Leasburg Dam State Park, New Mexico

I spent most of last summer exploring quite a few of the state parks in New Mexico. Leasburg Dam was one I missed, so I stopped here this year on my way through. This park is easy to find, very close to Interstate 25. It is located at Radium Springs, which is a little community that has a Family Dollar and a fire station for facilities. Plus, there's a state monument for the Fort Selden ruins.

I arrived on a rainy day and the park was full. I had called the day before and someone told me I might be able to find a spot. Apparently, this was not the case. They have an overflow area, a large sandy/gravel area where you can park for boondocking. I pulled in there and was not going to bother unhooking until the rain stopped. One of the camp hosts came walking up to me with his umbrella and told me of a spot with hookups that had just become available. I got back in my truck and made tracks for that spot! I have to say that the camp hosts here (2 couples) have been some of the best I've met in my travels.

I was happy with my little spot for the night, but I had to leave the next day before 2 PM. I decided to reserve a spot for the weekend, so I called the booking service (the only way to reserve, unless you do it online). I got 3 days starting Sunday, which was 3 days away, so I decided to camp in the boondocking area for the two days in between. So, if you ever think about visiting here, I suggest reservations since this is a small park, and very busy.  One of the reasons the park is so small is that they have land to add more sites, but archaeologists have not approved development because of historical items that are still buried and have not been excavated.

I moved the next day and at least it wasn't raining, but it was totally overcast, so I hibernated. It is turning cold here, which is not bad if you have sun during the day, but the dampness made it seem colder. The next day was bright, clear and sunny so I spent most of the day soaking up the sun and warmth.

 

There are short hiking trails throughout the park and I hiked one that took me down a hill, across a small creek on a bridge and down a road to the dam that you can see in the photo below. This is just a diversion dam that was built for farming. Most of the water in the riverbed is from hot springs in the area, but fish are still thriving in it.

Las Cruces is just down the road about 15 miles, so if you need big city things, it's not far. There is a small post office where I had mail sent to me. It's a good spot to stay and relax a few days.  And the sunsets turn the mountains a nice color in the east.
 

 

 

Fort Selden at Radium Springs, New Mexico

 

This photo shows and old abandoned gas station and general store. At present, the only store in the town of Radium Springs is a Family Dollar.

Fort Selden was established in 1865 to protect the trade route to Sante Fe and the surrounding valley from the Indians. Unfortunately, the residents of the fort and the residents of the town did not get along very well and there were reports of some of the troopers being "murdered" there, possibly by townspeople or troopers themselves, under the influence of "poisonous liquors" sold to them by townspeople.

Soldiers at this fort were called troopers, and included units of black men known as "Buffalo Soldiers". The troopers built the fort from adobe bricks with cottonwood logs covered by brush and mud for roofs. Life was rough during this era, and some recipies concocted by the cooks at the fort were posted in the museum.

The "Artillery Pie" was made from 8 pounds of bread, 4 dozen apples, 1 pound of suet and 2 pounds of sugar. The bread would be dipped into the melted fat and then layered with the apples and sugar in a pan, then baked.

Another delicious meal called "Cannon Balls" consisted of 6 pounds of flour 1.5 pounds of suet, 3 pints of molasses and 1 pint of water. This would be all mixed up, after chopping the suet. After mixing, it would be formed into soft balls which were tied separately in pieces of cloth and boiled. These could be kept for up to a year. 

Sometimes fresh vegetables would be available, along with some pork or bacon, beans, rice or hominy. Not much variety and I can imagine the above two recipies would not have been favorites!

The prison at the Fort was constructed differently from the barracks and other buildings. The remaining sections of walls show that they were constructed with thick walls of rocks.

There was a shiny cannon in the museum, I'm not sure if it's a replica, but it sure looks in great condition.

The fort was abandoned in the early 1890s and has been deteriorating since then. Efforts have been made to support the portions of walls still standing, as you can see in the photo below.

As in another area I explored this year, they have trained the rattlers to stay off the trails for us. These signs seem to work, since I have not seen rattlers in any of the places where these signs are posted.  Of course, I have yet to see a rattler out here that has not been in captivity!  That's surprising with all the hiking I've been doing.