Start Of Spring Along The Rio Grande. I have been keeping an eye on the Gauging Station creekbed lately, expecting that the creek would soon begin to run. A couple of days in the 70s did the trick, and today, there it was. Gauging Station Creek comes down the canyon that you cross at the “Horseshoe Curve” on Hwy 68, a few miles south of Taos.
The Rio Grande is rising as well, with the flow today at 688 cfs.
What else? The swallows have returned, and they were catching mayflies over the river.
The earliest bloomer around here is the forsythia, photographed in Pilar.
And I saw some bighorn rams enjoying the sun and warm temperatures, across from the Vista Verde parking lot. The Vista Verde Trail is located on a bench above the river, with the trailhead located along the road that leads from Taos Junction Bridge to the rim of the gorge (Rt. 567).
