3 STATE PARKS IN NM

Since my last  few post we have stayed in 3 more state parks here in NM.  Personally, my opinion on state parks-give me my national forest any day and I’m a happy, happy camper!   

On Memorial Day  we headed towards Cimarron Canyon and I was excited about finally being in the mountains and surrounded by wildlife.  So I will start with Cimarron Canyon Campground.

CIMARRON CAMPGROUND:  It’s not like most campgrounds when you think about it.  Usually a campground entrance is off a highway and you go down a small roadway-or at least one would think.  But in Cimarron Canyon it’s set up differently and could be deceiving.

As you travel along Hwy 64 heading out of Eagle’s Nest and towards the town of Cimarron, you will go around a few curves and bends; then as you descend towards the bottom, you become surrounded by canyon walls with a fast moving river called Cimarron.  Just before you hit the first of 3 campgrounds, part of Hwy 64 now becomes Cimarron Canyon State Park.  Be warned: pulling off anywhere through this 7 mile stretch of Hwy 64-you better pay your daily fee or could be fined ($25.00 per occurrence)

Your first campground on the left is Toby campground.  It’s one single circular that about 1/2 of the sites are reservable.  These sites are not very big nor large rig friendly.  We did see a few 5th wheels come in, but it was a tight squeeze for them to get into their site.  about over 1/2 of the sites are share sites as well.  Hope you can get along with your neighbor….

In fact the site that we took in this campground was a shared site, but we thought that the only time we would get someone was maybe on the weekend and a tenter at that.  Well our second night there sure enough here comes a tenter and they thought that they should set up right behind our rig-causing a minor disagreement.  Long story short-they didn’t stay and moved on to another campground.  But come Saturday we did get a small tongue pull next to us.  Fortunate that we met them earlier and they were a very nice couple.  They were in a reserved site and they had to move-therefore becoming our neighbor.  Here is what the two rigs together look like:

The next campground down on Hwy 64 is Maverick (it’s about 6 miles on down the road).  Maverick has a few more sites with about two inner circles.  1/2 of these sites are also reservable.  It appeared that some of the sites were a bit bigger but still not much room to move around.  This park tends to draw more the family with children.  It has two small fishing ponds as well as the river.  Again a few sites are share sites.

Now the last campground a mile down is Ponderosa Campground and recently been renovated.  With that said, I felt as though if we would take any of these site we would feel like we were  parking at Wal-mart!  Upon entering, the sites are all along the edge.  So in other words your door side would face the grass/wooded area and the opposite side would be right along the path of where people drive!  As you go around this “circle”, you cannot finish-for it’s coned off so that the host slide-out don’t get hit.  Then if that wasn’t bad enough, just like a parking lot in the middle were more spots with no grass, no tables-but one could park there if they wish too.  Not my type of camping spots.  Only good thing-Ponderosa could accommodate any size rig.

EAGLE’S NEST CAMPGRUOND:  This is fairly a new campground and could easily accommodate any size rig coming in.  It’s wide open with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and the town of Eagle Nest.

 

This park is located in the town of Eagles Nest, and on one side of the campground, you have views of homes, barking dogs, machine running, and other businesses.

If one would have to gripe or complain about this park it would be about all the money spent in the new visitor center that is NEVER open, the beautiful LARGE parking lot both for the visitor center AND the boat launch (to a pretty low and pathetic lake), not to mention the WAY too many vault toilets for the day-users (I think we counted six).  While the campground is graveled, one water spigot and only ONE vault toilet.  Many of us campers saw lots of problems with this.  Like, instead of spending money on a visitor center that is NEVER open, why not spend it on a dump station?  Maybe flush toilets?  or if the day-users can have nice paved roads, why couldn’t us campers have nice paved pads and roadway?

Anyways it wasn’t a bad place to stay, always a nice breeze (sometimes too much of a breeze).  Warm beautiful days with very cool nights.  Again, about 1/2 of the sites were reservable.

They supposedly have a trail, but we had a very difficult time finding it, for it’s not maintained very well.  They are hoping someday to have a trail all the way around the lake.  Only obstacle they have is making sure it’s above lake level (which at this time it’s a joke), and getting around the canyon wall.

COYOTE CREEK:  It’s now time to head to the mountains and away from the town.  We took the shortest route from Angel Fire to Coyote Creek.  Heading out of Angel Fire on Hwy 434.  Hwy 434 veers to the right about 10 miles out of Angel Fire.  Once you take that right, the road will narrow and get windy.  Then you have a sign that states there is no center stripes for the next 5 miles.  The road on this stretch, is so narrow, there is no room for a center stripe! 

While traveling, we prayed we wouldn’t run into another rig coming out, or a semi truck.  To our bad luck, on this 5 mile stretch we ran into a very large gravel rig coming right at us!  I moved over as far as I safely could, he barely scraped by us with only inches between us.  If either one of us was going at any higher speed, we defiantly would have hit.  Not a safe road for RV’ers!

Many will travel all the way back to Taos to Hwy 68 to Santa Fe and jump on I-25 (East) to Las Vegas, then get on Hwy 518 to Mora, and then Hwy 434 to Coyote Creek.  This section of the Hwy is much wider from the Mora to the park entrance .  Down fall is that it’s about 160 miles around vs. 30 miles out of Angel Fire….

With that said, once we got into the park we found it to be very nice.  Upon entering, just past the host and their new Visitor Center/ranger station and shower building, you  have the reservable electric sites.  These sites are tight together with no room to move; but can accommodate large rigs.

The road that veers to the right past the visitor center goes to a semi circle with two very nice reservable primitive sites (this area was recently been redone). 

