NM State Parks Spring 2019 Summary

Now that I'm home, it's time to summarize the experiences of the last six and a half weeks, including a comparison with Mom and Dad's weeks spent in the New Mexico State Parks during their retirement. It was quite nostalgic to visit many of the same places they loved so much. Richard even remembered which camp site in Navajo Lake Pine campground they liked to reserve. Unfortunately, site 4 is now designated as a camp host spot, so we couldn't camp in it, but every time I walked the loop with Hanna, I thought of them. Every time, I stood overlooking the lake, I thought of Dad taking his boat out and finding a favorite fishing spot. Every hour I spent reading, I thought of Mom relaxing in their fifth wheel while Dad was out on the water. And many of the sight seeing side trips Dale and I took were because I had read about them in Mom's journals.

Mom left a stack of journals where I rediscovered the excitement of their travels.

I didn't track all my expenses or mileage this year. After traveling in my Minnie for 3 years, I know what my gas mileage is (~7.5 towing my Fit), and my campground expenses were mostly covered by the annual pass I purchased for $225.

We camped in four state parks; Percha Dam, Bluewater Lake, Navajo Lake and Heron Lake, as well as a couple of boon docks outside the parks. We visited three more parks; Caballo, Elephant Butte and El Vado. My favorite campground was Heron, but the lake was so low we didn't enjoy the view much. That award goes to Navajo, especially since that lake has several arms and varying perspectives from the campgrounds and roads around it.

The best part of the trip was spending it with Dale. We really enjoyed camping together, each with our own Minnies, taking lots of trips to see the sights or running into the Walmart in the nearest town, walking the campground loops and trails, and sitting around an evening campfire making S'mores.

I really appreciated him accommodating my desire to visit certain locations. He might have wandered a little farther east or stayed longer in each spot if I hadn't been spurring him to move and discover a new adventure with me.

His summer plans are to mozy around northern Arizona, and try to find places to put his kayak in the creeks, streams and lakes there. I think I will try to escape the Valley heat and join him for a few weeks up in the mountains. Then next fall, I hope to head back east and drive the Nachez Trace Parkway end to end. Maybe I can convince him to tag along with me!

Maybe I can convince my readers to tag along too, via this blog!