So we left Palo Duro Canyon with the intention of reaching some mountains to escape the oppressive heat. Palo Duro Canyon is a magnificent place, we'll go back and do it right at a cooler time. But for now we have to get the heck out of the heat! The nearest mountains are Northeast New Mexico so we point towards those with a park called Morphy Lake as our destination.
After a quick diversion to Cadillac Ranch, outside Amarillo, we make tracks for New Mexico.
Lots of driving on I40 (yuck) and then a backroad (which was really nice) to get to Las Vegas, NM. We stop in a store and luckily Angie asked the cashier if he'd heard of Morphy Lake and we find out it's dried up and the campground is closed! He suggests Storrie Lake which is just outside of town. A drive through the campground shows us it's basically just a dusty parking lot looking at another lake suffering from drought. Ok, bust out the map. The next closest place is Coyote Creek State Park so we head towards it. Very scenic drive on little backroads and mountains all around. As we're driving you can feel the temperature decreasing! Still warm but no longer oppressively hot.
We arrive at Coyote Creek late in the day but get a good spot with electricity. The place is great! There's a little creek that's ice cold and we do a short hike on a trail that overlooks the campground. That night it gets nice and chilly and we have to use a sleeping bag!
Finally!
Where's LeTigre?
There she is!
If Kipper could talk he's probably be saying "seriously, another photo?"
Finally, cool water. A lot of the campers were fishing with great success in this stream.
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