But past the visitor center, the road continues on with primitive sites scattered around with plenty of room.  If you go past the playground and over a very rickety bridge, you come across yet more sites.  This is where we found ours up on the hill and had the whole area to ourselves!  We loved it!

 

Most sites (except the electric reservable area) have these unique picnic shelters.

There will be one more road that turns left just before the last site (the one we were in), and it’s rough and mostly for folks in tents.  Although there was a sign in plain site that states no RV’s, we saw a 35 foot tongue pull go up there!  It’s a wonder that he even made it, but mind you, it was already in very rough shape, so we don’t think the owners gave a hoot if they did any more damage.

While here, the park was under construction.  So the gravel road was mainly rough dirt road.  With the new shower building, they had to dig a deeper well to keep up with the demand.  So new pipes were being placed and many sites were closed.  So they allowed folks to park “anywhere” an RV or tent would fit; even if it wasn’t a campsite.  The water was off during our stay here and they were hoping to have it up and going by the 1st of July.

We had been monitoring a bear that was circling the area.  Brian got a distant glimpse of the bear.  He had already been destructive.  One of the bear proof canister for trash was knocked off the bolts!  Here is a picture, after it was up righted…

The previous year, 3 bears had to be tagged and relocated while one had to be put down-it was on it’s 3rd strike.

We have to say that Coyote Creek was by far our favorite park thus far.  It’s peaceful and once the construction is completed, it’s going to be a very nice park.  Like I said earlier-not fond of the electric area and really feel for those that have to go into that area.  Maybe that will eventually get redone allowing more space between each other.  The manager has his workers on top of this park.  Every site is powered washed down and the vault toilets were so clean I think one could have eaten in them!

Coyote Creek along with Elephant Butte (in southern NM) is in a pilot program with internet.  Meaning these two parks have free Wi-Fi.  It only works near the ranger station/visitor center and you will need to get the password. We used it once and it worked great.

Second in place was Cimarron Canyon.  Although we weren’t fond of the sites, we did like the area.  Wished the trails were open.  From the middle of May to the end of July, all trails (with the exception of Clear Creek Trail) are closed.  We would have stayed our full 21 days here, but after a spell the cotton trees were spewing the cotton so bad that when outdoors you felt if you open your mouth-you got a cottonmouth!  We were there in May and every day it rained Cotton so bad, you couldn’t sit outdoors and enjoy.

I think Eagles Nest Lake is okay and many enjoy camping there, but being hikers as we are, this just wasn’t the place for us and we are not fond “camping” inside city limits.

After nit picking each park, we decided that it was time for a break and head to the National Forest-and hit some serious hiking trails.

 

PLAYING CATCH-UP….

Dealing with altitude sickness has put me behind on a lot of things. But I’m in no hurry and have the rest of my life to play catch up and if I don’t-oh well-life will go on, right?  But I will try my best to play “Catch-up” while I can.

We spent a week at Coyote Creek and was beautiful.  The Cell phone worked there-somewhat…I could use the phone to put quick messages on FB or we could check the weather  or take in phone calls-but that was about the limit of our usage.  Coyote Creek did have a WI-FI service that I could go up and use (outside), but didn’t feel like doing it.  Rather I enjoyed spending the days outdoors instead of worrying about computing.

The past week we really have been  out of communication. We decided that since I got my altitude sickness finally under control that we would really head for the mountains.

While staying at Coyote Creek campground we came across two ladies that had just come from Santa Barbara Campground in the Carson National Forest and said the hiking trials were spectacular to go see and do.  The one told us about a water fall and about two lakes that you can hike to.  Well that intrigued my interest so much that we needed to check it out!

At first our plans was to leave the motorhome at Coyote Creek and take  our tent and go for just a few nights.  But we started to think about it (rather Brian did) he asked what I would think about spending a week with the motorhome instead.  I was ready and packed in no time!

We left on Sunday (June 16th-Father’s Day) and headed to the high country.  We took each day daily, not knowing if I would have any troubles and now that our time came  to an end-I had survived!

We spent the time hiking, relaxing and since they are still in stage one of the burn ban, we could enjoy campfires once again.  We did go about two miles up the road where we could get a signal for our phone and checked messages every couple of days.

Now rumors are flying around about some state parks and national parks shutting down for a spell and leaving us few choices to go. They are trying to reduce the risk of fires-specially over the 4th of July week.

Storrie Lake (State Park) will not close and therefore we will lock in here through the 4th of July week.  Hopefully once that is over they will again re-open these parks and we can finish our adventure.  And if not-well we will cross those bridges when it’s time.  

I’m not totally thrilled about  this park-particularly because it’s high desert country and hot…oh well…life such as it is…I guess I will be making Lemonade out of Lemons.

I will take this time and play catch-up on the computer and maybe take in a few books and who knows what else…

DRIVING THE ENCHANTED CIRCLE

the Enchanted Circle is a circle around Taos, that goes up towards Questa and then come back down.  Here is a map of the Enchanted Circle:

Along the way there is plenty to see and do on this 84 miles circle.  You have the Taos Indian Reservation-one of the nation’s oldest reservation that is still being used yet today. 

You have several popular ski areas as well along this Enchanted Circle like; Angel Fire, Eagles Nest and Red River.  There is plenty to do both winter and summer-depending on what you are interested in.  During the summer months some of the ski slopes are used for hiking or maybe mountain bike riding. 

Red River Ski Resort

There are several campground both state and national parks along the Enchanted Circle.  Eagles Nest Lake State Park is along the Circle or you can get off and go just a few miles onto Hwy 64 and then you are in the Cimarron Canyon where there is 3 parks along there for some summertime camping.The Carlson National Forest will greet you along the Enchanted Circle with more camping and hiking opportunity as well.

