New Mexico / Colorado

[jyoutz]

Believe me, we both appreciated that tip on Colorado Springs, but man, if it's worse going from Colorado Springs to Golden north vs going all the way to Denver, I would really hate to see what it's like going back and forth into Denver.

I see your point on the Albuquerque airport, but since the trip started with the Red rocks concert, made more sense for Colorado Springs, and flying out of there on a Saturday morning wasn't that bad.

I was genuinely surprised the population disparity between Albuquerque and the rest of NM's "cities".

Probably saw more hot air balloon out there then I've ever seen here (and we have a local guy who runs balloon rides in town).

Seem liked every morning someone was landing around Pagosa Springs

View attachment 3951210View attachment 3951211

This was going into the Airport at Colorado Springs early Saturday morning

In the west (excluding the coastal states), most states have one or a few metro areas, with the remainder of the state being rural or small towns. And yes hot air balloons are popular in the greater southwest region. Albuquerque hosts the world’s largest balloon festival every October for two weeks.

 

[Sigarms]

One last dumb question (I hope).

Going west from Ft Garland in Colorado from New Mexico on 160 west (going towards I-25) I believe the state was actually building some fence lines.

Building the fence line (on both sides of 160) they were building these in so many increments on the fence line. I've never seen a fence line built this way. I've got to ask what is the purpose? Almost like if you were riding a bike, you could jump the fence to the other side, but then they put those logs at the bottom of the built up dirt on the one side.

 

[lman]

In open range areas they build fences along the highway to keep stock off the road. That fence looks tall enough to keep wildlife off the road.
My brother lives near 160 between Pagosa Springs and Durango.

 

[Sigarms]

In open range areas they build fences along the highway to keep stock off the road. That fence looks tall enough to keep wildlife off the road.
My brother lives near 160 between Pagosa Springs and Durango.

But why the dirt built up on the road side and having it open at the top and the logs at the bottom of the dirt with what almost look like spikes? Never seen it done like that before. I wanted to get out of the car and look at it closer but my wife wasn't appreciative of stopping the car off the road to look at fencing LOL

You did point something out to me that I didn't realize though. We did drive to Durango on 160 from Pagosa Springs when we went to Utah. Didn't realize that was the same road. We picked up from NM.

When we left Chimney Rock one day, we went down 151 to the Navajo State park, and came across this guy. Went up to Durango and then backtracked to Pagosa Springs.

 

[jyoutz]

One last dumb question (I hope).

Going west from Ft Garland in Colorado from New Mexico on 160 west (going towards I-25) I believe the state was actually building some fence lines.

Building the fence line (on both sides of 160) they were building these in so many increments on the fence line. I've never seen a fence line built this way. I've got to ask what is the purpose? Almost like if you were riding a bike, you could jump the fence to the other side, but then they put those logs at the bottom of the built up dirt on the one side. View attachment 3956975View attachment 3956976

I think those are game crossings for elk and deer. They direct the animals to cross away from the road. I haven’t been to that area in a couple of years, but I’ve seen similar in my area that are designed for that purpose.

 

[Sigarms]

I think those are game crossings for elk and deer. They direct the animals to cross away from the road. I haven’t been to that area in a couple of years, but I’ve seen similar in my area that are designed for that purpose.

Sorry, more dumb questions so we are on the same page...

See below. The blue arrows are the path the elk and deer would walk up, and then jump "down" onto the other side of the fence? With the logs at the bottom of the dirt mount, are the "spikes" (in red" so the log wouldn't roll downhill? (just odd that those "spikes" are facing up instead of being in the ground to begin with). May not be "spikes" at all, but it seems to be against odds that's the way a log would look being laid on the ground).

I did not get out of the car to actually inspect the other side of the fence, but I'm assuming if Elk or deer were on the other side of the fence, they couldn't jump the height to get over?

What I did notice about the fence is that is was generally higher than used for cattle, added it wasn't barbed wire.

Is this something new or has it been standard practice for some years out west per fencing (per this crossing of sorts)?

 

[jyoutz]

Sorry, more dumb questions so we are on the same page...

See below. The blue arrows are the path the elk and deer would walk up, and then jump "down" onto the other side of the fence? With the logs at the bottom of the dirt mount, are the "spikes" (in red" so the log wouldn't roll downhill? (just odd that those "spikes" are facing up instead of being in the ground to begin with). May not be "spikes" at all, but it seems to be against odds that's the way a log would look being laid on the ground).
View attachment 3957906

I did not get out of the car to actually inspect the other side of the fence, but I'm assuming if Elk or deer were on the other side of the fence, they couldn't jump the height to get over?

What I did notice about the fence is that is was generally higher than used for cattle, added it wasn't barbed wire.

Is this something new or has it been standard practice for some years out west per fencing (per this crossing of sorts)?

What you’re calling a log is a “straw wattle.” A log made by rolling straw in a biodegradable mesh, fastened to the ground with biodegradable wood stakes. I would guess that the bare dirt was grass seeded and the straw wattle is a temporary erosion control feature to hold the soil until the seed germinates. The idea is if wildlife somehow get into the road right of way they can get out, but wildlife can’t jump up to the ROW. Most western states do have various wildlife control structures along roads where there is a history of crossings and collisions, but the designs vary.

 

[Sigarms]

The idea is if wildlife somehow get into the road right of way they can get out, but wildlife can’t jump up to the ROW. Most western states do have various wildlife control structures along roads where there is a history of crossings and collisions, but the designs vary.

Don't have much history with Elk, but I guess it's no different than a moose.

You hit a moose driving somewhat fast, survival rate for those in the vehicle doing the hitting isn't so great...

 

[jyoutz]

Don't have much history with Elk, but I guess it's no different than a moose.

You hit a moose driving somewhat fast, survival rate for those in the vehicle doing the hitting isn't so great...

They are big animals and it makes a big collision.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

They are big animals and it makes a big collision.

Thankfully they seem to be far smarter than deer when it comes to avoiding being hit.

Many times I see elk looking up from eating along the shoulder, look my way, and probably think "What's this dummy doing here at 3 AM?". Then resume eating.

A deer is far more likely to run up on the road in front of me, then zig zag for a 100 feet or so while I'm hard on the brakes.