travel journal – a curious nature

September 15-17, 2024

Sometimes short adventures become the most memorable.

After pouring over our NM map, looking for new places to camp, based on a recommendation from good friends we decided to visit Charette Lakes. Located within the grasslands of NE New Mexico, this would be our kind of country. About time to check out the Shortgrass Prairie.

Planning to be gone 4-5 days, and as long as we were headed to Charette, why not also visit Clayton Lake State Park and Kiowa National Grasslands! The weather certainly looked good for a week, allowing easy access on backcountry 2-track dirt roads.

Felix at home just west of Lower Charette Lake

Charette Lakes

Arriving at Charette Lakes mid-day allowed plenty of time to set up camp with a view of the Lower (larger) lake, before heading off, on foot, to wander these lush grasslands. It seemed like Spring ….. so many wildflowers in bloom! Late afternoon saw a mass exodus of fisherpeople, and by 5:30 pm we pretty much had the entire area to ourselves! Hiking about some more, we encountered a small group of pronghorn, gazed skyward as hungry migratory ducks and Canada geese flew in to Upper Charette Lake, observed a number of beautiful kestrels, and enjoyed the antics of a coot flotilla on the lower lake.

By 6:00 pm we got caught in a downpour! Wait! This wasn’t supposed to happen! But the rain and gusty winds persisted until morning, as heavy gray clouds continued to roll by.

We found most of the migratory birds on and feeding at Upper Charette Lake. Mostly marshy and shallow, this small lake had more food for hungry birds than the larger and deeper Lower Charette a lake.

After rechecking the weather forecast, it seemed like this storm was headed north, well out of the area we planned to visit next ….. Clayton Lake State Park, in the extreme NE corner of NM, bordering TX.

We shook out our rain gear, toweled off the dog, packed up Felix and headed out, dropping down the basalt escarpment we ascended yesterday, thankful this section of steep decline was paved.

Clayton Lake State Park

Excited to see more of the grasslands and the famous Dinosaur Trackways, a historic landmark site managed by the State Park, we approached from Raton, NM, very close to the Colorado border. Traveling about 50+/- miles SE (leaving the rain behind), the surrounding shortgrass prairie was dotted with a number of resting volcanoes, including Capulin (managed by the National Park Service).

Arriving at Clayton Lake SP about noon, we quickly parked Felix, then walked the 1/4 mile to the Dino Trackways! Very, very cool. It’s hard to imagine that 100 million years ago this area of NM/TX was a beach along the western side of a great inland sea! Paleontologists believe the dinosaur tracks were made by both plant and meat eaters that migrated north and south along this sandy beach. The tracks showed the plant eaters likely moved about in herds as they foraged for food. There were also foot long tube worm tunnels and some pretty interesting mud cracks preserved in today’s hard sandstone.

At Clayton Lake State Park we learned about the 100 million years old dinosaur tracks uncovered during the construction of the Clayton Lake emergency spillway, found some wind-stunted and deformed plants lining the the earthen dam, discovered a new grasshopper and beetle, and enjoyed watching terns perform aerobatic stunts over the lake.

Dinner time and it began raining (what!), varying from drizzle to deluge, we started to have second thoughts about tomorrow’s access into Mills Canyon on the Kiowa National Grasslands. But the radar showed this area wasn’t getting rain, and we felt it was worth a try (as long as we were so close!).

One of many cows that graze the grasslands on allotments that often span private, State and Federal lands.

Clayton Lake to Mills Canyon (Kiowa NG)

Early morning sunrise was gorgeous, then from who-knows-where, storm clouds rumbled in, and kept coming nearly the entire way to the Kiowa. But nearing our arrival, the clouds cleared out and things looked promising; so much so that we agreed to try our luck.

Long abandoned and “melting” into the soil, the shortgrass prairie saw its share of homesteaders back in the middle to late 1800s.

