Enjoying Nature in the Middle of Nowhere
Lakeside Camping in New Mexico - Issue # 54
We weren’t planning another camping trip so soon after our last one, but we’ve been eyeing this particular campsite for a while now, and we had an opportunity to drive to the area. Of course, we took it.
We drove for hours upon hours through high desert and flatlands, with mountain views in the far distance. No town in view, not even a tiny settlement. No cars driving by in either direction. Only the empty grasslands and big, puffy clouds floating above.
A gorgeous raptor, possibly a prairie falcon, sat on a fence post near the road, watching us with an intent stare as we drove by.
Two ravens sat in the middle of the road, hopping away lazily as we got close.
A huge red-tailed hawk flew over us, disappearing into the distance.
As we turned off the main road, I finally noticed trees. We were driving into a much greener area. Pinyon and juniper forests surrounded us, mixed with Ponderosa pines and deciduous trees like aspens and cottonwood.
Soon, we noticed a sign for the lake, calling it a “recreation area”. Still, few people were in the parking lot, and even fewer boats were in the lake.
We passed the lakeside campground and drove into the next one, higher up, in the forest. We thought it would be cooler up there, and we were running away from the heat.
Though open, this campground was deserted. Not one camper in sight. The wind was howling, and trees were swaying as we drove by each campsite. We could choose any, so we decided on one surrounded by young Ponderosa pines, with a great view.
As I got out of the car, the cold air hit me. Though we drove up for the cold, it was more than I bargained for. Shivering, I had no desire to set up the tent. The whole campground had a gloomy, deserted feel. An abandoned building truck sitting among the campsites added to the ominous feeling. Despite trying to talk myself into enjoying the solitude, it didn’t feel right.
Jeff noticed my mood and offered to drive back down to the lakeside campground to see if we might find a spot there.
The trailer of a campsite host at the entrance gave us confidence that it wasn’t a ghost campsite like the one we just came from. It still seemed deserted, with no campers around, but it felt friendlier, cozier somehow.
As we started driving the loop road, a large green tent caught my eye. A white truck was parked in the lot, while a beautiful German shepherd stood still near its owner, sitting at the picnic table. We waved and drove on.
A few sites further, another truck was parked, with a smaller tent nearby.
We drove the full loop and returned, ready to pick a spot. We chose a site overlooking the lake, between the two other campers, with one empty site on each side.
We noticed no wind here, and it was much warmer, comfortable even in shorts.
After setting up our tent, we noticed a trail leading to the water’s edge and followed it.
Even before getting to the shore, a great blue heron, the largest we’ve ever seen, startled us as it took flight above the water.
It flew the length of the lake, then settled on a nearby tree.
Soon, a slightly smaller one, probably his mate, followed him. She perched up in another tree, closer to us.
Pleasantly surprised that the gorgeous bird stood so close to us, with no fear, I eventually realized that she was guarding her nest.
Leaving them to their parental duties, we walked along the lake. We noticed a few ducks swimming near the shore, and two kayaks gliding in the lake on the far side. Suddenly, a flight of violet-green swallows flew overhead, piercing the quiet with their high-pitched chirps.
The water was crystal-clear, seemingly clean enough to drink. A slow breeze was blowing, forming waves gently crashing on the shore.
We watched the sun setting over the lake.
As the sun set, I noticed the crescent moon above the Ponderosa pines.
Eventually, we returned to our tent and walked through the campground, greeting the fellow campers with the German shepherd.
Back at our site, birdsong surrounded us as flocks of pine siskins, yellow-rumped warblers, and pygmy nuthatches flew off to roost.
Though we were far from civilization and had no signal, a nearby satellite allowed me to text my daughter. It was the first time I used a satellite for communication, and I have to admit, it helped my anxiety stemming from being cut off from my (adult) kids.
Slowly, the stars started showing up, one by one.
It was another perfectly dark sky night, with no light pollution from any town nearby. We were “in the middle of nowhere”, far from any settlement, but even if we were closer, light pollution would’ve been minimal in New Mexico.
As we found out the next day, the whole state of New Mexico is a dark sky place, with regulations in place for porch lights and city lights to use fully shielded outdoor lighting fixtures that direct light downward.
In the darkest hours, after the moon has set, the Milky Way showed up in its entirety, stretching across the sky like a huge cloud.
We settled in for the night, ready to sleep, when the yips of coyotes put a smile on my face. Eventually, the yips gave way to a deeper, longer sound, the singing of Mexican grey wolves, recently reintroduced into the area. Soon after the wolves started their songs, the German shepherd answered. We had a veritable night concert.
Eventually, everyone quieted.
Until early morning, when a group of pygmy nuthatches started their morning chitchat. Their high-pitched trills and titters sounded like a fast-paced conversation in a gathering of women, discussing everyone’s needs and deciding the flock’s duties of the day.
Since they woke us, we also started our day, slowly rising and enjoying the nature surrounding us, even as we brought a bit of civilization with us to keep us caffeinated for the day.
No matter where you are in the world, I hope you have a special outdoor place you can visit and enjoy.
Nature grounds us. Outdoor places ground us. They have a way to lift our spirits, to make us feel good, even on our worst days. They help us appreciate our place in a larger setting, our connections to all living things around us.
Enjoy time in nature, be it a forest, meadow, waterway, lake, beach, or desert.
Wishing you all the best! Until next time,
Emese
Experience our world! Love it! Protect it!
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About Letters from a Wanderer
Letters from a Wanderer is a reader-supported publication, bringing you weekly posts about travel and places, with special focus on nature and archaeological/historical sites. Besides traveling to the places I write about, I research their history and interesting facts about them, resulting in more in-depth descriptions.
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***No part of this post, including text and images, was created by or with the help of AI. Besides the writing, photos are also all my own, taken by me or a member of my family.
Thanks for the restack, @Daniel Catena :)
These moments in nature are so precious! We never know what we’ll see or experience.