One of the few campgrounds on the Enchanted Circle in the Carlson National Forest      

With skiing being very popular in the winter months, hiking is fantastic in the summertime.  Both the National Park and the State Park offers some really nice maintained trails to explore.

Fawn Lake in the Carlson National Forest

One of the things we have noticed along this Enchanted Circle is the local crazy drivers!  Now I mean no disrespect for the locals that live here and have to put up with us tourist driving around.  But at the same time that they have to put up with us, they need to also remember that we help bring revenue to their area.

I will go into a little more detail on the driving scenarios that we have already encountered just the few weeks we have been touring the area.

As we started the Enchanted Circle with our small motorhome, towing our little car; We got cars that would literally be on our bumper- I guess trying to push us to go faster.  anyways, there are pull-offs and whenever we could-we would pull off and let those go by-since they are in a hurry to get somewhere….

Now just driving the car alone as we head towards Questa, touring around and maybe going about 5-10 mph slower than the normal speed limit (how else does one get a chance to see the surrounding?), it seems that the locals are in a hurry once again and even though it’s a no passing zone, they speed right around us as if there was no tomorrow-on a hill and curves-crazy drivers….We just slow down more yet and let them get ahead of us.

     

Now remember, we are NOT from this area and there are a lot of hairpin turns and curves, lots of climbing up a mountain and then descending back down again, and not sure what is just around the curve or bend,  is another reason that we tend to go a little slower than normal speed.

We again had another incident that could have turned very bad.  As we are descending down the mountain with curves,  the truck that was the second one behind us decides to all of a sudden to pass the car in front of him AND us!  So the van directly behind us decides to also pass; almost clipping the back end of our car.  Well I did something that I know I shouldn’t have and I won’t mention what.  Anyways it anger the guy in the van so bad that all of a sudden he slams on his break, puts it in reverse and gets out!!  I just casually kept on going-driving on the shoulder-ignoring him.  All the while Brian is getting ready to dial 911-one problem-no cell phone reception.  The van again speeds up around us-laying on the horn…The sad part is that I actually was going the speed limit when all of this happened, and I would have gotten off at at the first pull off to allow both of these jerks to get around.

Then on this same day, we are heading towards Angel Fire and wanted to stop at the Vietnam Memorial State Park.  As we enter what we assumed to be state park property, I’m on the road while Brian is taking pictures.  I get a vehicle behind me, so I tell Brian to hurry up and get the pics.  The car then goes around, raising his hands up in the air at me-to top it off-it was a deputy in a suburban patrol vehicle!!!

As I go over the hill-I soon discovered that I’m actually on some roadway that goes yet into the parking lot to the Memorial or goes straight ahead into housing development.  So I felt bad that I blocked a roadway.  But how was I suppose to know since there are no signs telling us that the state park road is also a main roadway to homes?

 

After both those two incidents that day-we decided we have had enough of driving the Enchanted Circle and to go home.  We are not home more than 30 minutes and here comes this same deputy.  He pulls off in front of our spot, runs our plate, we can hear the dispatcher telling him there was no warrant or wants for Brian & Sharon Scofield….He never got out of the vehicle to talk to us or nothing…..I wonder how he found where we were camped at?  He must not had nothing better to do this particular day other then to intimidate tourist in his area.

So now we joke that I must drive extra careful-for this deputy probably has it out for me!!!

A few days later, we thought that our cell phone croaked.  We couldn’t pick up any tower signal, couldn’t call out-nothing-notta…well the nearest town that possibly might have a Verizon store is all the way back in Taos.  So here we go again, driving on the Enchanted Circle.

We had no mishaps, no jerks all the way back into Taos.  If I got a small line-up behind us, I would simply pull over whenever it was safe, and allowed them to pass us on by.

We soon learned that all the towers in Northern New Mexico were down-except for Taos and they didn’t know for how long they would be down.  So we got our shopping done, and headed back home.

It’s close to rush hour and once again we have a jerk on our tail-literally….I’m going the speed limit and yet he wants to push us off the roadway.  So the next pull off I planned on getting out of his way.  I had to quickly get out of his way-or he would have literally hit us!

Then as we come around a sharp curve, we see a white car going off very quickly to a drive-way.  What she had done probably had saved our lives as well as her own.  Here comes a black SUV trying to pass her in a no passing zone and in our lane!  He quickly swerves back into his own lane-missing us by inches!

So if you ever drive the Enchanted Circle-remember the locals are always in a hurry and to stay out of their way! 

Seriously though-the drive on the Enchanted Circle is pretty and a must see and do if ever in this area-just do be aware of the driver ahead of you as well as behind you and be cautious of the Deputy in Colfax county (he drives vehicle #4)!!

BUSY WEEK-WHEW

It’s been such a busy week, that I’m so ready for a slow down….It’s been a great week, but now it’s time to stop and smell all those wild flowers that are blooming in the air.

We moved from Heron Lake (and just in the nick of time) to a RV park in Chama.  We normally don’t like or do private parks, but this one in particular allowed us to “boondock” in a tent site (which saved us oodles of money) and this also allowed us to be closer to the train ride.

At Heron Lake we got spoiled in almost having the campground to ourselves with a few other campers, but as Memorial Weekend approach-so did the campers.  It was time to move on out.

We went to Twin Rivers RV Park at the Chevron Gas Station in Chama.  We had been doing business with Eddie and his wife Sonja since arriving in Chama and they are a wonderful couple.  their campground isn’t fancy and don’t have much too offer, but they offered the peace and tranquil that Brian and I like. 

