Elephant Butte State Park

8/17/10
Elephant Butte Lake has always been a point of destination for many of our toy hauler RV friends here in the Albuquerque area but last week was my first visit after living in New Mexico for seventeen years. Oh I knew it was there but Loretia and I intentionally avoided it because of all the Texas and New Mexico residence that migrated there for long weekends… and assuming that it wouldn’t be able to entertain people without water toys a pleasant time. Contrary, after a quick visit with friends we concluded that it had plenty of potential for dining and entertainment between the towns of Elephant Butte and Truth or Consequences, not to mention opening up an area for exploration that had eluded us so far. We booked a site at the state park along the shores of the lake and spent four day last week. Not on the lake per say, like all the weekend warriors that primitive camp on the actual current shoreline, but at the nearest sites with 30 watt electric and water hookups. Having a beautiful overlook to most of the lake and being clean and well maintained it was one of our best experiences in a New Mexico state park.
Our Jeep toad came in handy for exploring the beaches and the east and west shore overlooks, but the biggest treat was that Elephant Butte Lake is strategically located for exploring the National Scenic Byways of Geronimo’s trail and the Black Mountains. We spent three days visiting historic towns like Winston and Chloride, Hillsboro, Kingston and the ghost town of Lake Valley (the location of Bridal Chamber silver mine, one of the richest veins of silver ever discovered). With all the recent rain, some of the roads were a bit rough from being washed out but riding on them was a small price to pay for the very green landscape and abundance of wild flowers. There’s so much to see that several trips there wouldn’t do this area justice. The only setback in exploring on weekdays is that most of the museums and historic buildings were locked with a sign saying open on the door. In spite of that this area reeks with New Mexico history and doesn’t need a guide to enjoy.
By Thursday afternoon, the State park at Elephant Butte begins its weekend invasion with clusters of people from El Paso and Albuquerque caravanning RV’s and toys to their favorite spots even if you’re occupying it, so if you’re like Loretia and I, you’ll book accordingly.

Boudreau's RV Travels

Boudreau's RV Travels: "short lived. The weather was fine with"

I guess it’s about time to update my blog with information about Loretia’s and my RV travels. Unfortunately, Loretia and I haven’t had much time to travel any further than our own state back yard as we wait for her anxiously anticipated retirement. Well I guess wait is not a good choice of words because even though our Hummingbird RV hasn’t gone very far down any road lately, we have been replacing all the funky stuff that RV manufacturer’s think RVers want in their home on wheels for items that are more user friendly. The large double duty window coverings were first on our list. They never worked well or stayed up and rattled while traveling down the highways so we replaced them with microfiber blackout drapes and attached them to the wood box valance above with shower curtain rods. We also trashed the shower accordion access door because it was too restrictive and only latch half the time. Now we have shower curtains similar to those in our stationary home.
Even though our travels will not take us any further than the Jemez Mountains or Durango this year, this home down time has given me the opportunity to finish my Biography. Being a frugal sort and knowing most of the people or relatives I know spend the majority of their free time watching TV instead of reading, I decided to self publish my book in a digital text platform on Amazon.com as a Kindle Book. If you’re interested in reading my story it’s entitled “Denali Dreams” and is available for purchase as a Amazon Kindle book for $7.99. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free Apps “Kindle for PC” onto your computer and create your own cloud of books available for reading on your laptop or a future Kindle or some other user ready electronic devices.
Until we meet you on the road again; Drive safely…
Roland

Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

Going to Bosque Del Apache from the 15th through the 17th of February to photograph residing winter waterfowl and raptors might sound boring to some, but after making many visits at different times of the year Loretia and I have discovered the enormous value of this national wildlife refuge. Looking for the illusive wildlife is such a peaceful adventure, that it makes all the worldly cares melt away. Sure there are some visiting within this pristine environment driving so fast that their leaving contrails of dust in hopes to catching a photograph of wildlife as if their at a zoo, but the value of this environment is to see all the waterfowl and predators in an undisturbed atmosphere in a natural habitat. Watching the Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese land on a marsh within the wildlife refuge at sunset will give anyone goose bumps and Crane bumps if there is such a thing. To observe this spectacle is to become one with nature, and understanding that these magnificent birds are looking for a safe resting place before dark.
Where ever these migrating giants gather predators also follow, kind of like humans in that respect, but to see thousands of cranes slowly glide into a watery marsh like aircraft landing at an airport, to find safety in numbers and an early warnings system against numerous coyotes, fox and even raccoons lurking in the surrounding tall grass. We saw as many as six coyotes traveling in a pack looking for dinner. Even if we were blind, the sound of their presence would be a joy. From only feet away we watched hundreds of gathering geese and cranes landing and greeting one another with unique trumpeting calls as if to say, “Hey, long time no see!” or “Don’t get in my space or I’ll bite you!” but definitely communicating in the massive group with some kind of pecking order. It all makes our human runaround life with little meaning feel ridiculous.
Even though our short stay was several weeks after the beginning of the mass exodus, we still saw thousands lingering and foraging for food. We also saw Canadian geese, Mallard’s, Great Blue Heron, American Coot, Snowy Egret and many we were not able to identify but still enjoyed watching. The raptures we say were Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks, A Peregrine Falcon, and many others that perched at tree tops that were not photogenic and would fly away before we could capture them in our lens.
We stayed at the Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park in San Antonio, NM only a few miles from the wildlife refuge but sometimes surrounded by its inhabitants. Our friends Kate and Terry were spending an extended stay there and it was good to catch up on our RV adventures even though it was short lived. The weather was fine with daytime highs near sixty degrees and overnight lows in the teens and of course beautiful sunsets every evening. You gotta love it!