Celebration of Our Mountains

Last Sunday Hike at Wyler Aerial Tramway State Park

Celebration of Our Mountains is off to the best start in years - perhaps ever. People have come out to the events and weather has been good. The Fall 2015 program of events is just underway. You can see a list of all of the events at the COM website. Since the Official Event Guide was published, there have been a few added events and a few changes. Be sure to visit the Updates page.

Celebration of Our Mountains includes events from Franklin Mountains State Park, Wyler Aerial Tramway State Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Southwest Environmental Center's "Back By Noon" program. It's all online and weekends are full of options.

Our Panorama Hike included a Super Moon and a Total Lunar Eclipse.

It's not all hiking. It's seminars on wolves, birding, mountain biking, bats, archaeology, geology, astronomy and more. GUMO (Guadalupe Mountains National Park) has two events in October at night: one to learn about nocturnal animals; the other to see a real dark sky.)

COM is an opportunity to get outside. Just this morning I went birding with a group led by our Urban Wildlife Biologist, Lois Balin, at Keystone Heritage Park. We saw plovers, stilts, mallards and shovelers, verduns and warblers, a whole flight of white wing dove fleeing a Cooper's Hawk. There was pickle weed, aster, four wing salt bush, and tall cottonwoods that Kevin Von Finger planted years ago. 

I have been the coordinator/organizer since 2009. I have never been as excited as I am this year.

Do get outside.