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Bottomless Lakes, Roswell NM

The governor finally reopened some state parks to NM residents with reservations only. My favorite park close to me did not re-open so time to head to Bottomless Lakes State Park outside Roswell, NM 60 miles away. The drive up was lovely now that the front end on my Roadtrek van is fixed. Naturally, I stopped in town to pick up some Panda Express for dinner (and next day breakfast) since I can’t get it near home. Spent some time with my long lost cousins too.

Panda Express   Alien cousins get jumpstart   Visiting alien cousins Roswell

Bottomless is another 10+ miles outside Roswell. I reserved the same spot I was supposed to have previously when I was unable to go there due to car trouble. It’s on the hill against the canyon wall across from the restrooms. Big mistake. That is where two very fat raccoons live. Every night they ransacked the trash cans nearby. I have heard of them eating vehicle wires and causing lots of problems. My magnetic motion activated lights seemed to help keep them from spending too much time close to my rig but didn’t totally keep them away. Don’t leave anything out there you don’t want them to get.

   Site 20 Bottomless Lakes   Magnetic motion activated light

My fridge worked fine on propane which was a pleasant surprise since it failed to work mid-summer in 108 degree weather. I ended up clearing out the ice chest I brought just in case.

The park has WI-FI but the signal was weak where I was. Deploying a WI-FI booster antenna that plugs directly into my laptop through a long USB cord fixed that issue. It worked both outside on the windshield and inside on the dashboard. I got it on Wish dot com.

WI-FI antenna on windshield

I was able to stream TV through my phone’s internet and Amazon Firestick. Good signal there. I also used my portable satellite dish for the first time. Roadtreks have a cable port in the side storage area so I connected to that to get the signal to the inside TV port.

I took my first bath in the van. The restroom showers are closed for Covid. Toilets are open though. Go figure. My van doesn’t have a water heater or shower. I haven’t finished building a shower curtain yet so I just took a bath using a 5 gallon solar water bag, a collapsible bucket, a folding dog pool that fits in the closet, and a battery powered USB portable water pump with shower attachment. It worked! I may just keep doing baths since it was so easy and I can sit in the narrow pool in my center aisle. I used Dr. Bronner’s eco-friendly soap though I read that my homemade glycerin soap is also eco-friendly. I had all the water I needed. When done, I used the water pump again to pump the water back into the bucket then tossed it outside.

Portable bath

Everything worked great and I was very comfortable.

I was camped at Lea Lake campground with water and electric for $4/night with my annual pass. There is a sewer dump on the way out. My space had a nice covered table and patio. The view was fantastic with red rock all around, the lake, an excellent well-done beach and picnic area, and a walking bridge trail through a marsh. I walked a LOT! That gave me a chance to try out my camcorder I bought some time ago and of course I took lots of pictures.

Lea Lake   Beach picnic area   Bottomless Lakes marsh walk

There are also numerous boondocking areas around the other lakes there. They also have covered tables and I wouldn’t mind camping at those either.

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