We choose to go in two days before our train ride, so that we could go to the Cumbre & Toltec Station and get some pictures before we got on board on Sunday.  I was able to get some great pictures of the steam engines on their first day run. Amazing!!

The day before our train ride we got hit with such fierce strong winds.  I don’t ever recall being in such winds on a continuous basis we were that particular Saturday (May 26th).  We had sustain winds between 35-45mph with gust reaching over 60+mph!  In the park we had a tree knock down a power line.  It landed across one of the picnic tables (one we almost took-glad we didn’t!).  But what no one saw until later was that the power line came down behind an RV that was in storage and caught the grass and the motorhome on fire!!

Another couple of minutes and the motorhome would have exploded with gas and propane being on board.  The fire dept. did a great job in getting it out.

Sunday morning arrives and we were so excited and pumped for our train ride!  We spend quality time in the morning with Leah before leaving her behind for nearly 9 hours.  We also woke to a second morning of record low-21 degrees-Brrrrr!

We enjoyed our train ride immensely!  We were told by a local to take the bus to Antonito and ride the train back to Chama.  So that is what we choose to do. 

We boarded the bus promptly at 8:30am.  Both Brian and I were a bit surprised that there were not as many as we thought there might be.  I think there was maybe 60 all together.  We arrived at the Antonito train station about 9:45am, boarded the train and it left the yard at 10:00am on the dot.

I kept going from the car to the open platform car to take plenty of pictures (nearly 500 shots).  We stopped for about a 45 minutes lunch at Osier and then back on the train again. 

The train arrived back in the Chama’s yard right around 4:10pm.  We stayed on scheduled the whole trip.  I guess the day before (the 1st day run) the everyone ran about an hour behind…don’t know why….

Then it was up bright and early Monday morning (Memorial Day) to head towards Taos and our next destination-Cimarron Canyon.  As we got away from Chama we started to hit some really beautiful country!  I instantly fell in love with the view and the area.

Driving was a breeze, nearly not another soul on the road way.  We came across several elks grazing and I manage to stop the motorhome in the middle of the road to shoot a picture of one!

As we got closer to Taos, traffic started to pick up and by the time we parked at Wal-Mart; it was beginning to be a zoo on the roadway.  That was okay, we could parked, unhook the car and head to the grocery stores and refuel up both fuel tanks, food and our bellies!

By 2:00pm the roadway was quieting down and it was time to finish the last leg of this trip.  We thought we shouldn’t need Ms. Garmin’s help since we stay on Hwy 64-WRONG!  somehow we missed our turn!  I found a place to pull over but to get turned around, we had to unhook the car and back the motorhome safely to get it turned back in the opposite direction.  Hook the car back up and turned on Ms. Garmin!

We had first planned on stopping over at Eagles Nest State Park, but being it’s still a new park, I guess they haven’t gotten the sign posted yet on the highway and couldn’t find the entrance to the park.

We thought that many, many years ago we were at Cimarron Canyon, but to our surprise we have not.  When we finally reached the first campground, we unhooked the car and left the motorhome parked in the day-use area and went searching for a spot.

We again were surprised at both the lay out of this state park and the campgrounds and how busy it still was for a Monday afternoon.  There are 3 campgrounds with-in, however to access each one you have to stay on Hwy 64.  Never seen such a thing like this before.

Brian and I jumped in the car, first checking out Toby Campground, then went farther down to Maverick and just about got hit several times by the same group of kids on bike!  Very rude little munchkins and parents just sitting back not caring.  Decided that this park was NOT for us this time.  We were told by the host that we would like Ponderosa-it’s mainly older folks.  but to our surprise and dismay-we felt like we were parking at a Wal-Mart parking lot!  Only one site that we might have liked.

Being very disappointed in the park system here and not sure what we would do and being tired (and yes a bit cranky), we again took another look at Toby.  We found a site that fits us perfect with a great view of the creek.  The downfall is the site next to us, their parking is right next to our slide-out.  All the sites are very, very close together and we are not impress with that one bit.

    You can clearly see where the next site is close to us

Anyways, we are making the best of it here, even with a couple of problems; like another tent camper trying to come literally on top of us and having an issue with the host and getting the ranger involved (Scofield’s win-host and camper lost)

Leah really loves it here as well and is now completely wore out and sleeps the night through. 

          

Now that our bodies has had a few days to adjust yet another elevation (8000 feet now) climb. We  hiked the one and only trail (out of 4) that is open to hike.  We took Clear Creek Trail and at first it became a nightmare-but that’s another story for another time.  When we actually got on the right trail system we enjoyed it greatly and found 3 waterfalls!

Our spot is shaded 90% of the time-so solar doesn’t work the best.  No cell phone signal; unless you climb up the hillside.  However, Brian put up the antenna on the car and we can get a good signal but in 1x instead of 3g.  We can check messages (twice a day) and check FB.  But the rest has to be done when we go back to an area that we can get the phone to work (or drive over to Coyote Creek and use their internet).

Plenty of wood to be found and been having campfires every night and even during the day.  We both enjoy cooking over the campfire as well.  As soon as our pile goes down, we go back in search for more and again we are stocked for another week of enjoyment around our campfire.

No siting yet of bears, but they are in the area and hoping to see one (from a distant-of course).  We think we might had one through the other night and even the host dog got up in the middle of the night carrying on.

the weekends seems to get busy around here.  We did end up having a neighbor next to us; however they were a very nice couple that we met early in the week and had to move off a reserved site. 

We took a quick drive to Eagles Nest just this past Sunday (June 4th) and soon found that we could not get back home to the campground!  There was a serious accident on the road; blocking it from both side.  At first the fire dept. estimation was that it would be 3 hours to clean up.  Then we were told that the 3 hours could be much longer! 

