walnutshademom posted: " September 21 – Day #23 Since we're on vacation, and since we knew we'd just be hanging around for a day, casually taking in the sights at Navajo Lake State Park and maybe biking a bit, we didn't bother to set any alarms last night, and we slept til 7:" Walnuts on My Windshield
Since we're on vacation, and since we knew we'd just be hanging around for a day, casually taking in the sights at Navajo Lake State Park and maybe biking a bit, we didn't bother to set any alarms last night, and we slept til 7:21! It was a leisurely way start to our day, but once we'd gotten going and had done a bit of reconnoitering, we had some decisions to make. Our assigned site was not only uphill, curved, and unlevel; it was also a full hook-up site, meaning that we had our own sewer connection. Hooray! We've only had that luxury a couple times so far, but this crazy site was arranged such that no matter how one's camper was positioned, the sewer access was inaccessibly uphill from the camper's drain. Sigh.
When we realized we couldn't dump at our site, Scott asked what I'd think about moving the camper to a vacant site across the road. Hmm... it was level and straight, and its sewer access was NOT gravitationally challenged, but I had reservations.
Navajo Lake State Park has the same appearance and cultural feel as the landscape we drove through for so many miles yesterday. It's pretty dreary, and its facilities are rather… well, what's Andrew's word for it?... seedy. Now, we don't have to have a glorious place, but this park's appeal was on par with that of Quail Creek (ugh). Did I really want to do All. That. Work. to hook up, move 50 feet, disconnect, and set up just so we could sit around in a discouraging place for the rest of the day? The short answer is no. The park was also on such a steep hill that it would be difficult to do much, if any, biking.
I had a thought that I didn't know if I dared mention to Scott. We drove 400 miles yesterday to get here. Our original plan called for us to stay here again tonight and then drive 506 miles tomorrow to Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas. What if we just kissed Navajo State Park goodbye today and drove to some place between here and Palo Duro for tonight? After all, how hard could it be to find a campsite for one night on a week night? It wouldn't have to be wonderful; most anything would be better than this! And breaking up those 506 miles could only be a good thing. I took a deep breath and shared my thoughts with Scott. Turns out he'd been thinking the same thing!
We packed up in 41 minutes, pulled out at 11:45 AM, and began our 315-mile trek to Santa Rosa Lake State Park, also in New Mexico. Although we couldn't get a refund for our unused night at Navajo Lake, we were so glad to leave that we didn't care.
Here are a couple shots of what our living area looks like when we're packed up and driving.
We usually sit at the table; me on the left bench, Scott on the right
The couch is always full, even when we're camped, but normally the floor is clear
And for us, this was the only redeeming feature of our stay at Navajo Lake State Park.
A rainbow is such a hopeful thing!
The land we drove through today was desolate with only a few noteworthy items of interest:
- Seeing, in one small town, multiple signs for "fly fishing, art gallery, disc golf;" an interesting business combo.
- Crossing the Continental Divide at 7,373 feet on Highway 550 at the eastern edge of the Apache reservation. We're hoping this was Bessie's last tough climb of the trip. Yes, we've finally named our Jeep. = )
- Traveling 100 miles without seeing a single green highway sign.
- Going up, over, and down lots and lots and lots of mesas.
- Driving through at least six reservations today: Navajo, Apache, Jemez, Zia, Santa Ana, Sandia.
We spent seven hours getting to Santa Rosa Lake State Park, and I think I've discovered a trend in state park placements. A river or stream is dammed—whether for flood control, reservoir creation, and/or power generation—this creates a lake, and then a state park is established along its shores. We have now camped beside such lakes in:
Cedar Bluff State Park, Kansas
Chatfield State Park, Colorado
Otter Creek State Park, Utah
Quail Creek State Park, Utah
Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico
Santa Rosa Lake State Park, New Mexico
Once we were set up for the night, Scott drove into the town of Santa Rosa (population 2,846) to get a cell signal for his meeting with the Africa Disciple-Makers leadership team, and when I sat down at our table to blog, I found that I have somehow lost some of the notes I've been making in my phone to help me write these posts. That is VERY upsetting to me! But I am doing my best to keep a good attitude and keep going.
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