The Most Visited State Park in New Mexico NAVAJO STATE PARK
01-07-2015
Yut ta Hey paesanos, this is my first blog post for Southeast Publications. This blog, I assume, will be shared with friends and the rv community. A paesano is an Italian word, loosely translated as friends in the community. Thus I consider all my readers paesanos.
What does Yat ta Hey mean? It is Navajo, it means like hello or hi. I asked a Navajo woman what it meant and she told me that it basically is a greeting, but translated into English it means yata (sky) hey (blessing).
Anyway, I am a little reticent about writing a blog after reading other blogs out there. Many of the authors must have degrees in writing, English or composition. I, on the other hand was a business major. Although my mother, who was an English teacher, taught me about dangling participles, phonetics, and punctuation, I had to take dumbbell English when I went to college. It was a struggle, I have made some improvements, I think, but still I don’t wax too poetic.
I started a personal blog in 2008, a good portion of the places I wrote about where visited in my rv. You might find it interesting. I call it Victor’s Meanderings.
The Blog Byline reads:
“Exploring the highway and byways with an eye out for scenic, historic, unique and pristine places. This is a great county and we want to see and experience it. That is our mantra. We would like to share it with you, so welcome to this blog and plan to return frequently. As Willy Nelson might sing, "On the Road Again"!”
Go to: http://victorsmeanderings.blogspot.com/ if you are interested.
My first two jobs as an agent for Southeast Publications are in Northwest New Mexico. I have been living in Durango, Colorado the last four years and so these two parks were close by. (opps a dangling participle, ha) I had some experience with the area as I worked a couple of summers at the marina in the Navajo Lake State Park.
One of the guest guides I am renewing is that one for the Navajo Lake State Park. A dam on the Pine, San Juan Rivers has created a lake of 13,000 surface acres. The park offers over 250 camping sites, picnicking sites, a boat ramp and boating and fishing. The marina, rents boats and slips and has a convenience store and restaurant. Some people take their boats up the Pine and/ or San Juan Rivers and camp for the night.
This park gets over 500,000 visits each year. Some come for the day to fish, boat or picnic. Others will stay for a couple of weeks, the mandatory length of stay. It is no wonder; this reservoir is the largest in the state of New Mexico. This park is also the most visited.
It gets very warm during the day mid-summer but afternoon showers cool things down. In any case, once the sun sets, things cool down making outdoor cooking and camp fires popular.
Below the dam is world famous gold water trout fishing. A separate campground, called Cottonwood is on the river and is also part of the State Park. The electrical service is currently being renovated. It has a wonderful feeling about it as it is right on the river and the trees offer some shade.
Close by are a number of visitor attractions that are worthy of mention. They include, Salmon Ruins, Aztec Ruins, Mesa Verde, Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Million Dollar Highway. The last being that road built in the mining days between Silverton and Ouray. In the winter, Durango Mountain Resort/Purgatory and Wolf Creek Pass ski areas are popular and inexpensive. The Ute Indian Casino and Museum is a short distance away in Ignacio.
I recommend a visit to the Navajo Lake State Park. If you need electricity and want a site with a view of the lake, I would recommend getting a reservation. Otherwise, there are numerous first come first served sites without electricity. Many like those best because they are more remote and offer more privacy.
Useful links may include:
http://southeastpublications.com/
http://www.mobilerving.com/index.php/rvingsearch/campgrounds/navajo-lake-state-park_353.html
http://www.mobilerving.com/maps/navajolakesp_nm.pdf
I welcome feedback, suggestions or just a “like”.
Thanks,
Victor
What does Yat ta Hey mean? It is Navajo, it means like hello or hi. I asked a Navajo woman what it meant and she told me that it basically is a greeting, but translated into English it means yata (sky) hey (blessing).
Anyway, I am a little reticent about writing a blog after reading other blogs out there. Many of the authors must have degrees in writing, English or composition. I, on the other hand was a business major. Although my mother, who was an English teacher, taught me about dangling participles, phonetics, and punctuation, I had to take dumbbell English when I went to college. It was a struggle, I have made some improvements, I think, but still I don’t wax too poetic.
I started a personal blog in 2008, a good portion of the places I wrote about where visited in my rv. You might find it interesting. I call it Victor’s Meanderings.
The Blog Byline reads:
“Exploring the highway and byways with an eye out for scenic, historic, unique and pristine places. This is a great county and we want to see and experience it. That is our mantra. We would like to share it with you, so welcome to this blog and plan to return frequently. As Willy Nelson might sing, "On the Road Again"!”
Go to: http://victorsmeanderings.blogspot.com/ if you are interested.
My first two jobs as an agent for Southeast Publications are in Northwest New Mexico. I have been living in Durango, Colorado the last four years and so these two parks were close by. (opps a dangling participle, ha) I had some experience with the area as I worked a couple of summers at the marina in the Navajo Lake State Park.
One of the guest guides I am renewing is that one for the Navajo Lake State Park. A dam on the Pine, San Juan Rivers has created a lake of 13,000 surface acres. The park offers over 250 camping sites, picnicking sites, a boat ramp and boating and fishing. The marina, rents boats and slips and has a convenience store and restaurant. Some people take their boats up the Pine and/ or San Juan Rivers and camp for the night.
This park gets over 500,000 visits each year. Some come for the day to fish, boat or picnic. Others will stay for a couple of weeks, the mandatory length of stay. It is no wonder; this reservoir is the largest in the state of New Mexico. This park is also the most visited.
It gets very warm during the day mid-summer but afternoon showers cool things down. In any case, once the sun sets, things cool down making outdoor cooking and camp fires popular.
Below the dam is world famous gold water trout fishing. A separate campground, called Cottonwood is on the river and is also part of the State Park. The electrical service is currently being renovated. It has a wonderful feeling about it as it is right on the river and the trees offer some shade.
Close by are a number of visitor attractions that are worthy of mention. They include, Salmon Ruins, Aztec Ruins, Mesa Verde, Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Million Dollar Highway. The last being that road built in the mining days between Silverton and Ouray. In the winter, Durango Mountain Resort/Purgatory and Wolf Creek Pass ski areas are popular and inexpensive. The Ute Indian Casino and Museum is a short distance away in Ignacio.
I recommend a visit to the Navajo Lake State Park. If you need electricity and want a site with a view of the lake, I would recommend getting a reservation. Otherwise, there are numerous first come first served sites without electricity. Many like those best because they are more remote and offer more privacy.
Useful links may include:
http://southeastpublications.com/
http://www.mobilerving.com/index.php/rvingsearch/campgrounds/navajo-lake-state-park_353.html
http://www.mobilerving.com/maps/navajolakesp_nm.pdf
I welcome feedback, suggestions or just a “like”.
Thanks,
Victor
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Author: Victor K. Ray