We told the fireman that our camper was back at Toby and we had a small dog to get back to and if there was any other way around.  There was-but it would have been 189 miles-and we were only 3 miles away!  We then asked if we could “walk” around the accident back to the campground.

The fire chief gave the fireman permission to allowed us to ride in the fire truck rig to the scene of the accident, escorted us around the accident and then we hiked the rest of the way home.  We got back around 9pm.  The accident wasn’t cleared off until after 1:00am!  It took at least 3 tow trucks that we knew of…..

So you see, we have not had a dulls moment since being here at Cimarron Canyon and plan on enjoying the remainder of our time here at this park. 

HERON LAKE IN NEW MEXICO

This is now our 3rd state park to visit here in New Mexico as we travel the Northern part of this state.  Our first one (Navajo) wasn’t impressive to us.  We enjoyed ourselves at El Vado-but not much area for hiking.

Here at Heron, we had plenty of opportunity for hiking many areas; which suited us just fine.

We had the chance to scout out the park before moving over here, since it wasn’t that far from El Vado Lake.  There was plenty to choose from, but only  a few that would fit our need or rather that we liked.

Upon coming into the park, you travel onto Hwy 95 off of Hwy 84/64.  You first come upon the entrance to the small marina and Little Oso Primitive Camping.  Past there is the visitor center.

Then you come to your first campground which is both Willow Creek and Blanco.  Both of these are mostly electric/water sites.  These two campgrounds can and will accommodate any size rig manageable out there.  Over half the sites in both loops can be reserved during peak season (Mid May-Mid Sept).  There are both back in and pull-thru.  In Willow Creek there is flush and vault toilets, while in Blanco you will find the shower building and a vault toilet as well.  The road starts out paved but quickly turns into good gravel road.  (Note: Blanco & Willow are the only two that have electric and water hook-ups)

 

Next you have Bushy Point Campground.  Now word of caution when going in:  Upon entering this area, be aware of a sign straight ahead.  The road that veers to your right is for rigs 24 feet and under.  And trust me in this loop you want to exceed that warning!  This section of the loop can be reserved.  The road is narrow and tight and sites are small.  Bushy-West is straight, even though there are no warning about length size, I would not want to see a triple axle 5th wheel coming in here! 

One was very selective on where they parked their 5th wheel and manage to get a great site with an awesome view of the lake.  Now we observed two other 5th wheels (approx. 30 feet in length) and they had a dickens of a time trying to get into the sites that they wanted!  As you come in, the first several sites are fairly large, and they stay large just until you get past the vault toilet.  If climbing up the hill, the sites in that direction get much smaller as well as the road.  Both the 5th wheels finally manage to get into the sites that they wanted, but both ended up with good gouges and scratches along the side of their rigs.

We stayed at Bushy-West and found a great site.  We pulled our rig straight in. We still had plenty of room for our small dog to play (leashed of course) and parked our car behind us-sideways.  We had plenty of privacy and a great view of the lake. 

the only faults we honestly could find in this park was the fire rings are too close to the railroad ties that they use; and you couldn’t sit only in one direction-so if the smoke comes towards you-you really can’t get out of it.  The second problem we found is the vault toilet on this side when it rains-it floods.  We had on a couple of occasions where there was about 1/2” of standing water inside the vault toilet.  Brian and I both took turns in sweeping them out, since the rangers weren’t around to take care of it.  The only water hydrant is at the beginning when you first turn into the park.

now getting back to the campgrounds around Heron Lake; the next campground down the road is both Island View and Salmon Run.  Island View again isn’t large rig friendly, but there are not signs telling you any limit in size.  If you are about 30 feet or less, you might be fine, any bigger, well lets just say you may end up with a few scratches on you rig….  The sites at Island View also seem to be much closer together and that didn’t impress us any.  there is a section just to the right that is also reserved as well.

Island View has a shower building and a water hydrant near the host (across from the showers).  While Salmon Run only has a vault toilet.

Salmon Run is another one that has a size limit of 24 feet and it tells you this upon entering the road.  However, we did find a couple of sites that would have fit a bit larger rig, including us (we are 27 feet in length).  These sites were at the beginning, but after that-no site would fit anything other than what they posted and making the sharp curves were nearly impossible for anything bigger.

Farther down yet on Hwy 95 (which is also part of the park road as well), you go over the dam and you have two more campgrounds.  These two campgrounds are more out in the open where trees more scarce, but much closer to the lake.  They would fit the bigger rigs as well. They are called Ridge Rock, and Ponderosa.   Then finally you have La-Laja where the boat ramp is and a few campsites.

Now we found the perfect camping spot and wish we could have gotten our motorhome in, but there would have been no way. It’s called Rincon Primitive Area.  It’s only open during Mid May-Mid Sept.  The Ponderosa are abundant as well as the wildlife in this area.  However, when entering this particular park you are warned that the road maybe impassable during inclement weather.  It’s mainly a dirt road with many deep ruts.  But the sites were so secluded and very primitive and we really fell in love with this area.  There is only one small vault toilet half-way down into the area (near the emergency spillway), and no water.  Here you pack it in-pack it out. 

Now about Heron Lake itself; it’s a fairly large lake compared to El Vado.  However only boats can idle speed on this lake, for it’s considered a “no-wake” lake.  We saw several sailboats tootling around out on the lake as well as pontoons and a few bass boats and there is a small (and I do mean “small”) marina on this lake as well.  The lake stays mostly an aqua-green color that is very pretty.  Fishing seems to be very popular  as well.  there is no swimming area and you are on our own.

there are 3 trails at Heron Lake.  The most popular one is the Rio Chama Trail; it’s 5.5 miles one-way and connects with El Vado Lake. 

