Navajo Lake State Park

.......in Colorado

There is also a Navajo Lake State Park in New Mexico, 4/5 of the lake/reservoir is in New Mexico and the smaller portion is in Colorado.  The brochures say this is Colorado's answer to Lake Powell.

Sailboats and Houseboats

Two Rivers marina is located just south of where the
Piedra and San Juan Rivers meet.

looking toward New Mexico

On Friday, I was trying to decide what to do with my 2 days off work. I needed a change of scenery.  Around noon, I decided that I would like to go to the Durango Farmers Market on Saturday.  I called the State Park to see if they had any campsites available and asked if they had cell service there.  They had sites but said they did not get cell service.  I left Mesa Verde around 1:00pm.  My plans were to stay one night and then go to Durango on Saturday.  I texted my daughter to let her know I may not have any cell service.

When I arrived at the park, my cell phone still worked and the signal was better than at Mesa Verde. My cell phone worked as a hotspot for the internet, again faster and better than at Mesa Verde.  I was lucky to get a lakeside, full hook-up site ($24.00).

After I got set-up, I went for a walk around the lake and marina. I decided to pay for a 2nd night. It meant getting up early on Sunday and driving almost 1 1/2 hours to get to work in the morning, but it was worth it to stay at this lake view site for another day.

Late Saturday afternoon, the wind was really strong and I was wondering if I made the right choice to stay another night. I was wondering if the winds could cause an RV to tip over.... and then the electric went off.  It was not a bad storm, just a little rain. The reason the electric went off was because a pop-up camper, just down the road from my site was flipped over by the high winds.  The camper was plugged in, so the power was turned off.  Luckily, I had used my surge protector. The rangers and other campers helped to upright the camper. It was a mess, everything was falling out the windows. The owner was able to close it up, but the corners looked like they were crushed. The park had the power turned backed on about an hour later.

I really like this park, it is very peaceful sitting by the water.  Many of the 5th wheels and other campers were towing boats.  I was able to ride my bike on the roads, there were not too many hills. There are several hiking trails and bikes and dogs are allowed on all of the trails.

This weekend I walked/hiked for 5 miles and rode my bike for 3.2  miles. One of the trails follows the old railroad grade, passes the old railroad water tank, overlooks the lake and ends up at Windsurf Beach Primitive Campground.

I also logged many hours sitting and staring at the water and sky. I never did make it to the Farmers Market, Durango is 28 miles from the park and I didn't want to drive to the market and then back to the park.  I was happier to just relax at the park. I can go to the Farmers Market another weekend.

view from my campsite