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.

 

Caballo Lake State Park | New Mexico



This is a great scene not too far from where I was camped.



During the weekend, this area is packed with tents, trailers and lots of people. 

I love the water and there are so many places to get close to it.

Cactus flowers are still blooming.

A Yucca plant has this type of bloom.

Desert Willow trees are all over this area. beautiful this time of year.

 

I love these boat ramp signs!

They have a very nice, spacious boat ramp, well used on the weekends.

 

This state park has another RV area, called Riverside, which is full of large trees, as compared with the desert in the main area.

 

 

A small dam regulates the water in the area, and when I was there, it was really low.

The Rv sites where I was are all pull-thru, and quite spacious, with tables and shelters.  There is also a large area for boondocking.

 

 

Unfortunately, after I left someone texted me to let me know that ALL sites in this state park will be by reservation only.  There will be no "first come, first served".

 

 

 

City of Rocks State Park | New Mexico

City of Rocks is an amazing area that was created by a volcano centuries ago.  The area surrounding the rocks is a flat meadow area.

 

All the rocks are amazingly unique, I love the ones with huge boulders perching on larger rocks. 

 

Most of the camping sites are without hookups, except for the few in the electrical area.

 

One of the campers told me where the owl was nesting.  She was near the top of a hollowed out rock, probably about 2 stories up.  She blends in quite well with the rock colors.

Nearby, this tree was surrounded by huge rocks.

Quite a few of these boulders have areas that would be good shelter for animals in the area.

I call this the Boomerang Rock!

Across from the main campground is another area that had an upheaval, creating more boulders.  The view from there shows how flat the area is.

The photo below shows that area from the main campground.

I was there for over a week and kept wandering around, seeing different formations.  This one shows a windmill that was one of two installed in the park in the 1950s.  They don't work anymore, but they are picturesque.