Monday, June 30, 2014

Fort Supply C.O.E.

 Fort Supply C.O.E.

We arrived at a beautiful Corp of Engineers Park in Oklahoma for some more 
R & R.  This relaxing thing is good for the soul when you are in such beautiful surroundings.  This time we didn't go anywhere.  Just enjoyed the view and the cute little kids next door fishing behind us.

 Ton washed the little car but could not go kayaking as the lake had white caps and it was really windy. 
We had a beautiful campsite - It was the last one available once again 
and was right on the water and not the the inside sites.
So get ready to kick off your shoes, grab a good book,
take a deep breath and enjoy the breeze.

Ahhhhhh - Just sitting back and watching the jet ski's  on the water

There were a lot of boaters but Sunday afternoon the park pretty
well cleared out and nobody was camping on our right side and only 6 
on our left side
  
Then the Canadian Geese started arriving, one by one in a straight row

 Our neighbors started feeding them so they came forward in groups
 and came in groups nicely getting back in straight line after their snack

 They kept coming for about a half hour ...Unbellievable

 I came in and started working on this blog
 and more lined up at by back of the group
Never seen so many in our lives
 Just sitting and pondering how lucky we are to have so much beauty
& my  hubby joined me, which makes it even better

It's dusk and time to come in and the guess come back
with their young and I had to take this picture 
out our door to end the night.  
Such a peaceful, beautiful day.

  You can’t help but be in complete peace with the lake on three sides and camping on the banks, it looked like we were floating on the water from inside dining table.  Beautiful

Clayton Lake State Park, N.M.

Clayton Lake State Park, N.M.
May 27
We came to this state park mainly for the water and relaxation.  We knew Ton could possibly Kayak here, weather permitting.  When we booked it, the New Mexico reservation systym informed us we needed to switch sites to get 2 nights.  Both sites were nice but the second one the best.  They only have
16 sites and it was only $18 a night.

There we are, high on the hill  over looking the lake.  
The boat ramp was nearby
We saw a visitor center when we entered but it was
closed and would remain closed according to the ranger.  Our water connection leaked really bad, so we reported it before hooking up.   The ranger asked us
 to use our own supply and fill our tank and not use it since it was broke. 
He informed us that the State of New Mexico had no more funds for this park and they could just operate with one ranger and the bare minimum
of repairs.  They didn't even give you a brochure about the park or the Dino Tracks they promoted.   It's a shame some of the State Parks unfortunately have to come to this, but we understand too, that this park is very small and they need to try to keep some bigger ones going.  We were still very happy we stopped here.
It was windy when we arrived, so Ton decided to Kayak tomorrow.
After lunch he took the 1 1/2 mile walk to the  other side of the reservoir to see the Dinosaur tracks.

One of the best dinosaur track sites in the world can be viewed at Clayton Lake State Park.  More than 500 fossilized footprints, with at least eight kinds of dinosaurs are visible on the Lake’s spillway.  The tracks were embedded in the mud over 100 million years ago when most of New Mexico was a vast sea.

How Tracks are Preserved
When the dinosaurs walked over this muddy surface, their feet sank into the layers of clay and silt.  Where the mud was stiff, the depressions kept their shape, actually showing the anatomy of the bottom of the foot.  As the mud dried, dust might have blown over the surface to fill in some of the depressions, and later, perhaps as the tide flooded the surface, fine layers of sand filled each track, burying them for a millennial. 
Over the millions of years since the tracks were made, the mud changed to mud-stones, and the sands to sandstone.  When construction for the dam exposed this layer, no tracks could be seen.  After several years of exposure to rain and snow, however, the sand layers that filled the depressions were gradually loosened, and the compacted surface of each track could be recognized.



 The prints above are from large conniver dinosaurs.  
The pointed claws are used to kill their prey.
The birds fly overhead
 The campground taken from the dinosaur trail across the lake
 A dragonfly
 and a beautiful butterfly was seen along the trail.
Day 2
Today we moved to our new site along the lake
 We pulled straight in to enjoy the view and privacy
Our Picnic Table was a nice place to sit
After getting settled in, My wonderful hubby left for awhile 
to do what he loves
KAYAKING
 So much to see.....and so little time
 He wanted me to go with him, but it was too hot outside for my system
so I opted out.  I can enjoy it through pictures too.
Not another sole in site
So many swallow nests between the rocks
Looking up to our site as Ton came back for lunch
 he beached the kayak behind
 our campsite and walked up the rocks.
I could see him coming from the RV

He went for an afternoon trip after lunch.
After he left, Being the curious sole that I am, I followed him
down because I couldn't see where the kayak was parked.
I could only see him bending over to take this picture when I spotted him.
This is where I took the following pictures from. 
 I settled myself between a wedge in the stones, so I couldn't slip down.
Then I watched to see where he was going.  Reading the little notes I
typed on the pictures will tell you the difficulty of where he parked it.

I yelled down to him after he was finally in the boat to let him
know I was there, and that is when he shot this picture of me watching.
He climbed past this tree growing out of the stone
then down these rocks
& I still couldn't see him
OH! There he is at the end of the rocks
Gone again? He must be climbing into the boat
You can barely see him now, just starting to paddle away
]
And he's off again.
Have fun honey!
We had a great two days here.













Sunday, June 29, 2014

Pueblo, CO.

May 25 & 26
Pueblo, CO
We started the morning looking for a stop that would give us a break halfway to our next destination and our priorities were very simple.  We needed a place to get a oil change in the RV., a place to relax and  make sure we had electric, water, sewer, WiFi and if we got TV on our antenna, that would be a bonus.    We found all this with a little help from RV Park Reviews, at a little RV place called Haggard’s.  They had excellent reviews even though it was in the boonies.
We were not disappointed as the owners were a nice young couple (pictured above) They bought the campground 3 years ago and were working hard to improve it.  They were very pleasant and eager to answer questions and make suggestions.  The wife runs the RV Park along with some help and her husband happened to be a mechanic who worked on all kinds of vehicles from motorcycles to the big semi’s.  He had a complete machine  shop in his business.  We called him and he said he would work us in the next day. 
I got caught up on my blogs while there and Ton handled paying bills and plans for our next stops. 
We watched some rabbits in our site
 It was a pretty sundown and we were 
content, as maintenance would be done. 
Day 2, Friday, we had an appointment in the afternoon for the oil change.  We were a little shocked by the looks of it...but we learned quickly that you
can't judge a book by its cover
Not fancy, but pleasant, efficient, and he knew what he was doing.
Ton looked over the bikes while we were waiting.
In the morning just before we left for the oil change, 2 young boys stopped by and knocked on our door and gave us a brochure. They told us they were having a Gospel Bluegrass performance at the office that night and we were invited.  It sounded like a good thing to do, so we told them we would try to attend. 
It ended up being a family staying in the park for 2 days and the band consisted of the same 2 boys (ages: 11 and 14) along with their parents.  They were very good and had just come out with their first album.  Everyone had good voices and did different solo's and played more than one instrument.
They played for 1 1/2 hours.

  All in all, this was a great campground, just because of the people 
around us and the owners.  A good experience and all for $13.50 night.  
 With Dinosaur only $8.00 a night and Townsend $6.00 (with No Hookups)  this week, we’re really living on the cheap LOL