The Rio Chama trail.  The  swinging bridge that goes over the Rio Chama was built back in the 80’s .

Then you have the Salmon Run trail; Salmon Run runs 5.5 miles one way.  It starts at the Dam and goes all the way to the visitor center where it connects up with East Meadow Trail.

The small marina can be seen from the East Meadow Trail

East Meadow Trail is over 2 miles long and we found this one to be our least favorite.  It’s a nice trail, but goes to an open meadow where you view homes and that didn’t impress us.  We enjoyed the Salmon Run for you seem to go in and out of Ponderosa trees and always had a view of the lake.

The Salmon Run Trail

So if you are thinking of visiting the area, we strongly suggest staying at Heron Lake.  We found this to be the place if you like to hike, bike, play on the water or just kick back and relax.  There is something for everyone here and you are only 20 miles from Chama NM.

 

RIO CHAMA TRAIL

After one day rest of having an inflammation shot to reduce the swelling on my rib cage I was once again rearing to head out on a trail.  And was told that I could, so up bright and early and ready to hit the trail, backpack filled with snack, lunch and plenty of water, we took to the Rio Chama Trail.
The day was beautiful with sun out bright and temps just perfect.  The Trail head starts at either Heron Lake or at El Vado Lake.  It runs through the Chama wildlife management area and it’s 5.5 miles-one way.  However, due to the fact that the trail does go through the wildlife management-we could only walk a ways before we had to turn around.  The wildlife management is closed until Memorial weekend, when it all opens up to hikers.
So being that we are camped at Heron Lake, we started at that end.  When first driving towards the trail head, you see what we would call a graveyard for junk.  It belongs to the state park and it’s where they either store or keep their extra docks; whether in good shape or not.  Also is a huge pile of large boulders that they use as blockage to areas they don’t want folks near.
But once parked, is a very nice area with a few picnic table and a couple of benches overlooking the trail head and the canyon.  Plenty of shade with large Ponderosas around.
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When first starting out at this end (Heron Lake), you will descend down a wooden staircase before you start with switchbacks until you get down to the river and the swinging bridge.

If hiking in springtime, be warn-you may get buzzed by hummingbirds; Specially if you wear red hat! 
As you approach the river you come to an extension bridge, or as some call a swinging bridge that goes across the Rio Chama.  This was built by the Youth Conservation back in the 80’s.  since then the State Park has tried to maintain this trail through federal grants.  The staircase and the bridge is solid, but the switchback shows signs of washout and abuse.  The repairs are done the best way it could be done.  However, this trail is not for those with bad knees, hips or are frail.
Many only go as far as the bridge, and then turn around, instead of taking the hike further on, as we did.  The bridge is really amazing as how it’s being supported.
           
       
In the above pictures, the first one shows the cables that support this bridge.  The second picture shows one of four cements that supports the cables. Third picture shows the size of u-bolts that are used.  And the fourth picture shows how far apart the boards maybe in crossing.  Word of caution:  if small children are with you-you might want to watch them closely-so not to get their foot caught!
And yes, you can make the bridge swing-we did! 
I was hanging on while Brian was both trying to take my picture and swing the bridge.
Now that you are done playing on the bridge, it’s time to take the hike.  At first we thought that we would climb back straight up the ridgeline-but instead we veered to the right and went along the edge-keeping the Rio Chama in eyesight the whole time.  Then we curved and slowly started the climb upwards.  We just went slow and steady and enjoyed the view. 
You are socked in with Ponderosa, Juniper and other types of trees.  Being it was morning, it was cool during this part of the hike, and breathtaking.
What seemed like we should have gone at least  3/4th of mile or better, we only went about 1/4th of a mile.  This was due  to the climb upwards and going slow.  We came across a picnic table out in the middle of nowhere, with somewhat a view through the tree lines of the Heron Dam.
   
As we continue on the hike, we came across an interesting spot where a large boulder had sometime recently broken off, coming down the mountain side and crossing over the trail before landing in it’s new permanent spot.      To one’s eye that didn’t know better, they would have assumed that this happened in the last few years.  But upon reading and researching it was learned that it happened back in 2005.  Here is a picture of the slide, and where the rock landed: 
     
There were points of the trail that was overgrown and narrow and at times we even wonder if we were actually on the trail.  The only marker you have is after each mile, if you look closely you may come across a mile marker.  The terrain was uneven crossing from rocks, to solid mud to needle pack or leave pack ground; and you really never knew what was or might be around the bend.  We always kept our eyes wide open and our ears tune to our surrounding at all times.
We finally came to a place where there was a marker that explained the area and that the overview from there was now overlooking El Vado Lake.  This was a good resting area for refueling our bodies with nutrition.
 
Farther down the trail we came across a spectacular view of both El Vado Lake and Heron Lake.
 El Vado Lake with the pennisula…You can’t see it well in this picture, but the middle house apparently was recently destroyed by a fire.  Can you image the view these people have?
We kept on this hike, we knew that we could not do the whole hike this day and would only travel half of it.  Every time we thought we might turn around, our curiosity would get the best of us and we would say “let’s go to the next bend”.  We still had plenty of water and we know that when half gone, we would have no choice BUT to turn around-for our own safety.
Anyways once again we said we would go to the crevasse in the rocks-but again we decided to climb through this crevasse and reach the top mesa before turning around.  It was very narrow and due to the weather warming, we had to go cautiously for unwelcome critters (snakes).  I only got half way up when I was greeted with 100’s of flies.  I told Brian to turn around and head back down.  Not sure what had caused all those flies, but we didn’t want to stick around and see either.  It was time to head back. (We soon later learned that at this mesa-the trail closes and becomes part of the wildlife management).
Heading back, a little slower, we came across some scat.  It belonged to a bear.  What discover that it apparently crosses here frequently because there was “old” scat with fresh on top.  As we were “examining” this scat, we heard noises below us and then a cub bear crying for momma;  It defiantly was time to get out of there! 
Whew-that was a little too close.  We both had our mace ready, whistles/horns in hand and we kept looking back over our shoulder just to make sure we were not being followed.
All-in-all we had a great hike and loved every minute of it.  We calculated on our GPS (E-Trex) that we hiked just about 5 miles round trip and took us 4 hours.  We had to take lots of camera breaks and of course water and food break.
   
