Oasis State Park, New Mexico

Friday and Saturday - May 31 and June 1- Oasis State Park, New Mexico.

Well named, but a very small oasis this is, in the form of a fishing pond that probably originated during gravel mining operations many ago. It’s now rimmed with large red sandstone blocks that provide a secure shore for local fishermen, quite a treat in the middle of such a desert environment.

The park has provided picnic tables, some with shades, and benches too. The pond is home to several types of bass and catfish and a wide variety of birds. You can pick up a bird watcher’s checklist at the park office. Though I didn't get very many checked off, I can say I heard several varieties. They love to hide in the trees and chip and sing in the evenings and early mornings. Cotton tails and jack rabbits abound within the park, and poor Shiner found it very frustrating that she wasn't allowed to chase them.

The campground offers several spaces  with services for RVs, and another area for tents or other rustic campers. Some of those would also accommodate a small RV. You'll find a good breakdown of the types of camping facilities here. The restrooms have showers, and the park is neat and well maintained overall. 

Oasis makes a good base camp while exploring the local attractions. There are several museums and  other points of interest in the two closest towns, Portales and Clovis. We divided our time between the Blackwater Draw museum, near Portalis, and the Blackwater Draw archeological site.  

You’d never guess it now, to look at the arid environment, but about 14,000 years ago this valley was a lush meadow, with lakes and running streams, and plenty of food for the herds of mastodons that ranged here, as well as the earl humans that hunted them. They know that because researchers have retrieved the bones of many of them, of all ages, some with spear points imbedded in their ribs, so obviously there were humans here at the time too. In fact, the terms “Clovis” and “Folsom” as descriptors for the ages of stone point (arrowheads) and other cultural artifacts originated with research done in this area, near the towns of Clovis and Folsom.   

The Blackwater Draw museum presents the findings of the human side of the research as well as a bit about the mastodons and other animals that lived in the area at the time.

excavation in progress

The archeological site has a covered display of an in-progress excavation of bone beds. It explains the layers of sedimentation and how the positioning of bones as they are found can be interpreted to learn a lot about what happened those many thousands of years ago. Interesting stuff!

We did a bit of basic shopping in town in the afternoon then went back to camp to enjoy the scenery. Steve spent a bit of time helping our neighbor work on his coach hydraulic jacks. . . his idea of afternoon entertainment. Shiner and I took a walk outside the park fence, where interestingly enough there was not a single bunny to chase. Those little devils are smarter than I thought! We found a dry lake bed with the remnants of what was probably a small market or concession stand that needed investigating, she thought. She had a great time exploring, but didn't scare up a single thing to chase until we were back in the park, and she was on a leash by then. Too frustrating!