Enjoying Villanueva State Park

When we first arrived at Villanueva, I was not that impressed. The local town looked depressed and the campsites are set up very strangely. I think my negative impression was partially due to the fact that the drive in was long and difficult. Once we got set up, I began to relax. One issue with Villanueva is that we had no cell signal or OTA TV in the campground. As much as it bothers me to admit it, I like to stay connected. I really need to get over it.

After our day of driving all over North Central New Mexico, we decided to stay at Villanueva for two more days for a total of 4. The winds were going to be bad coming from the north, so we paid for two additional days and relaxed with books, video games and some hiking.

There are two real steep hiking trails up the sides of the gorge to some overlooks on the top. I headed out on one. It was steep and loose, but the view from the top was worth it.

The campground is in the center of this picture.

There were some steep canyons that I am sure have great waterfalls on the rare occasions when they have water here.

It was only about a 2 mile hike, but it got my heart pumping and my legs enjoyed the workout.

On the third day, I decided to head to the closest cell signal to do a few things. It was a 10 mile drive, but I was in no hurry and really spent some time checking out the local town. I found out that this area along the Pecos River was first explored by the Spanish Conquistadors. That was back in 1540. The town of Villanueva was begun by early spanish settlers. I also noticed much of the construction of abandoned buildings are real adobe. Here are a few shots:

Before we left, I really started to like this place. The views up the canyon walls are really beautiful and the campground was very quiet. The Pecos was really muddy, so I don't know if there are any fish in there, but I would bet the right time of year would yield some fish. 

I ended up really enjoying our time at Villanueva. Now, comes the big move to the northern part of the state. We are shooting for Navajo Lake State Park. We have no idea how that will work out, but that is all part of the adventure. Go on an adventure today that you do not know the outcome.