New Wave owners Kathy and Steve Miller are hard at work teaching skiing at Taos Ski Valley. While much of the country is (at this writing) devoid of snow, we have excellent conditions at Taos SV. We had a busy Holiday season, as skiers came from areas lacking in snow. Just prior to the onset of the busy season, Kathy and Steve vacationed in Hawaii with their children and grandchildren. Meanwhile, Operations Manager Britt Huggins, in the company of guide and girlfriend CJ Robison, rode on his BMW motorcycle all the way to Panama, where they will spend the rest of the winter. Britt will look for work there as a scuba instructor.Guide Ben Rainchild and his girl friend (and guide-hopeful) Heather Mc Reynolds are spending the winter at NWRCo. headquarters in their motor home. They are working as ski instructors at the nearby Sipapu Ski Area.Also spending the winter here, in his travel trailer, is guide Ron Whitney and his pooch Penny. Our friends, the wintering bald eagles, arrived with the first cold weather in Dec.We see them daily on our commute to work or on the property.As the winter continues, we hope that you will join us to “Think Snow”.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now in the process of making substantial improvements to the River Access point (beach) that both serves as the take-out for the Taos Box run and the put-in for the Rio Grande Gorge run, on the Rio Grande river. The installation of a concrete ramp and increased room for maneuvering vehicles will make for much a much more efficient process, and will reduce conflict with other users. Permanent toilets, changing facilities and picnic tables will also be provided.

Thanks to all of you who rafted with us this year. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to pursue this wonderful profession. We are, truly, very grateful for that. Our raison d’etre (reason for being) remains sharing the Great Outdoors with you. That will never change, but,

in the meantime, please do everything you can to help protect our natural places, which are under constant assault.
Throughout the off-season we’ll no doubt be posting things here from time to time. Probably news and photos from our Fall vacations and winter employment. If you haven’t already, take a look at the various videos produced this summer by our talented videographer (and Operations Manager) Britt Huggins (aka Britt Runyon). They’re found right here, on this Blog.
Think snow, and we look forward to seeing you in 2012.

One certain sign of Spring is the blooming of the Claret Cup cactus. Here’s a beautiful specimen I photographed while out fishing the other day. A coordinated Spring event is the arrival of the Audubons Warblers, which are now all over the place. These cacti are seen along all the stretches of the Rio Grande that we travel for our whitewater and float trips

Along the Orilla Verde Recreation Section of the Rio Grande River, I have had many opportunities to photograph the wintering Bald Eagles. These images are of two such eagles. One is a mature eagle of at least 4 years of age. The other is a 2 year old, it shows the distinct markings of what is called White Belly II phase.

(click on the image to enlarge)

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.

Q: Why is milkweed called that?

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

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.

Flocks of songbirds are migrating up the Rio Grande corridor in numbers we’ve never seen before. We have yellow warblers, yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) warblers and Western Tanagers around right now. It’s a birders’ delight!

March 16, 2010, CJ and I were hiking along the river, south of the Taos Junction Bridge, when we came first upon some medium size paw prints in the snow. They looked fresh. It took only another 15 minutes of hiking before we found out who made the tracks.

Couple of more photos from the hike. The first is an inscription or graffiti or what some call, a modern day petroglyph. Now the second photo brings with it controversy. There are those who say “nope, modern graffiti” and there are those who say “yep,  Rio Grande Style – 1300 to 1650 AD”. What do you think?

One barely has to get out of the car in order to observe the wildlife along the Rio Grande. I’ll start with the most exciting creature to come to this area in years, the River Otter. Several, I think 9, were introduced to the Rio Grande in the winter of ’08 and we have wondered how and if they were thriving? Now I know for a fact, three are.

A few more photographs from the day.

These photographs and more at “www.flickr.com/photos/jorunny/