The Grasslands boundary was six miles off the pavement, on dirt and gravel ranch roads. Once on the Grasslands 2-track access to the campground our luck nearly ran out. Down down down the road went, saturated with the last several days of pouring rain. But we didn’t really know this, and began the descent. It wasn’t 200 slippery yards later, Roy’s executive decision to reverse course probably saved us being stranded somewhere for days! As he began backing Felix up the sloppy slick road, conditions somehow felt worse. Felix had a mind of his own and began weaving all over the place, half the time getting stuck in the ruts we made during our descent.

What looks like a lonely landscape is actually lush and thriving grasslands thanks, in part, to an abundance of rain this year. And Wow! Did it ever rain!

Finally after 30 minutes of careful maneuvering, Roy managed to coax the RV back to the Grasslands boundary. Our relief to be back on somewhat solid ground overshadowed our disappointment in not being able to visit this dramatic canyon area. But we were safe even though both the truck and Felix were coated above the axles with 6-8 inches of mucky sticky clay.

So, with this area and any other likely destinations soaking wet, and only being 3 hours from home, we agreed to end this crazy camping trip, promising ourselves to return another day. Turns out the decision was wise, as we drove through one downpour after another on the way home! (The rain was so hard at times, visibility was zip! But the good news was it rained so hard that most of that mucky sticky clay got washed away.)

The End…..

And that was the ending to a short, yet memorable trip. Of course by the time we got home, the clouds had cleared totally, and we haven’t had a drop of rain since! Go figure!

A pronghorn wary of our presence, passing with a herd between Upper and Lower Charette Lakes.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

August 15-20, 2024

Felix parked along the Old Spanish Trail route, south central Colorado

With no defined route or objective, we decided it was high time we hitch up the trailer (Felix) and tote it north just to see what’s going on in south central Colorado this time of year. As we made our way through the San Luis Valley, we found acres of lush greenery topping almost-ready-to-harvest potatoes. Alfalfa was nearing its second cutting. Carrots had already been shipped to market. The wildlife refuges were patiently awaiting the arrival of migratory birds. And the last of the summer tourists were excitedly boarding the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad in Antonito, for the 64 mile steam engine journey to Chama, NM.

Day 1. Our first stop was in northern New Mexico, just south of Tres Piedras, Carson NF. An unlikely dispersed camping spot that I nicknamed “Puffball Meadow.” A nice level spot adjacent to a dry stock pond. The meadow was full of fist sized puffball fungi, and a coyote paid us a visit during the night.

We enjoy boondocking on our public lands managed by the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Having a trailer that’s self-contained, we can easily find lovely off-the-grid areas to set up camp. And thanks to our solar panels (and lots of sunny days) and large water tank, we can stay out for up to 5 days without needing refills. This allows us to explore lesser visited areas, which suits our tastes beautifully!

Day 2. Made it to the San Luis Valley, Colorado. Wandered around until we found a wide open area of dispersed camping in the vicinity of the Old Spanish Trail. Lots of wildflowers blooming, and plenty of hiking opportunities.

But I think one of the best things about random travel is the spare time …… we drive for 3-4 hours, find a place to camp ….. then the rest of the day involves hiking, wildlife watching, nature journaling, collecting drawable items, photography, more sketching, identifying the unknowns, reading, napping, and a bit of ukulele strumming! Perfection!

Day 3. We enjoyed the area so much, Roy suggested we stay for another day! And then he found this weathered mule deer jaw bone.

Day 3, continued. Magpies! Can’t understand why these gorgeous birds don’t come south at least as far as Albuquerque and East Mountains.

Although the 6-day trip wasn’t remarkable, it was good to get away. Scattered about this post are my journal pages highlighting Days 1 to 5.

Day 4. Our travel route as we made our way to a campground to charge our battery and top off our water tank. An inconvenient, unplanned for detour led to future camping possibilities.

