Bottomless

May 1, 2014

No, no, no,...no one is bottomless or topless of that matter.

Bottomless Lakes named by the vaqueros from long ago, this beautiful area comes as a surprise in contrast to the flat country surrounding Roswell, New Mexico. About 12 miles southeast of UFO central, the road drops down from the red bluffs and loops around a series of cenotes (sinkholes) with blue green brilliant water.

In the 1800s, the lakes were a stopover for cowboys herding cattle through the New Mexico territory on the Goodnight Loving Trail. Folklore says that the cowboys tied their lariats together to find the bottom of the lakes. Due to the currents, the lariats were swept aside, giving the impression that the lakes were bottomless.

The lakes are actually sinkholes ranging from 17 feet deep to 90 feet deep. They were formed when circulating underground water dissolved salt and gypsum deposits to form caverns. When the roof collapsed under their own weight, sinkholes resulted and filled with water. The water is salty! This caused by water sifting through the gypsum and limestone.

There may not be UFOs out there but certainly tales stranger than strange. One tale tells of a horse that fell into one of the side by side lakes and drowned, but it was pulled out of the  other. An extremely trippy tale tells of objects being lost in the lakes only to be retrieved from Carlsbad Caverns or the Gulf of Mexico! There are stories of strong currents that suck divers and swimmers deep into the Earth, never to be seen again. LockNess has nothing on the giant sea turtles that lurk in the depths of Lea Lake.

This park was the first in the state and was dedicated in 1933. The Civil Conservation Corp built the stone structures making the beach house at Lea Lake, which is the deepest lake.

The park consists of eight lakes. Lazy Lagoon looks deceptively shallow, but it is 70 feet deep and surrounded by foul smelling alkaline mud flats.

Cottonwood Lake

Cottonwood Lake is 30 feet deep and is just off the visitor center. It's high sandstone bluffs appear to be a boulderer's dream... but the rock just crumbles away beneath your hands and feet.

Figure Eight Lake

Figure Eight Lake is actually two sinkholes 37 feet deep and surrounded by numerous salt cedar trees. (this is the lake with the story of the drowned horse)

Devil's Inkwell

Devil's Inkwell is 32 feet deep and is named for its steep sides and very dark water

Mirror Lake is 50 feet deep and is aptly named for the reflection of the surrounding red bluffs.

Pasture Lake

Lost Lake

Pasture Lake is the shallowest at 17 feet










Lost Lake is found hiding along the escarpment on the hiking trail from Lea Lake.

Lea Lake, where we have made camp, is the largest and deepest at 90 feet. The lake is spring fed with almost 5 million gallons of water flowing through it daily! It is clear and pristine. Lea Lake is the most popular and the only place you can swim.  It was named after Captain Joseph C. Lea, a rancher, veteran of the Civil War, and  early settler of Roswell. Lea rode with Clark Quantrill and Frank and Jesse James during the Civil War and was a friend of  William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid

Lea Lake from the bedroom window

Sitka and I have been covering the Skidmarks trail also. It spans for 3.13 miles following the contour of the land, dipping through hills and running along side bluffs and open fields of cacti.

Our biggest find... Diamonds! This area is famous for "Pecos Diamonds" which are actually quartz crystals formed inside gypsum. The soft gypsum crumbles away exposing "diamonds". The trail sparkles.

can't wait to play with these in our jewelry

I talked Gerard into going hunting out on BLM land and we are very happy with our first haul. Going to go collecting again before we are out of here

April 30th the Kickin' Kamper crew showed to repair the trailer. It took them 9 or 10 hours to get here.... 3 or so hours to get us re-sided and they were going to drive 9 hours right back to Tucson.  I think they had a chance to feel our pain. They were pulling a flat bed trailer and hit high winds.

The relief I felt not having to drive back to Tucson was palpable.
We are convinced that the failure was the metal and not the trailer manufacturer. We could see the difference on the new metal they brought. You can visually see the looseness on the old panels. They did admit a quality control issue. They didn't check it before putting it on or after... a painful lesson for them

 

 


I am in no hurry to get up and go. Some kind of cool front moved in last week, definitely what has been causing the rampage of tornados east of here from Texas to Alabama. Snow has fallen in Duluth all through April and we never did find a string of warm days in New Mexico.... just a day here and there. I think 2014 just skipped spring everywhere.

I just paid our hook-up fee through Sunday. 82º for a high today, 91º tomorrow and 95º on Sunday... finally a string of warmth and windless days. I am going swimming this weekend!

"See them tumbling down

Pledging their love to the ground
Lonely but free I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I'll find
Just where the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds."