free with any meal, so saves you a few bucks which is always a good thing.
Dakota's Steakhouse is fantastic! Voted BEST STEAKS in 2007, 2008, 2009 & BEST OVERALL Restaurant in 2009. Known for their Certified Angus Beef Steaks and must order their Firebirds Appetizer. OUTSTANDING. Iced Tea is always free with any meal, so saves you a few bucks which is always a good thing.
For all you Clovis newcomers--and there are a lot of you!--be sure to see our discussion of Dakota's over on the Best Green Chile Cheeseburger thread.
Really nice staff there, too.
~clairz
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Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge
