Bluewater Lake State Park, New Mexico

Monday - June 3

Sad to say, Bluewater Lake State Park is our least favorite camping experience so far.

The sites are awkwardly laid out, with many of the sites oriented “backwards” to the indicated traffic directions, which makes getting into them very difficult. Sharp corners in the road through the campgrounds makes navigating difficult for longer rigs. The office was closed so we couldn’t ask for advice or get a map. There is a host, so contacting him would be a good idea if he's in. On our own, we just went shopping for a site.  The tags on all the reservation sites were red, indicating they were reserved, but no one ever showed up for any of them.  Our neighboring camper said the same thing happened the night before. We found out later from the incoming host that the current one just didn't like tracking the reservations and dealing with the system.....so he didn't! Hopefully that's not a common problem.

We had electric in the site we choose, but no water. Most sites have no water, though there is water available at several  places in the campground as long as you have a bucket or a Jerry can you’re in good shape. There are juniper trees all around the campground, so if you choose your site correctly you'll have a little shade.

Sites in the Cliff-side campground on the backside are less windy, but the spaces are small, so we ended up out in the front area with a nice level site, plenty wide enough, though with the way it’s laid out the table and firepit are on the off side of the trailer. Weird, but not the first time we've encountered this kind of layout.

I stayed here with my family many years ago, but so much development has taken place that the area is unrecognizable. That is only a part of the changes. Standing in one of the shore line campsites we could see where the waterline fell for years, and it's now down so low that you can hardly imagine what it looked like before. 

Those with boats can still get out and fish but the whole personality of the park is changed with the water level being so low.

 Our evening was very windy, as it seems to be everywhere we’ve been so far. It must be the time of year. It’s a trade off, as every afternoon gorgeous thunderheads begin to build. The contrast with the red cliffs and the blue sky is absolutely beautiful… a little wind is no biggie.

Early in the morning the air was still and perfect for a little walk, so we went around to the back side of the campground where we could gaze down on the river.... at least it has a little water in it!