I laced up my traveling shoes this morning and made an easy 50-mile drive to Maxwell, New Mexico, where I wanted to check out the free boondocking at the Maxwell Wildlife Area. Folks writing about it on the internet made it sound like a good place to spend a few peaceful days, Do a little walking around the lakes, take some pictures, maybe relax, rest up from a hectic summer, and get back into a boondocking mood.
I got off of I-25 South and headed for the well marked Maxwell Wildlife Area, and after about a 5-mile drive, I quietly slithered into the boondocking area, finding two other Boondockers and plenty of open space. Being new to the area, I grabbed my trusty Canon camera and walked around, checking out the birds, the lake, and my position in it...And so far, I'm very pleased.
There were several miles of dirt road to get to the wildlife area, and some of it was kind of washboarded, but nothing that bothered me. I didn't stop at the visitor center for any official information since I could see some campers off in the distance; I just went straight to the boondocking area.
I was rather surprised that it had pretty good internet reception, for Verizon anyway. In places like this, I'm happy just to have any reception at all. Walking to the lake, I could see some ducks and geese, and even some sandhill cranes flying by. Just hearing that croaking noise makes me glad to be where I am.
The area I'm at is very pretty; it’s not just flat plains. Mountains surround me, some high enough to have snow. All in all, I'm pretty happy here, but I won't be able to make a final determination about my future here until I've been in the area a few days.
Theboondork
A view of the boondocking area. Two other campers are here, so it's definitely not crowded. The small brown things with white signs are bear-proof trash cans. That could be a bad sign, but I’m so used to bears that they don't bother me unless they're trying to get into the camper... And I carry bear spray just in case.
A small flock of sandhill cranes flies overhead. I was just walking around and taking pictures of the scenery, so I didn't have a lens big enough on the camera to get a close-up picture of the birds. It was good to see them in flight again… It's been a while.
More of the boondocking area. This area must be for people who require shade. To me, shade is like a cross to a vampire; I thrive in the beautiful sunshine, so I avoid shade like the plague.
The lake I’m boondocking by. Looking at the lake online, I thought I’d walk around it. But now that I've seen it in person, I realize it would take a full-scale expedition with mules and gun bearers…. Several other lakes are in the area, so maybe there's one I could live long enough to make it around.
A flock of geese flying by. There are no clouds in the sky, so the chances of a decent sunrise or sunset seem pretty poor. And looks like it will stay that way.