Brantley Lake State Park, New Mexico

Steve had us routed for about 360 miles yesterday, and we were clicking along  just fine until we had to stop for a grass fire along the highway, just west of Pecos. We sat for about an hour, in 100+ degrees, watching the smoke turn from black to white (a good sign) and ten back to black as the winds whipped the flames and spread it from one area to another. Finally it was out and traffic was moving again. But the scene had apparently been repeated many times before along that same stretch of road. All along the highway from the Texas border to Carlsbad the still smouldering chard remains of countless brush fires gave testament to the extreme fire danger this year.

 Just outside of Carlsbad we noticed live flames in the median and pulled over to use the OnStar to call it in. As Steve was making the call I looked behind us and the fire had jumped the road and was burning quickly toward the railroad tracks.

A few miles later we reached our destination, Brantley Lake State Park. Steve had read about it on Wheeling It, a new blog he discovered. We rather like the way they write, and descriptions they provide of the places they've visited, so we've added them to our links list on the right under Travel Blogs.


The thermometer was hovering right around 104 when we got settled in to our space, so we set up as much shade for the rig as we could, started the fans and the air conditioner, and hoped for the best.


 I went down to the pay station to pay the rent and looked around at the facilities on the way. A large tree directly across from us was definitely showing stress from the heat and drought. . .  a prime target for burning I'm afraid. The cactus and shrubs all looked dehydrated too. I took a few shots of the campground on the way back.

The campground is nicely laid out with large spaces and shaded tables, and I especially like the way they've made wind breaks with small stone walls in each space.

I had just taken a shot of the lake and turned around to take one of our space I noticed a dark plume of smoke just north of us, across the lake. Steve called 911 again, and got the same operator he spoke to earlier in the day! She recognized his voice, too. Again, we sat and watched the black smoke turn white, then black again as it got away from the fire fighters. It took about an hour before they finally got it knocked down. Let's hope that's the last we see of flames, but I'm not counting on it.

Brantley Lake is an interesting area, and though we aren't staying this time we will definately be back. The lake, a reservoir really, covers the old town of Seven Rivers, once home to the famous ranchers Charles Goodnight, Oliver Loving and  John Chisum. There are undoubtedly great historic areas to visit here.... next time!

Early morning at Brantley Lake - Here in the Chihuahuan Desert the nights are cool, even when the days are hot. After yesterday's 104, this mornings refreshing 59 degrees was a welcome change. 

We broke camp this morning just before 9 o'clock so we could hit the visitor's center as soon as it opened, then headed northwest toward Three Rivers. On the way we passed through Artesia - this little town is definitely on list to visit  next time. The downtown area boasts several beautiful bronze statues commemorating the cattle ranching history of the area, and a great variety of little shops - including a quilt shop!

Our route takes us through the cool heights (8,000+) of the Lincoln National Forest. Thought the pine trees at the higher elevations are still green, the forest is closed due to high fire danger. We passed through Mayhill, within the forest area, where three homes and over 2,000 acres were lost to a wildfire in May. At the rate things are going we'll remember this as "the summer of the fires."