finding yourself in the midst of pinon pines, 
.
.
The weather is wonderful. Nights are just cool enough to need an extra cover (remember, this is JULY). Morning brings a beautiful sky, just the right temperature for hiking….you decide to stay a while, perhaps all summer.
What more could one want, Right? That’s how we feel, and this is where we find ourselves for the summer…at Bluewater Lake State Park in New Mexico where we are volunteering.
We are parked, along with two other volunteers in the maintenance compound.
We spend a few hours weekly working in the office/visitor center
and a few afternoons manning the gatehouse.
Our first couple of hours following breakfast each morning is devoted to walking. We’re up to 1 – 2 miles every day, and occasionally as many as 5 miles, which is quite amazing for us, considering the foot problems Ron has had in the past…so glad he went through the therapy this summer…we may never dance again, but at least we can go for walks once more, which is a huge improvement.
The park is large enough, that we can pick a different walking route each day. Since it is located on an incline, we’re getting a lot of good cardio-exercise.
One of our favorite places to walk is to the top of the cliffs overlooking the dam. The asphalt drive takes you almost to the crest, and a short walk places you directly above the dam.
The canyon below the dam stretches out to the right, where we have even been fortunate enough to watch reservation horses as they come to water. The group is complete with stallion and foals.
The lake lies to the left, with boats rippling its surface daily.
Some of the boaters come just for pleasure, while others come for the large tiger muskies. The muskies range up to over 50” long…anything under 40” is a “throw-back”. Bluewater Lake holds the state record for muskie caught at 50.5”, so it attracts fishermen from far and wide. We happened on this young lady one morning, trying to revive one that had been thrown back and was still dazed.
Weekends find campers parked along both side of the lake, as well as in the developed campground.
We’ve enjoyed looking for the smaller wildlife of the park, such as the ground squirrel, the mountain bluebird and the bunnies. We’ve even spotted a horned toad, which are getting more rare.
This is definitely a good place for us to spend the summer. It’s remote, yes, …30 miles from a grocery or laundry, but it’s also a wonderful place to enjoy the mild weather while catching up on our reading and beading. We’ll share from our hikes in the area in the next post.