MetroABQ Parks & Greenspaces Part II
Staying along the Rio (above, in autumn) for a bit: That Alameda Trail & Drain greenspace is part of the network of waterways that irrigate the agricultural areas; it also shunts rainwater to the Rio Grande during storms. Along the ribbon of river is a ribbon of greenspace--the Rio Grande Valley State Park-- a 4,300-acre greenspace that extends from Sandia Pueblo in the north through the Metro & south to Isleta Pueblo; it is located on both the east & west sides of the Rio Grande.
Rio Grande Bosque Access? There's plenty: easy access to the Rio Grande Valley Park from the walking trail across the Rio at I-40, seen in a previous MetroABQ Newsletter; also from Tingley Beach, the Rio Grande Nature Center, & at the Bachechi Open Space in Alameda, just to name a few. Meanwhile, there are many other, lesser-known public access points to the rio, one of which is from the Thomas Village community on Rio Grande Blvd. If you don't know where the discrete path between houses is, it's easy to miss. The three images just below are from the Thomas Village entrance at the rio...kinda stark in the winter, but an amazing greenspace in the middle of a large metro area year-round.
Below is the Rio Grande Nature Center Duck Blind as seen near the entrance. It's one of the many Rio Grande Valley State Park entrances. The cool image below was taken of the Nature Center, from the New Mexico State Parks site from across the pond.