On Day 4, we decided to make our way up and over Slumgullion Pass (11,530 ft) on our way towards Gunnison Country. Not having been this way in years, we really enjoyed the crisp mountain air and spectacular views up and over the Pass. The villages of Creede and Lake City have grown swollen with tourist amenities and summer cabins dotting the once open meadows. As we got closer and closer to Lake City, we couldn’t help recall the story of Colorado’s notorious cannibal, Alferd Packer. Wanting to reread the tale as we passed near Cannibal Plateau and Deadman’s Gulch, the crime scenes, here’s what I found:

Brief Background: Alfred Packer (newspaper misspelling as “Alferd” Packer, which stuck) (1842-1909) was a prospector who set out for Colorado gold fields in 1873. By the winter of 1874, he reached the rugged San Juan Mountains with a party of five men where they became lost and stranded during one of the worst winters on record. The men, with only had 3-4 days provisions quickly consumed and no firearms, were forced to cook their rawhide moccasins. Places where “snow had blown away from patches of wild rose bushes,” ….. they “were gathering buds from these bushes, stewing them and eating them.”

When the snow finally crusted over, Packer, the only man to survive the ill-fated trip, walked out of the mountains after 60 days. He told a story about the demise of his fellow prospectors, and how he managed to survive by eating them. His story involving cannibalism became legend, and continues to be passed down to today! (Whether the story is true or not will never be known, but it makes for colorful history.)

Based on historical records and news reports, Alferd Packer was tried several times for murder and cannibalism (even though the act of cannibalism wasn’t considered illegal in the US). Convicted of these heinous crimes, Judge M.B. Gerry supposedly uttered this famous quote while handing down the sentence in Packer’s first trial ……

“Stand up yah voracious man-eatin’ sonofabitch and receive yir sintince. When yah came to Hinsdale County, there was siven Dimmycrats. But you, yah et five of ’em, goddam yah. I sintince yah t’ be hanged by th’ neck ontil yer dead, dead, dead, as a warnin’ in reducin’ th’ Dimmycratic populayshun of this county. Packer, you Republican cannibal, I would sintince ya ta hell but the statutes forbid it.”

This is the quote I’d grown up hearing many times, over and over and over! It makes for good reporting, but is a ways from the actual sentence and what Judge Gerry sounded like while reading it (nope, he didn’t talk like Yosemite Sam!). Here’s what the record shows:

“Alfred Packer, the judgment of this court is that you be removed from hence to the jail of Hinsdale County and there confined until the 19th day of May, A.D. 1883, and that on said 19th day of May, 1883, you be taken from thence by the sheriff of Hinsdale County to a place of execution prepared for this purpose, at some point within the corporate limits of the town of Lake City, in the said country of Hinsdale, and between the hours of 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. of said day, you, then and there, by said sheriff, be hung by the neck until you are dead, dead, dead, and may God have mercy upon your soul.”

Alfred Packer tombstone in Littleton Cemetery where he was originally buried in 1909. Today, he now lies back in Hinsdale County, near Lake City.

Alferd Packer never did hang. It’s quite a detailed story following his first trial, including a jail escape, nine years on-the-lam, and recapture. There was a second trial in 1885 where he was charged for only one murder; after serving only 16 years of his 40-year sentence, he was released and died peacefully one year later at the age of 60. He was buried in Littleton, Colorado where his tombstone properly reads Alfred Packer.

Day 4. Supplemental information about that strange name “Slumgullion.” Is it a stew? Is it a drink? Is it the sludge that puddles below an 1870 sluice box?

Day 5, on our way back to Old Spanish Trail (because we liked it so much). Discovered a new-to-me plant; after a bit of checking with iNaturalist, learned it was Black Henbane, but not before handling all parts of this very poisonous noxious weed!

A short comment on the KG Baking Powder tin lid we found near our trailer. It was old and rusted, but very readable. The tin and its contents were probably long gone. Tried to find any information on the KG brand; sure curious about the age of the lid. If you’ve heard of this brand, please let me know.

KG Baking Powder tin lid we found near Old Spanish Trail.

Day 6. Headed for home. Hope you enjoyed my travel journal.

San Juan Mountains …… up and over Slumgullion Pass. The view of the 700 year old earth flow.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Tag Archives: travel journal

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