Summer trip 2019, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Aztec Ruins National Monument

We discovered this interesting and historic national monument on way from Navajo Lake State Park to Mesa Verde National Park. The Ruins at Aztec are very special with a half mile of trails that take you by the walls and interior 400 rooms of the well preserved historical site. The Pueblo indians used this area to raise crops and create a vibrant community next to the Animas River many centuries ago. The highlight of the hike is the great Kiva which has been restored to as close to it's original state as possible.

The Great Kiva at Aztec National Monument

The spectacular interior of the Great Kiva, a very spiritual place

The remaining images are of the ruins as seen from the half mile trail

The Aztec Ruins were a great warm up for our visit to Mesa Verde National Park. This whole area out here in western New Mexico has several historical sites that fill ones soul full of wonder of what life might have been like for the ancient Pueblo Indians whose ancestors still live in the area.

Wild flowers were in bloom during our visit in early June

Summer Trip 2019, Navajo Lakes State Park, Chama, NM

Navajo Lake State Park

This picturesque state park is located in northwest New Mexico not far from Durango, CO. The vistas here are amazing with clear visibility allowing visitors to see features miles away. The campsites at Sims Mesa campground are big with great views of the lake and clean restrooms. The landscape here is colorful with large rock formations all around the lake. The marina is a great place to fish and folks from the area enjoy boating, fishing and kayaking. 

Fishing and water sports are favorite pass times at Lake Navajo

Hiking around the Sims Mesa campground near the lake shore

Rock formations surround the lake 

Kayaks are available for rent at the Marina

Our campsite at the Sims Mesa campground on the east side of Lake Navajo

The landscape around Lake Navajo has special beauty

The Marina on the east side of Lake Navajo by Sims Mesa campground

Navajo Lake

We loved our visit to Sims Mesa campground at Lake Navajo State Park and plan to include this park in our future visits to New Mexico, the land of enchantment.

Sunset over Lake Navajo

Summer Vacation 2019, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Canyon, TX

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Palo Duro is the home to the second largest canyon in the country located southeast of Amarillo, Texas. It was a bit surprising after traveling through relatively flat farmland and coming to the 1,000 foot vertical walls of this canyon that is over a 100 miles in length. The park road descends into the canyon along a steep 10 percent grade road to the canyon floor where several campsite circles are located. There is electric, water, shower facilities and bathrooms that are clean and comfortable.    

Our campsite at Palo Duro Canyon State Park

View from our campsite at Mesquite Ridge

Day Hike on one of the many trails in the park

This is a beautiful park surrounded by lovely rock formations and colorful cliffs that surround you on all sides.

One of the many rock formations in the park

Red sand stone creates a fascinating landscape 

Cave in the cliffs with a cool interior to hide from the springtime sun

Visitors Center at Palo Duro built by the CCC in the 1930's

View from the rim of the Canyon at the Visitors Center

It is also home to the play, Texas ,which is given every night in the summer at the parks extensive amphitheater that is built to accommodate hundreds of people. The play is a wonderful musical that depicts the history of this area of Texas from the very early days of pioneering with families that settled near this special place in northwest Texas. Many of the scenes had horses, well built sets and fireworks that added to drama of the play.

The Amphitheater at Palo Duro 

Seating for the play Texas that 4,000,000 people have seen over the years

We enjoyed the springtime flowers and cactus that were in bloom in the park along with interesting wildlife.

Cactus blooming in the late spring sun after a wet spring

Aloe Plants in bloom were common in the park

We saw many exotic birds

Wild flowers were everywhere

We had a wonderful time at Palo Duro State Park. Summer time can be hot in the canyon with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees in the afternoon. This is our second visit to Palo Duro. It is a great place to visit when you travel through this part of Texas. It is south of Amarillo, TX about 25 miles off of I-40 on the route to New Mexico.

Even if you do not camp you can stay at a cabin in the park. 

Summer Trip 2019, Lake Arrowhead State Park, Wichita Falls, TX

Lake Arrowhead State Park

Located just south of Wichita Falls, TX Lake Arrowhead is a nice park with spacious sites and clean restrooms. During our visit the Lake was a bit high from recent rains. One of the features we enjoyed was the prairie dog colony. The park has nice hiking trails although many of them were a bit wet to get out and hike on. 

Our shaded campsite at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Barbara at Prairie Dog Town 

Prairie Dogs always keep an eye out for predators

Great to observe as they frolic around their borrows

The fishing peer at Lake Arrowhead

The high waters of Lake Arrowhead on 5-21-2019

 Lake Arrowhead is a man made lake. We ventured out to explore the spillway and dam during our visit. This is oil country. We were surprised to see abandoned oil derricks on the lake that were there before they built the dam years ago. There is a working oil derrick, called a pump jack, in the park next to the restroom. You could hear the machinery pumping the oil near the restrooms when we went up for our showers. 

Abandoned Oil derricks on Lake Arrowhead

Pump Jack Oil rig at Lake Arrowhead State Park

The spillway on the Lake Arrowhead dam

We enjoyed our stay at Lake Arrowhead State Park. It is a great place to stop at on the way out west as it is on our direct route to New Mexico. 

Summer Trip 2019, Cedar Hill State Park, Dallas, Texas

Cedar Hill State Park

Shady Ridge camping area

Cedar Hill is located 10 miles southwest of Dallas on Joe Pool Lake. The park is rather large and serves as a fishing, water sports, hiking area for outdoors minded people who live in the large Dallas metropolitan area and surrounding communities. Many of the sites are shaded with great views of the lake. We found the facilities here to be clean and the sites well maintained. The only draw back was that their were no soap dispensers in the restrooms to wash your hands. The waters on the lake were very high due to recent heavy rains during our visit. The hiking trails and boat ramps were closed due to the flooding. This park is quite popular in the summer time as the temperatures hover around the 100 degree mark most of the time.

Our campsite in the Shady Ridge Loop 

View of Joe Pool Lake near our campsite

Joe Pool Marina and Boat Dock, Notice the high water of the lake

Spring time bloom common in the park.

The high waters of Joe Pool Lake near the Marina

Spring time blooms are common in the prairie lands that surround the lake

The historic Penn family farm is a great place to visit during your stay at Cedar Hills State Park. The farm has many of the original buildings that have been here since the mid 1800 hundreds. A trail leads to many of the sites that contain old farm machinery, barns and the family home along with other interesting features of farming life years ago. It is quite a contrast to the big metropolitan area of Dallas with it's modern buildings. We enjoyed our tour of the Penn family farm on a cool spring morning in mid May. 

The old Penn family home

The family windmill used to pump water into the water tower

The family barn used to house livestock in the early 1900's

Antique Tractor and mower used a century ago to mange the farm

The original family barn built in the 1800 hundreds

Old grain harvester used during the harvesting season many years ago

Cedar Hill State Park is a convenient place to stop at as it is just off I-20. We travel this route on our summer trips out west.  We enjoyed our stay and will be coming back again on our travels in the future. A great place to take a break from our traveling time on the road.