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."

On the road again!

Let there be no doubt, leaving for five months on the road is nothing like taking off on a two week vacation. First, There are the major projects, like the solar panels and the cabinet we added. Then there is the inventory - do we have everything on the list? What's not on the list that we wished we had last year? What did we take that we didn't use and need to leave behind this year? Then you also  have to budget time to take care of all the things that decide to break just before you leave. Last year it was plumbing, this year it was a television just about to go out of warranty. Then, at the last minute, all perishable foods needs to either go in the rig, to neighbors, or in the compost. Bird food, extra flour and other baking items go in the frig. Anything that might attract bugs or other critters is stashed in the frig or in metal containers. Bug bombs are set off in the shop and garden shed (last year when we returned everything we owned was welded together with mud wasp nests and other bug eggs). Plants are put on water timers, outdoor furniture stored, vehicles moved under cover (to prevent hail damage), anything with a battery is put on a battery maintainer, and so on! Yes, it's a bit of work, but worth it!!!

First thing to check: Before we left home we pulled the RV out of the shelter to test the solar panels. The system is working! It looks like it will work as designed, but we can't report for sure until it's been tested under boondocking conditions. Right now, quoting the Wagon master "It's too hot to boondock!"

First stop: South Llano State Park
We knew we wouldn't be on the road very early in the day, what with all the things that had to be taken care of at the last minute, so we planned a near-by stop so we would have a head start the next morning.

Flocks of wild turkeys are common

We've been to the park before, in the spring and fall, but never in the summer. There are more birds  this time of year, and the deer are still plentiful. It's so hot now that the small mammals pretty well stay out of sight until evening.

We enjoyed sitting in the shade of a huge live oak, watching birds flutter in and out of a watering trough, and both realized the view reminded us a lot of our yard at home!

We did see one bird we don't have at home, and that I've been hoping to catch a glimpse of. The Vermilion Flycatcher is a beautiful bright red and black bird. There were several of them sailing around us and perching like little red Christmas ornaments in the lacy mesquite branches - absolutely beautiful!

Another thing we noticed is the effect the drought has had on the area. Even the cactus look starved - they're pale yellow and the pads have shrunk to nearly paper thin. In some drought years the ranchers burn the spines off the pads so the cattle can eat them - there's not much there to eat this year!

Official weight check - 28 pounds!

At least the river is still running. Just as we were packing up to head out this morning our neighbor brought in a 28 pound cat fish. It was a big as a child!! He's been fishing in this part of the river since before the park was formed, and it was a record size for him. He talked about seeing a "cave" under the rocks in the river and just knew there would be a monster lurking there - he was right!

We've added a new feature - follow us on the map! The link is at the top right in the right hand column so you can access it any time.

Smokey Trails

We've finally "got it all together" and are on the road. We'll have a post ready about the first day out soon, but I wanted to get this out. As I write this we are stopped on the highway just inside New Mexico, west of Pecos, TX, watching smoke drift across the road as a crew deals with a small roadside fire - hoping it stays that way and they can get on top of it.

You have to be flexible in your travel planning, especially in a drought year like this. We've already had to make changes in plans to visit parts of New Mexico and Arizona as the fires in those areas are still raging. There is an amazing system of interagency coordination among fire agencies, and you can get to a lot of reports and other basic information from that site National Interagency Fire Center (also in the links on the right). We've also added the Incidents Reports link, so you can find the very latest updates on all the named fire complexes.