Back to Eagle Nest

We can now understand why our RVing friends rave about Eagle Nest State Park.  At 8200 feet, it’s definitely the place to be during the hot days of summer.  The scenery is lovely and, although tiny, the town of Eagle Nest has a few eateries, a laundromat, a thrift store, and a yummy ice cream parlor.  If that isn’t enough, about 10 miles away is the slightly larger town of Angel Fire – winter ski town and summer playground.

We happened to arrive just in time for the 36^th Annual Angel Fire Artsfest.  I don’t have any pictures, but this juried event was out of this world and had a wide variety of art.  We enjoyed the paintings, photographs, sculpture, pottery, and, of course, jewelry.  We spoke to several of the artists who were all so friendly and shared their stories with us.

Another day, I participated in a garden tour sponsored by the Angel Fire Garden Club.  It was not the grand gardens that I was expecting, but more hardscape, with beautiful stonework and multi-level patios.  All six of the homes were located in the surrounding wooded hills with the challenge of prevented deer from consuming everything.  I only have one very poor picture.

Another day Ron and I took a hike in Angle Fire which began at pretty Monte Verde Lake,

Where this mommy mallard (?) had her babies out for a swim.  (The babies were too fast to photograph.)

Then we climbed up a bit into the hills to take the Lady Slipper Trail.  On the way Ron spotted this deer lying in the woods.  We wondered if she was birthing a fawn since she never moved as we went by on the trail.  (Don’t worry, this was a zoomed shot.)

We went over the river,

And through the woods.

And found some nice viewpoints, but no Grandmother’s house.

Another terrible picture, but we were excited to see what I guess is a Western Tanager.  Anybody know for sure?

Back at the park, we had a few laughs.  I kept thinking the neighbor’s gate was a wildlife sighting.

At one point, the site next to us was occupied by two trucks, two boats, one RV, and two tents.  There doesn’t seem to be a limit here.

And we got a kick out of another neighbor who had quite a system for getting his fishing equipment down to the lake.