Cochiti Lake Corps of Engineers | New Mexico

There usually is a Corps of Engineers campground near the dams in New Mexico.  Water was running out of the dam for 3 days - at least, since that's how many days I went by it.  And this next photo shows it running down the Rio Grande on the other side of the bridge. 

 

The campground is a large facility and this is only one of the photos of the main area.

 

My campground was way to the left and up a hill - this shot was taken across the valley and up the hill to the visitor center.  Long zoom to get this one.

My photo shows only the main part of the reservoir, but it's quite large.

 

Up at the visitor centers, they always have interesting displays, this is a native Indian oven.

 

Huge boat ramp, but no wake is allowed in this area.

Control tower for the dam.

Most of the camping area is on some type of cliff or hill, so they made a beach just for water sports and swimming.

No wake - can't make much of a wake on sailboats!

 

 

I have no idea what these are, but it's interesting.

 

Sunset!  Finally got a nice one there. 

 

Tent Rocks is nearby and is definitely worth a hike - check it out.....  https://landcruisingadventure.blogspot.com/2014/09/tent-rocks-new-mexico-aka-kasha-katuwe.html



Devil's Canyon Campground | Wilson's Arch | Utah

 

On one of my morning hikes, I noticed a few deer in the distance and as I kept sneaking up on them, noticed this one just sitting calmly among the others.  I kept sneaking up on her, taking photos of her with my zoom lens, until I got this close.  Then she decided it was enough and got up to follow the rest.

 

I had been to this National Forest campground 3 years ago and really enjoyed it.  This is my spot this time, a little bit unlevel, but I made it work.  Recapture Reservoir is nearby, and looks like a great place to boondock, but by the time I saw it, I was all settled.  This area is Route 191, about halfway between Monticello and Blanding, Utah.

Mother Nature got a bit artistic with this tree root.

 

 

Some silly person decided this tree needed an occupant.

 

Even though the campground is at 7000', there are mountains in the distance.

 

Not too far away is Wilson's Arch, which I didn't get to climb last time I was in the neighborhood.  So a little exploring trip was in order, along with great scenery on the way.  This is Church Rock, right by the road and quite large.

 

Wilson's Arch.

 

I decided I needed to climb up to at least under the arch.  This is about halfway up and I decided the other side would be easier to climb.

 

It may not be easier to climb on this side either, but I finally made it.  The trail was quite steep. 

Did I mention I don't like heights?  Here I am, sitting on the rock, looking at how tiny those people and vehicles are.  It looks like I could slide down easily.  I will take me longer to get down safely than it did going up.  The next photo shows the view on the side.

 

Part way down, I turned around to see my progress.  I'm still not that far down, but it gives another perspective of the arch.

 

I was very relieved to get back on level land, congratulating myself that I made it down without incident.

 

 

 

Strawberry Reservoir | Utah

 

This is a very small area of the Strawberry Reservoir.  For those who are curious, I never saw any strawberries growing around here.  There are 7 campgrounds scattered around this part of the lake.  Out of those, only 1 has hookups, for people who must have air conditioning and other comforts.

 

My first site was overlooking the marina, of course.  Most days started out sunny and then started to cloud up midday.  This was sunset light, sometimes the best times to take shots.  Below is a little ground squirrel, they seem to be shy in this area.

I have no idea what kind of birds are, but I just like the shot.

 

This gives an idea how far away some of these campgrounds area.  I stayed in this campground the second time I was here this summer.

 

 

An old boat dock was in this little cove, but it has been retired. 

 

 

Following are photos during the second visit to this area this summer.  Just a different loop in the campground, different views.  I think I liked the views on my second visit more than the first visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Clouds sometimes create great sunsets. 

 

Forest Fires | Soldier Creek Forest Service Campground | Utah

Soldier Creek Campground belongs to the Forest Service, it is part of the Strawberry Reservoir but it took about 12 miles to get to the this side.  It's a very nice campground, and I had a really scenic spot overlooking a part of the lake - this is my view right out my door.

Unfortunately, the view from the back window gave me a front seat to view the fires.  This was pretty much the scene for the first few days.  I wasn't really concerned because I was told that it was about 2-3 canyons away from the campground.  Besides, there was lots of water in the lake and a good portion of it was between the campground and the opposite shore. 

For a few days, I watched two of these seaplanes land on the water, run for quite a while and then take off to circle to the fire.  They were loading water from the lake into those pontoons and then going to dump it onto the fire.  They always worked in pairs and I was told that they do that so one could go in low and the other goes in high to douse the flames.

Even after working at this for about 3 days, for 5-6 hours each day, the fire was still going, and getting really smoky when the wind shifted.

When the wind shifted, the campground was full of smoke - and ash!  Tiny flakes were floating from the sky and landing all over everything.  Still, we were in no danger because the fire itself was far away.  Below is a long shot of one of the helicopters that appeared as the smoke fog came in.  This is a really long zoom, and with all the smoke in the air, you can just see the helicopter itself and the bucket they're filling from the lake, which he then dumps on the fire. 

After 2 days, the wind shifted again and we were back to clear air again.  The fire was still burning, but it had certainly decreased in size.  There were still hot spots that were flaring up and the workers on the ground were dealing with them.

I was talking to the camp host one day and we recalled "Smokey the Bear", which was a big campaign decades ago.  Ads would be on television and in print publications, as well as signs along the highway.  I'm not sure why this campaign was stopped years ago, because certainly people still need to be educated about fire prevention.  This year has brought us major forest fires that have raged for thousands of acres. 

Two years ago, I visited the Smokey the Bear museum in Capitan, New Mexico.  The displays showed all the signs, posters and all sorts of information about how to deal with campfires, and fire safety in general.  A small bear cub was rescued in a forest fire years ago, which is where the Smokey the Bear mascot came from. 

Little animals, like the ones below at this campground, and larger animals that are rarely seen, are killed by forest fires if they can't get away fast enough from an approaching fire.  Homes are lost, as well as some fire workers. 

Across the lake from the fire, right my area, people were still out in boats and enjoying the day.

At the campground, it was business as usual, I was hiking around finding pretty scenery and other people were enjoying their stay. 

This was a bit of a hazy day, but I love the wind ripples on water.

I took a drive to the opposite of the lake, the road was snaking along the side of the mountain, but at least they had guardrails.

The scenery was pretty, but you could tell the haze had blotted out the blue sky that you'd normally see.

Unless you were facing away from the fire.

By the time I left this area, the fires were out and the air was clear all over!