Letterboxing~Wildlife West Nature Park, NM

A few months ago we became members of a unique little zoo called, Wildlife West Nature Park, located here in the Sandia Mountains. This zoo is only about 10 minutes from our house and we appreciate how the zoo focuses on the local wildlife within the beautiful Sandia and Manzano Mountains. We also enjoy walking the pleasant nature and bird trails within the park as well.
We enjoy our little zoo so much that we decided it would be a great location to place some letterboxes so that others will discover this little gem in the mountains, too. For more information: "Letterboxing".

This picture was taken several months ago when Jeremiah and I visited the nature park after attending a Tom Sawyer play held in Wildlife West's theater.
While at the nature park the first time, we met Roger Alink, Founder/Director ofWildlife West Nature Park. This is what the website says about Roger and Wildlife West.

While Roger values his formal education, he feels that its significance pales in comparison to the knowledge and values he gained through living on a farm. He points out that farming requires budgeting, sustainability, responsibility, and a connection to nature and the physical world - something from which people are increasingly isolated today. These are all skills and values that are crucial to the continued success of Wildlife West, not to mention the world that surrounds it.

"The Park is a manifestation of reality, "says Roger, explaining that it is something that requires real action and interaction. The Park is also a realization of Roger's dreams - a place where education, nature, and hands-on experience with everything from animal husbandry to construction and conservation provide a unique learning and development experience for young people. According to Roger, nearly all of the park's habitats and other structures were constructed by about 500 youths, about 250 of whom were paid through the New Mexico Youth Conservation Corps. As Roger puts it, this is one way of countering Nature Deficit Disorder (for more information, see Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods) and developing skills that kids will value greatly for the rest of their lives.

In addition to his work at the Park, Roger serves on the Town of Edgewood's Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors of the local Chamber of Commerce. For the most part, he prefers to remain out of politics, joking that he has been "running from office" for years. Roger is also a veteran, having served for two years in the Army during the Vietnam War.

Roger has never been paid any salary from the proceeds of the Park, having received a minimal amount of money from a couple of very small grants throughout the Park's history. He says that he has learned to "get by on less" - but given the satisfaction and joy he reaps from touching the lives of young people and creating a world-class nature park, perhaps getting by on less means getting more out of life.

This picture was taken during the Tom Sawyer play that Jeremiah and I went to see in the theater at Wildlife West. Roger stood up to say a few words.We thoroughly enjoyed the Tom Sawyer play put on by a local theater troupe. There are some very talented local folks on stage.
And here are some of the unique and beautiful creatures that call Wildlife West home.

Inquisitive foxes.
And one of my favorite animals: The Peccary, better known as the Javalina.
The Nature park has 3 friendly and curious Javalina.
We always make sure to visit the Javalinas. They are such fun to observe and listen to their snorting and snuffling.We decided to place a letterbox nearby our favorite critters. We named our letterbox "Have a Javalina". .
There are peacocks.And Mule Deer.The peacock seemed confused at who he was supposed to be attracting.There are "Masked Bandits".There are wolves and coyotes and beautiful art at Wildlife West.And Jeremiah and I enjoy walking the park's nature trails, too.And you can see Javalinas in love.
Can you tell I really like Javalinas?The bobcat is not shy and likes to greet everyone that visits.Sleepy Bobcat. Check out those sharp teeth!Jeremiah took a photo of me walking the nature trails. Yes. I know my buttons were in the wrong holes.An up close and personal Caracara encounter.These birds are just beautiful.A very large "Golden Eagle".Jeremiah posing on the caboose.Look Mom! A Bobcat!!And here's Jenna, a few months later, posing in the same location as her bro.I got a kick out of some of the wall art painted inside the caboose."Wow Mom. An Elk is mighty big to be able to carry these antlers on it's head." There are 3 Elk at the nature park, too. "Ok, these antlers are getting a bit heavy, now...."
This groovy bus reminds me of the bus that Chris McCandless spent the last days of of life inside, while trying to survive in Alaska. You can read about it Jon Krakauer's book, "Into the Wild".Jenna enjoyed 'driving the bus' and inside the bus are also the bones of animals and a little interpretive center.