On March 21, I left the slight warmth of southern New Mexico and headed a couple of hundred miles north to very cold northern New Mexico, near Santa Fe. It is colder here, not just because it is farther north, but it is also higher in elevation, about 1,000' higher than Alamogordo, NM. Plus, compared to other years, this part of the desert southwest has been a lot colder than previous years.
The first part of the drive here, was not bad--a very good divided highway and then an equally good two-lane highway with almost no traffic.
However, when I got to about 50 miles away from Santa Fe, I hit an area
of strong winds. Strong winds are very bad for driving a tall vehicle
like mine--think driving a billboard down the highway at 60+ MPH!!! Normally, most of us who drive RVs pull over and stop driving until winds drop below 20 MPH, but that was not a choice here.
At one point, one of the awnings that cover my slides started to come undone and flap noisily. I knew from past experience that it was likely being torn. Note that in the photos below, however, that there were very narrow shoulders. There were also no wider places to pull over and there were occasionally groups of big trucks coming by.
I pulled over as best as I could, got out, and saw that the awnings seemed to be rolled up, and there was no one around to check them for me, so I continued to continue driving but dropping my speed to about 45 MPH. It was going to be a long drive to my campground.
Pretty countryside, but nerve-wracking when you are having to drive slowly with blinkers on while worrying about the slide toppers tearing.
Then to make things more exciting, as I got closer to Santa Fe, and higher in elevation, there was a lot of snow in the mountains and on the side of the road. Luckily, the snow was from earlier in the day, so the road was dry and clear.
At this point, I was beginning to think I had come to the wrong place.
Even the town of Santa Fe had gotten hit.
I had been to the Cochiti Lake Recreation Area a couple of times in the past, and it was NEVER this cold, but it is a beautiful place in the middle of an Indian reservation. It is about 25 miles southwest of Santa Fe, so I got on I-25 and headed south and then on a smaller road to head west. This is the middle of the big earthen dam that forms the lake.
I was apparently here a month or so too early because there was no one at the check-in both, no hosts at the campground, and only one of three campground even open! Found my site and got set up, then turned on my two little electric heaters AND my rear furnace to try to get warm!!
Note how big the campsites are. Each not only has a covered picnic table for hotter weather, but there is also a parking spot for an extra vehicle at each site. Good electric and water hookups as well, but I filled my tanks and made sure they were drained afterwards because it was going to be well below freezing that night.
New Mexico has not had as much rain as California and the West Coast has had, so the lake is a bit low.
I had reservations here for a full 14 days, but most days, it was too cold and windy to go out, so I have spent most of the 8 days I have been here working inside on projects, doing some baking, and cleaning. One good thing was that I found a really nice laundromat just outside the recreation area, so I spent a few hours there one day doing three weeks worth of laundry. I also drove into town one day to run a bunch of errands--groceries, Amazon pickup, prescription, hardware, etc. I now have an absolutely stuffed refrigerator and freezer!
The funny thing is that most people when they arrive at a new campground, put out things like lounge chairs and barbecue grills, etc. Because of the cold, I have seen almost no one outside. People have driven out for sightseeing and to eat out, but that's about it.
I really like campgrounds with nice views! Just wish things were a little greener!
The good news is that it is going to warm up in a couple of days, so I am planning a trip to Museum Hills in Santa Fe in a couple of days. Stay tuned.
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