On our way back from the west, we experienced beautiful nature at Wildlife West Nature Park via Harvest Hosts. After many days in dispersed camping, we decided a Harvest Hosts stopover was in order. A great way to ease back into our multi-day travels back to Michigan.
If you’ve read my other travel blogs, you already know that we are huge fans of Harvest Hosts experiences. Each stopover is unique. Instead of paying for an overnight at a campground, self-contained RVers stay for free at over 2000 venues. In turn, we support these hosts in purchasing products they sell. From wines, chocolates, cowboy spaghetti, ice creams, meats to tours of venues, unique and fun moments await.
At Wildlife West Nature Park, we support them with buying a tour, purchasing items in their store and via donations.
Yes, Harvest Hosts continues to keep us more than delighted with this annual membership. (It’s less than a night at a standard, budget hotel).
Beautiful Nature, Wonderful Stopover
At Wildlife West Nature Park just east of Albuquerque off of I-40, beautiful nature awaits. What kind of nature? Rescued wildlife, native plants and gardens, and unique decor that just fits right in. The walking tour through bobcats, bears, coyotes, elk and more is easy and flat.
Bring your cameras and smartphones on your tour. Colorful native flowers, cacti reside along the well-marked walkway.
Also with the walking tour, the viewing areas vary by animal. We were inches away via glass from mountain lions yawning, cuddling and sleeping. With the coyote (pictured above), she gracefully paced through her field giving us adirect look every few minutes.
The bobcats, well, they look like adorable pets up close. But, not to worry, as they enjoy a big space behind safe fencing for them (and us)!
Afterwards, we stopped in their shop and purchased a few food items including a couple of ice cream sandwiches. Holy smokes, they hit the snack spot!
From the moment we arrived, the welcome was warm and friendly. parking was a breeze on the flat, gravel drive. With big, open skies overhead, we enjoyed walking our dogs along the open grassy outer grounds.
As this is a nature preserve and park, they lock the gates promptly at their specified time at night. They reopen the gates early in the morning (this time of year it was 8:00 a.m.). However, they also share an emergency contact number of the owner on the premise in the event you have an emergency and need to leave during the locked times.
Our quiet evening under the big open skies offered a great night sleep before hitting the road.
If you’re in the area traveling by, we highly recommend this as a wonderful place to step into wildlife and native plants!
