Sunset magazine offers up its annual guide to spring hikes and day trips across the West, from Phoenix farms (yes, they exist) to skinny tires in Moab (yes, they exist, too). One of my favorite spring getaways (and my contribution to the top 20 list) is the sandhill crane homecoming in the San Luis Valley:
You know spring has sprung in the Sangre de Cristos when up to 25,000 sandhill cranes touch down this month in Monte Vista, Colorado. Birdophiles come from as far as Japan to ogle the leggy beauties that call the little southern Colorado town home for a month before continuing north. The winged migration is an excuse for the town to throw a three-day party: the Monte Vista Crane Festival (Mar 11-13), with experts and food o hand. www.cranefest.com
