The Ranch SKP Park
This quiet and well-kept Escapee Coop Park is located in Lakewood, just 20 miles north of Carlsbad, NM. This was our home for the week. Other than the Escapee Park, the town of Lakewood has a post office, a church and 3 or 4 houses.
Visitors can stay for a small fee on unoccupied leased sites while the owners are away.
We had a full hookup and great water drawn from an artesian well.
This massive concrete flume, built in 1903, carries water from the Pecos River to irrigate the farmland in the area.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
We visited here 33 years ago with our small children at the time. It was time for a second visit. With the weather hovering around 100 degrees, we thought a trip into a cave would cool us off.
Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park
The pathway to the Natural Entrance, 750 feet deep.
Every evening at dusk, 300,000 to 400,000 freetail bats emerge from this entrance to help control the insect population.
Lion's Tail Formation
Rock of Ages
Dolls Theater
Outside of the cave system there is a nine-mile auto tour loop. Exhibit turn-offs from the main park road include this short walk to a shelter used long ago by the indigenous tribes.
This is a state operated zoo and botanical garden that specializes in native species of the Chihuahuan Desert. We arrived at 9 am when the park opened in order to be off the trails by noon.
The Lily Pads were all in bloom just outside the Visitor Center.
The hummingbird moths were working in the flowering desert willows.
The animals in the park were rescued and native to the area.
Prairie Dog Town
1 comment:
We've spent many nights at Brantley Lake State Park near The Ranch. That area can be pretty toasty mid-summer! We love the Carlsbad Auto Tour Loop in the spring when all of the wildflowers are blooming. I hope that you are enjoying your new coach!
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