Rockhound State Park, NM

Sunset Over Rockhound State Park, MN

Monday, November 11, 2013, Rockhound State Park, NM - 88.8 miles, 4,094.5 For the Trip

For all Veterans, thank you for your service, and have a great day!

They have interesting lighting at Leasburg Dam State Park. Like some of the other New Mexico parks I've been in, they use movement sensors to turn on the lights at night. This afternoon they didn't turn on the lights, but start the fans, which only run for about 10 seconds before you need to move again to restart them. Not thinking too much about that, I waited until after dark to take a shower. The fans still started & ran for 10 seconds when you entered the bathroom, but the lights never came on. I tried waving, moving to the shower room, etc, but never managed to turn on the lights. Since it was pitch black, & all I had was my little Harbor Freight 9 LED flashlight, I decided to pass up the shower until morning.

I did shower around 9:30 AM, and it was cold! While the water was warm enough, the building was still retaining the 36°F nighttime temperatures.

I was not in a hurry to leave since the drive to Rockhound State Park was short. I thought about taking US 70 rather than I 10, but there were signs that there was 20 miles of construction, expect delays, etc so I took the interstate. I stopped at the Deming Walmart to pick up some English Muffins & Grill gas. Of course by the time I got out of there I had 4 bags of stuff & spent more than I should have.

I'm in site 17, one away from where I stayed last year. Like last year, I marvel at the quality of the light here in the desert. Unlike last year there are no wild fires to produce the wonderful clouds in the 2012 photographs, but the light almost has a life to it. Hard to capture on film (well, on a sensor) but I love it. The weather is much better than the last time I was here - temperatures in the 70's rather than the 100's. Still, the sun is just as strong; I stayed in the shade of the trailer until around 4:00. Once the sun sets I suspect it will cool off fast. The rest of the photos are on today's LakeshoreImages page.

Dinner will probably be a Bubba Burger, with broccoli & cauliflower. I bought a steak at Walmart, but I think I'll save it for tomorrow.

Until tomorrow -