Heron Lake State Park | New Mexico

 

Heron Lake is quite close to El Vado, there are ospreys in both places.  This one was not as helpful with getting a good shot.

  

Scenery is great, but you have to take a little walk down to the water.  Good exercise though. 

 

Last time I was here, I was able to walk down to this river, but the steps down have apparently deteriorated and are blocked off.  At least I did get to hike down there once a few years ago. 

 

The dam is nearby this area - as well as another camping area.

 

The marina was a really pretty area. 

 

Not many boats, and I'm not sure why.  And I never found out how to get down there.

 

 

 

I was standing on the edge of the reservoir, which shows how low the water level is.

 

 

Another flower I don't think I have seen before, surprisingly how many little wild flowers there are. 

 

Some of these sites are great, I was lucky to get one of the spacious ones.

 

El Vado State Park | New Mexico

 

I wasn't sure I was going to like this state park, but the scenery is great!  I really enjoyed my stay here, but I sure was missing trees for shade.  And the internet - there's basically no signal here, although I did get a few messages out.

 

 

Ospreys are nesting this time of year in this neighborhood.  She was bringing her babies some breakfast - whole fish right out of the water.

 

 

For some reason, I think she looks startled in this photo. 

 

  

I love the scenery here, even the rocks near the boat ramp.

In one of the calm areas that is a bit sheltered, you can see the dam in the distance.

Shale Point was not far away and is different from the other areas - the shore is all shale that has been worn down into tiny pieces.  I guess it's not hospitable for plant life - not much there.

 

 

One evening we had a thunderstorm and even though this might look like a sunset, this scene was opposite the sunset and it was still misty.

 

Sunset that night.

 

Heron Lake State Park | New Mexico

  

Ospreys are in the southwest as well as places like Florida -  I was surprised to find them here.  I found a nest that I was able to photograph, after waiting patiently.

She then "flew the coop" after staring at me intently, wishing I would go away.   

The Rio Chama runs through part of the park, and this is the great view from the trailhead.  Easy going down, but coming up is strenuous.

I love this little island, which at one time was a peninsula when the water level was very low.  It has come up quite a bit since I was here 3 years ago.

The reservoir is quite large, with rocky shoreline as well as sand in different areas.

A marina for small boats is available for those who want to leave a boat in the water, or stay overnight on the dock.  A dry storage area is available also.

The Heron Dam is not spectacular looking, but some of us campers got a little tour, with lots of specifications and details.  The machine shown below tracks the lake level each hour.

We didn't get to see inside this control panel, but the look of it from the outside is intimidating enough!



This ladder goes down 275 feet to the guts of the dam, but we didn't get to go down - probably a good thing, because we had a large group.

 My campsite is huge, with steps leading down to a backyard and firepit as well as a large table off to the side under some large shade trees. 

My shade trees are quite picturesque.