Some day we may return when the whole trail system is open and due the whole thing-round trip. 

ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

We have been traveling and visiting New Mexico’s state parks now for over a month.  We started out at Navajo Dam near Farmington.  Elevation there was only at 6100 above sea level.
Now to some that isn’t really much-while to others anything over 4000 feet is too high.  Last year while working at James M. Robb/CO River State Park near Grand Junction, we had a older lady that came from the mid west area that got elevation sickness and we were barely over the 4000 feet.  She ended up having to cut her family visit and go back down to sea level.  I really felt sorry for her and her family-for that meant going almost back home.  I remember saying to Brian that I sure hope that never happens to us while we start our adventure.


Now 12+ years ago when we started to live in an RV and I went to my doctor for my “last” check-up with him; I remember him telling me due to the fact that I do have bad lungs (Severe Chronic Asthma)-I would have to take altitude climbing very serious and gave me strict instructions to go by;  and they were:  anything over 4000 feet, I must only go about 500 feet a day, come back down at night, got back up during daytime for about 2-3 days.  At any point if I felt heaviness in my chest-descend immediately and don’t go back up!  He didn’t think I could ever really go high in elevation and stay any length of time.


Have I taken his advise?  Well, no not actually.  And I haven’t done bad-until now….Since starting our travels, each year my asthma has improved greatly.  Recently I had donated my nebulizer machine to a clinic and no longer carry any kind of inhaler.  But I almost wish now that I at least have an inhaler. 


I had no trouble ascending from 4000 feet to 6000 feet.  Even at 7000 feet, I still wasn’t showing much sign of distress in my lungs or chest.  Oh I occasionally would have a little shortness of breath after extreme hiking and would have to take short breaks to catch my breath, but Brian too was having the same effect-so nothing too worry about.  Just take it easy and go slow.


Now that we have ascended to over 7500 feet, breathing started to get a little more stressful.  We have been here for over a week and only hiked a couple of days with rest in between.  Shortness of breath was coming more frequent-but for the both of us.  I notice since being here, that I’m a little more short temper and agitated and didn’t’ know why.  Surely by now we should be well adjusted to the elevation.  wrong!


Generally, yes, a week adjustment  is sufficient for some to acclimate their bodies to elevation.  BUT it actually takes 3 months for a body to develop more red blood cells to get your oxygen level back to normal.  During this time your body retains more water fluids that actually can go to your heart, lung and brain.


That still wasn’t the total case for me when we made a quick dash to the urgent care in Tierra Amarilla in NM.  I started out having difficulty a few nights ago waking up with what I thought was a racing heart.  I ignored it until it happened again the other night.  But upon getting up yesterday I still had chest pain (felt as though Brian was sitting on my chest and wouldn’t get off), and very short of breath.  As I moved around, I felt better.  Going into Chama to run errands, felt fine.  But after coming back and doing some work, the shortness of breath came back along with the chest pain and the racing heart.  I knew it wasn’t a heart attack, but also knew something just wasn’t right.


Upon entering the clinic I was taken back immediately. an EKG was taken and my theory was right-I wasn’t having a heart attack.  But it wasn’t my lungs either-for they had no wheezing and sounded clear.  Which also meant there wasn’t fluid building either.  So what was causing me to be in distress? 
The last several days we have been socked in with rain and humidity which was enough to cause an onset of severe inflammation on all of my cartilage in my chest and rib bones.  The inflammation was putting added stress on my heart-making it feel as though it was racing.


The doctor was hilarious!  As she is pressing on my chest bone, asking me if that hurt-Brian makes the comment back that oh no we got a quack!  She turns around and actually smacked him! 
But in all seriousness, I had to have an anti-inflammatory shot to reduce the swelling so that I can get back to enjoying life!  I actually had a wonderful team and got excellent care in such a small tiny community.
But at first the doctor talked about us having to descend back down.  I was devastated, for we already had paid for the Cumbre & Toltec Train ride and I wasn’t ready to leave the area yet!  I now don’t have to leave!


But here is a few tips for those that are planning on traveling to higher country and they are not acclimated to the elevation:

• Don’t go from 0 to 100 !  What I mean by that, is let’s say you are at sea level and you plan on camping at 10,000 feet above sea level.  Do it in increments.  Start at 4000 feet for a night, then climb a few thousand and stay for another night or two.  Providing you are not having any difficulties or your body isn’t in stress.  
• Once in high elevation: don’t over exert yourself-even if you feel fine.  Wait a day or two.  Even setting up camp can be stressful to your heart and lungs and you don’t know it. 
• Don’t drink alcohol the first night or two-again give your body time to adjust.  alcohol goes to the blood stream  faster  in higher elevation.
• Take water pills and an anti-inflammatory pill (ibuprofen) to help reduce extra fluid build up in your body.  But please consult your physician first; specially if you have any medical conditions.

