Small but pretty lake
My 14 day limit was up at Heron Lake State Park so I headed out to find another place to explore. My original thought was to head up to Eagles Nest State Park, situated high in the Carson National Forest at 8500′ of elevation, and look for a break in all this hot weather. Eagles Nest is a high, glacial lake situated out in the open with few trees around. I looked at the weather forecast for the next week and became concerned with being out in the open in violent lightning storms every afternoon. At the last minute I changed direction and headed south to Fenton Lake State Park.
The road up to Fenton Lake coming in from Los Alamos was pretty curvy and steep. I wouldn’t want to tow a big trailer up that way. When I went through Los Alamos, I was stopped, had to show picture ID, and consent to a search of my RV. I’m not to sure what goes on around Los Alamos. The signs say it is a national laboratory. I’m thinking some kind of top secret nuclear testing and design. There sure we’re a lot of impressive huge buildings with hundreds of vehicles in adjoining parking lots. When I get a cell signal I’ll look it up.
Pretty rainbow!
Fenton Lake State Park is tucked into a valley high in the Santa Fe NF. The lake is tiny compared with many I have been to. Most of the sites are reservation only and the few that are open are not very level or nice. There is no cell signal, and the weather is just as hot as Heron Lake. They have lifted all fire restrictions, however, so you can roast hotdogs over a campfire.
I thought that coming up in the middle of the week would give me a better chance of finding a good spot. The campground was almost full even on a Tuesday. I guess the big draw is the fishing. One camper told me they stock it with big trout every week. If I were a fisherman, or had a kayak, or planned to hike the nice trails in the area, I would probably stay for a while. But I’m not, and I don’t, and I can’t, so I think I’ll move on.
Richard wrote to me about all the places to see and explore near Fenton Lake, but with Honda down until I get the headlight fixed, I won’t be making many side trips. Maybe next time through.
At least it’s not 116°. Stay away from Phoenix.
You’ve convinced me to avoid NM in summer. Sorry you aren’t getting the cool temps.
Just make sure Minnie isn’t glowing after driving through Los Alamos.
Los Alamos is of course where they developed the original atomic bomb, and still do a lot of weapons research.
The lab there came to the university when I was a student recruiting physics students. They made it sound like a physicist’s paradise.