Raton, NM & Trinidad, CO - May 6, 2022

 For years, I've wanted to see what Las Vegas, NM is all about, but every time I try to go there, something interferes.  Once we were headed there when a snow storm occurred, prompting me to turn off and head south.  This time, I had a reservation at the state park there, but had the reservation cancelled at the last minute due to a forest fire approaching the area.  So, I drove to Raton, NM and signed up for two nights.  Having stayed in Raton some years ago, I knew there wasn't much going on there, just a state park nearby that was once a coal mining camp.  I had no desire to see the remains of the coal mines again, but I did remember there was good birding there.  The park is known as Sugarite Canyon and I did find some good birding once again, as well as a pretty lake.

Downy Woodpecker

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Juniper Titmouse

House Wren

Pine Siskin

Woodhouse's Scrub Jay

Brown-headed Cowbird

Black-headed Grosbeak

Being just a few miles south of Colorado, I took a run up to Trinidad for a brief visit to the town and to the state park located there.  Trinidad is a small town that dates back to the 1860s when it was a big coal mining operation.  The town has a history of disasters, such as mine explosions, town fires and occasional floods.  It's surprising they have any old buildings, but I found a few.  The town became famous in the 1960s as the "sex change capital of the world" because one local surgeon developed the techniques needed for the procedure, which led to a large demand for his services.  His practice was later taken over by another doctor who moved it to a more appropriate location in California.

In a former coal mining camp, there are a few foundations left, but only one standing structure, an old mission.

The state park had a nice lake and a good view of distant mountains, but I found very few birds.

Barn Swallow

Rough-winged Swallow

The nearby community of Cokedale was another coal mining town way back, but was better known for producing coke foe fuel back East.  There are the remains of 350 coke kilns as a reminder of the past.

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