Here are some signs that your body maybe in stress from high elevation:

• Headaches.  This is normal to most that ascend.  But if gets extreme-then it’s probably a warning sign that you may need to descend.
• Loss of Appetite:  This could be the beginning and warning sign that something isn’t right, don’t ignore it!
• Agitation or Grumpiness:  Remember, less oxygen the higher you go, which means less oxygen for the brain-can make one more grumpier than normal.
• Shortness of Breath:  this is very common when ascending and can be expected.  However, if gets extreme even when sitting down-then it’s time to think about descending!  Seek professional help!
• NAUSEA:  If you get to the point that you feel sick, you need to seek professional help and descend immediately!
• Dizziness Or Light Headed:  Once again-you need to descend ASAP!  This means fluid is starting to build and you need to go back down and seek medical attention.

Once fluid has started to build around your lungs, heart or in the brain,this becomes a serious medical condition and needs proper medical attention.  Thinking that descending is going to help, it will, but you will need professional help as well.  Folks die every year because they ignore the warning signs.  And don’t think age matters-it don’t….


Unfortunately because my lungs are damaged due to past asthma attacks, I will not be able to spend any time over 9000 feet and above.  I can go for the day and be okay, but not overnight.  So elevation I must always know how high I’m at.


Remember: this is just an advise, and before any elevation climbing, check first with your own physician before going on such an adventure and don’t ignore your own body’s warning signs.  Only you know what your body can or cannot handle.

EL VADO LAKE, NM

El Vado Lake is tucked away and does not get a lot of spring time visitors. Partially because it is so far out to the lake. Coming from HWY 84/64 turn onto Hwy 112, you go about 10 miles then turn right onto the Park entrance road and travel another 4 miles before entering the park.


When we pulled into this lush green park-there was only one other camper. 
We found a perfect spot with a fantastic view of the lake.  It actually was a shared site-however one half was being redone and no one was or would be working on it-so we had the whole area to ourselves.

Upon entering the park, we needed to fill our tank with water.  As Brian was busy doing this I was checking out other sites-just to make sure the one we picked was perfect. As I’m checking it out-here comes a 5th wheel in.
Now being older and not in shape-I make a fast dash to the car, and go park the car on our future site.  Whew-just in the nick of time, because that 5th wheel had the same exact spot in mind.
That site become ours for the next few weeks.  At one point we were the only campers in the park.  Occasionally we would see maybe one or two other campers coming in but only for a night or two.
Springtime at El Vado lake is very slow.  The lake isn’t big, however it’s the only lake near Chama that anyone can take a boat and run it wide open.  Therefore we have been told that come summertime the lake is very, very busy with all types of boats, pontoons, jet skis-you name it-if it’s got speed it will be on the lake.  While there-we were lucky to only see one or two boats on the lake.
Again we were fortunate because by summertime-the grassy fields will burn up and turn more brown than the lush green that we had the pleasure of enjoying.

Half of the campground was closed and only the main area (Elk Run) was open for business.  Elk Run has two full hook-up sites that are generally used for volunteers.  Otherwise sites had water and electric or were totally primitive.  Pinion Beach and Shale Point have no electric or water on sites.
Compare this park to Navajo it’s by far a smaller park run by only two rangers and was by far in much better condition.  Once entering the park you go from paved road to gravel roadways.  The main area (Elk Run) is more solid pack than Pinion Beach or Shale Point.  All sites in Elk Run gave you plenty of space for large rigs to get in and move around and you were not on top of one another.  Several sites were share sites-each having their own electric and water. 
No large trees to hit on, all were trimmed back to give the big rigs plenty of room.  Shale Point is not large rig friendly and there really is only a few sites down that way.  A smaller unit could get in there if they choose too. 
Being this park is more in the High Desert of the mountain area-there wasn’t really any big trees to speak of.  Lots of Juniper and Pinions.
Pinion Beach is large rig friendly, however, the road is not gravel pack as the main area was.  If no heavy rains are predicted, you could get in and out with out any mishaps.  Some sites were very secluded and close to the lake.  We wish this was open when we were there-maybe another time.
The shower building does not open until about a week or two just before Memorial Weekend.  There is a pit toilet near the boat ramp and one or two in the two areas that were closed.
As for wildlife viewing; many osprey's were nesting in the closed area.  And from afar we discovered a pair of eagles that were also nesting.  We came across some mule deer and enjoyed watching them romp around the rabbit brush.  

One of the reason’s of wanting to stop and spend time here was the trail that links El Vado Lake to Heron  Lake-The Rio Chama Trail.  According to research it would be a perfect place for hiking and viewing wildlife.
We didn’t realize that part of the trail crosses over to the Wild Life Management Area and therefore was closed on the El Vado end.  We were told by the lake manager the reason the trail was closed was so that hikers don’t disturb the wildlife as they are with their young ones. It would open again on Memorial Weekend.  Now in the same breath he then claims that Turkey hunting was allowed in this exact area that are closed to hikers!  Now-that made absolutely no sense what-so-ever!  It’s not okay to hike-where we are quiet and there only to view, not to hunt.  Hunters are there to hunt….What is wrong with that picture???
We took a quick tour over to Heron-and the Trail is open at that end…..no-it makes no sense at all to us…wonder if I need to contact someone about that situation and what kind of response I would get????
All-in-all we did enjoy our quiet time there at El Vado Lake.  But it was also starting to get boring since the trail was closed and so it was time to move on a little sooner than planned.  That’s why we love not being on any kind of schedule.
We decided to only go a very short distant-Heron Lake.  Here, there are three intertwining trails-including the Rio Chama Trail-that is open from this end.  More to look at, to see and to hike!