The Surrealness of Lake Abiquiu NM…

We loved our stay in Albuquerque as we always seem to have a great time whenever we visit.. Who knows, we may even choose to live here one day. However the time came to move on and our next stop is one of my favorite NM parks. Riana Campground, COE Park, at Lake Abiquiu.  Warning: There will be lots of photos in today’s blog!

There are only about a dozen sites with hook-ups at the park and none have sewer. What is lacking in services is made up for in views and expanse. Another big plus is most of the campsites have a grill/smoker, picnic table and shade shelter. I took full advantage of the smoker and smoked a couple of racks of ribs!

We were a bit worried about the heat this time of year but with daytime highs only in the 80’s and lows in the upper 60’s it was perfect. It is monsoon season so there were always rain and thunder showers nearby making for some pretty landscapes with the rain shadows.

I won’t say a lot about this area as we have stayed here before and blogged about it. Let’s just say everywhere you look would make a great watercolor painting or postcard.

We hiked all around the trails within Riana Park which offer  some very scenic moments. Of course we both took lots of photos and todays blog is photo rich as a result.

We also took a day trip over to the Ghost Ranch where we ended up spending most of our time around an old dilapidated ranch house and corral. They also erected an archway of elk antlers near a very tiny rustic church. Amazing photo ops!

Just down the road a piece is the Echo Amphitheater and just across from it a little closer to us is a short hike to see a nice natural arch perched on the side of a rocky mountain outcrop. The rock features in this small part of New Mexico are stunning…

We certainly enjoyed our stay at the lake giving us a little downtime after our social whirlwind stay in Albuquerque. Next up will be Colorado…

NOTE:  We are currently Durango, Colorado until July 23rd…