Sumner Lake SP, NM - Nov 2007

After our stop in Albuquerque it was time to begin making our way back to Texas. We'd planned to get to San Antonio around mid-November, so had a couple of weeks to leisurely make the trek. Our first stop was at Sumner Lake State Park near Fort Sumner, New Mexico. It was a small, quiet park -- out in the middle of nowhere and just what we needed to be able to sit and relax and spend some time fiddling with our new computers. It also gave me a much needed break from being a tourist so that I could catch up on my blogging.

When we arrived, we had our pick of spots so we chose #12 -- the best one in the park in my opinion. It was at the edge of the campground, up on a bluff and with an unobstructed view of the lake. We were able to angle the RV into a very wide driveway -- creating a private nook on the patio side of the RV with a great view. We also had a picnic table under a cute little casita for shade. The deer were plentiful and very tame as they grazed right next to our campsite.

While the park did not have a lot of trees, autumn had definitely arrived amongst the few cottonwoods that were scattered around the lake and throughout the campground. Here is the tallest one that we could find that still had most of it's leaves. A few days of high winds had stripped most of the leaves off the rest of the trees.

Even though we were at Sumner Lake in the beginning of November, the cottonwoods were just reaching the peak of their autumn colors. The park encompasses both sides of the lake and so we had lots of scenic trails to explore. We took several walks around the park and found a couple of spots where there was a cluster of trees.

While at the park, we struck up a friendship with our camp host, Bob. Now Bob had been hosting there - year-round - for four years and knew an awful lot about the area. I was particularly tickled when I saw Bob putting out corn for the deer. He does it on the sly (kind of a "don't ask, don't tell" situation) since you're not supposed to feed the wildlife in state parks. But Bob, being a tender hearted guy, wanted to make sure the does and their fawns were fattened up before winter.

Bob fed the deer twice a day and had been doing so for quite a few years. I think that explained the rather large deer population that congregated around his site every morning and evening. He would fill a big bucket with cracked corn and then pour it out in about 20 piles. That way each deer could eat in peace without having to fight for the food. The deer would wait outside his motorhome until he came out and then they would follow him around while he spread the corn.

There was one aggressive deer who would try and eat right out of the bucket. Bob would have to scold her and make her wait until the others were fed. Amongst the does were several fawns -- including one mama with triplets.

Since Bob was pretty openly breaking the rules, I decided to throw caution to the wind and did a little deer feeding myself. Bob said they liked corn tortillas and it also gave them a little fat in their diet (in the form of lard), so I bought a big package and every day I threw a bunch of them out like frisbees. It was great - since I could sail them to each deer - making sure they each got a sample. Here's one of the bold ones munching away. This one was so tame, she would eat out of my hand.

Scotty enjoyed staying outside on our patio -- especially when the deer came up for handouts. He was very good and did not try and chase them. Guess old age is slowing him down.