The town that “once was’’
It was a quiet, peaceful Sunday here at the Santa Rosa State Park. Of course, every day I've spent here has been quiet and peaceful. I believe the thing that strikes me most is how few people come to this park. In the three or four days that I've been here, and remember that includes a weekend, I have seen exactly one other boondocker, who stayed for one night. Six or eight fishermen are fishing in various parts of the lake. And half a dozen boaters... And that's been about it.
Now I don't know how many people should be using this park in early November, maybe the handful of people that I've seen here is perfectly normal, but in the two New Mexico state parks I've stayed at, it seems like there aren’t many people visiting.
Another week or so, I will probably be staying at Elephant Butte State Park, and I don't recall ever talking to a Ranger at Elephant Butte, so I doubt if I'll find out much of what's going on with New Mexico's new fee structure for the state parks. But I do know some of the workers at the City of Rocks State Park, and I'm pretty sure I can get some boots on the ground information from them.
I feel bad for the people who live in Santa Rosa, especially if they depend on this state Park for some of their jobs and income. Santa Rosa is a poor, rundown kind of place, with lots of mainstream businesses boarded up. The main street of town was the famous "Mother Road," Route 66. But as usual, the main highway, I-40, bypassed the town, leaving it to shrivel up and partially die. There are still a few Route 66 icons in town, such as old motels, antique gas stations, and a few tourist traps, but mostly you can tell by the local businesses that it’s tough to make a buck in a town that.... Once was.
Theboondork
The sun sets over the earthen dam.
The sunrise over my boondocking spot, I had to get out in the 35° weather to take this picture.
The Mesas in New Mexico rise hundreds of feet in the air but are flat as a tabletop, which is probably why they're called Mesas, which is the Spanish word for table.
Imagine my amazement when I saw this Australian kookaburra skimming across the lake. Kookaburras are common in Australia but unheard of in New Mexico. So it looks like I can add this kookaburra to my long list of birds I've spotted in places they don't belong.
In no time at all, this kookaburra dropped out of the sky, grabbed the nearest fish, and then, quicker than you can say "Bob's your uncle," swallowed the critter whole. It was a spectacle I shall not soon forget.