The flowering we most look forward to in this high-desert neck of the woods is the cholla cactus, with its red-violet flowers. Close to riverside is the aptly-named Showy Milkweed. It is showy and has a subtle, but fabulous, smell.

Looking down at the Racecourse section of the Rio Grande river, with a cholla cactus in full bloom

A large group of showy milkweed, along the Orilla Verde section of the Rio Grande river

Q: Why is milkweed called that?

A: If you break a stem, a milky-white fluid is exuded.

We ran our final Taos Box trip of the 2010 season on 6/23, as the water level in the Rio Grande had, by that time, dropped to 500 cfs. Below that level the Box is just too hard to negotiate. We will,of course, be offering all of our other trips for the remainder of the season, which ends on August 29. Being less steep and rocky, our other trips remain do-able at any level. With the lowered water level, the river water has warmed up (over 65 degrees), and we are bringing out our funyak fleet, which will add considerably to the excitement that can be had on the river.

Some of you know that we had a pretty good snowpack going, which normally would give us a Box season that would extend into July. What happened? We had a very windy Spring, and strong sustained winds cause the snowpack to evaporate directly off the surface. It’s called sublimation. We also had a period of early snowmelt, in April, when the river was running over 1000 cfs for quite a while. But we had very little Box (or any) business at that time. We would like to encourage you to consider doing the Box earlier in the year. Of course, it might snow on you, but so what – we give you wetsuits, after all!!!

So now, the Box returns to a quiet and remote locale, populated by the critters only. The Bighorn sheep will no longer have boats passing by to relieve the monotony of munching riverside grass all day …

Rio Grande Gorge High Bridge, which spans the Taos Box section of the Rio Grande river. And guide Neil O. Photo by Steve Miller

We have added a handsome deck to our visitor reception area and put up a new sign that makes it much easier to spot us from Hwy 68. The deck was mostly built by guide Ben Rainchild, with help from Operations Manager Britt Huggins and guide Jesse Mogler. The sign was done by Creative Edge, in Taos.

Our new deck and "Open" sign.

We've planted a grape and clematis vine that we'll train up to the trellises

Here's a view of our headquarters

Our new sign, more visible to drivers passing by on Hwy 68. We're at Mile 21.

With Neil and Mike as their guides, the Pojoaque Boys and Girls Club hit the rapids of our half day trip, the Rio Grande River Racecourse. The Club has come back for several years now, knowing a fun time will be had by all. Just click on the link seen directly below.

Sleeping Beauty June 11th

New Wave Rafting Co. enjoys an enviable riverside location. Our picnic area is shaded by colossal cottonwood trees, and bordered by willows. Songbirds serenade us from the branches above, while the mighty Rio Grande rolls on by. You couldn’t ask for a nicer spot to eat a hearty chuckwagon lunch, which included barbecued steak, baked potatoes, cole slaw, beans, biscuits, and peach cobbler. The cobbler and other items were cooked in dutch ovens, over charcoal. The lunch was catered by Hawkins Chuckwagon, of Santa Fe, and was part of an outing arranged by our partners, Santa Fe Mountain Adventures. After lunch, the 28 guests floated through the Orilla Verde Recreation Area with New Wave. The weather was perfect, of course.

Carl Hawkins converses with guests

Peach cobbler baked in a dutch oven

Carl Hawkins, biscuit in hand, and his chuckwagon lunch

The Desert Bighorn just continue to pose for me in the Taos Box and I can not resist capturing the image.

One of the alpha males.

Here’s a very short video of the High Bridge Rapid in the Taos Box section of the Rio Grande River which lies 650 feet below the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Watch closely and you can see as we pass through it’s shadow. Just click on the link and please leave a comment.

High Bridge Rapid

A New Wave rafting trip down the Taos Box not only bring lots of white water thrills but moments of superb wildlife viewing. It’s safe to say that we see Bighorn Sheep on every trip, which is an absolute treat and sometimes it’s the other wildlife that puts the icing on the cake.

Oh, ok, just one more sheep photo. It's just that the babies are so cute. This is Cloe (note the tracking collar she wears) with this years offspring.

Western Tanagers migrate through each spring and bring a "splash" of color to the Rio Grande River.

Canada Geese nest along the banks. This proud mother was seen in the Playground section, an area suitable for the chicks.

During a break below Power Line Rapid we had a brief encounter with a friendly Bull Snake.

This Black-crowned night heron was seen fishing, just above the confluence of the Rio Grande and Taos Creek.

Click on the above images to enlarge and please document your visit by leaving a comment. Thanks.

Mule Deer Doe.

This little beauty is almost a daily sight in the first mile on the right shore of the Taos Box section on the Rio Grande River. She stands perfectly still as we pass thinking we don’t se her.                                                                                                                                  Click on photo to enlarge.