Thursday June 23
Although we tried to leave early, after breakfast and Jeep hookup and dumping and cleaning out the tank, we didn't get on the road until ten or so. It was a hot drive but not an unpleasant one. It was either four hours and forty minute or five hours and forty minutes, because....
A time change. If you'd asked me beforehand, I might have guessed that some parts of Colorado were on Mountain Time, but not the whole state of it. But apparently it is and so, we "gained" an hour. It turns out that Nebraska, South and North Dakota all have split time zones in the western third of the state. Best I could tell, we would be on Mountain time for the next few days.
I'd read that the campground at John Martin Reservoir was really nice, but I hadn't read that there were two campgrounds--one called Hasty Lake and one called Point (I think.) I had no idea which campground I'd reserved, just which site number I'd reserved. But we needed to stop at the visitor center to check in and pay our day entry fee (Stupid Colorado!) anyway.
Ed unhooked the Jeep while I went inside, so I followed Mammoth as he headed to the campsite. Soon we hooked a left and headed along the backside of the dam--huh? We weren't on John Martin Reservoir at all--we were below the dam. Passing campsite after campsite that had splendid views--of a dam!
But soon we turned left and were in a lovely, lovely campground with a view of a little lake they'd made from a diversion in the Arkansas River below the dam. You could still see the dam, but you could also see the lovely lake and tons of elm and cottonwood trees. The campsites were beautifully separated, fairly level, clean and nice. One big tree was situated just to the south of us and blocked the satellite signal, but no matter. We didn't need it.
As we unhooked and set up I could hear a bird just beside the camp singing an enigmatic four-part song. over an over. I didn't recognize it at all. Possibly a lark sparrow, but I had heard a lot of those over the last couple of days and I just didn't think so.
Not that I'll ever find out. By the time we were finished, it was gone. And it didn't come back.
From reading the flyer, Lake Meredith is a very important stopover for wintering waterfowl, and a critical breeding habitat for the Piping Plover and the Least Tern. They have sections of the shore fenced off to protect the birds. We didn't get a chance to see, though. We were tired and we wanted to leave early next day.
Plus, it turned out that the campsite was so long and the electrical hookup so close to the middle, it made more sense to just put the Jeep behind the RV and hook it back up again. Ready to leave next day. So I just satisfied myself with a couple of long bird watching walks around Lake Hasty.
So many Western Kingbirds! Plus robins, house finches, killdeer, mourning doves, white-winged doves, Euarasian collared doves, swallows of some sort, and a small falcon, probably a kestrel, who was attacked mercilessly by the kingbirds and driven into a tree. There was a pair of house sparrows (hate 'em) trying to build a nest in our picnic table shelter.
As Molly and I rounded the end of the lake, our nostrils were assaulted by a smell. their little roped off swimming area (they called it a beach, but no way) was full of mucky algae. There were a few people and kids swimming out there and I don't know how they stood it. It was awful.
Maybe you get used to the smell. And normal algae might not hurt you, but in a spot like that I'd be too worried about blue-green algae.
We went on and soon crossed the Arkansas River on a road. There was a good bit of water in it, this time of year--and it was flowing fast. We were able to walk all the way up to the spillway form the dam. And just alongside it was a complete 18 hole disc golf course! A nice one. We walked mostly all the way around it and ended up at the start, where there was a big signpost with maps of both this and the Corp of Engineers John Martin Reservoir area available.
That was mind boggling. The course was well-maintained, too, although most of it wasn't irrigated so the ground was dry and the low plants rough on my feet in hiking sandals. But not unbearable, and Molly only picked up one sticker the whole time we were out.
We walked back by the edge of Hasty Pond (not a lake, silly people!) and saw a couple of large rats down by the lake. Not big enough to be muskrats, though.
And we saw a nighthawk or two on the way back. And that's pretty much all. We took another walk at dusk and went through patches where there were so many gnats in the air that you could hear a low hum of them buzzing. That was absolutely mindboggling to me--I've never heard a gnat and didn't even know they made a noise. But in the swarming masses, I could hear them!
The sunset was awesome. I tried to sit out after dark and enjoy the night--stars came out although there was still a patchy cloud cover, but our neighbors were laughing and talking and I didn't enjoy it. When I say the campsites were well spaced, I mean that your neighbors were far enough away that you didn't feel like they were in your face. But after dark, with the birds all quieted and the wind died down, people laughing really loud forced laughs were just annoying.
REVIEW John Martin Reservoir State Park.
Lovely campground--I'd like to spend a few days here.
We only did an overnight. Our site was partially shaded and asphalt, I believe. It was very long and the electrical hookup near the middle, so we put our tow vehicle in back and hooked it up ready to leave next day. It was pretty unlevel, I believe, but not difficult to fix with a few blocks. . Note that there are no water hookups, but there are plenty of places to take on water and the faucets are threaded and easy to access. No sewer, either, but the dump station was big and convenient on the way out.
Beautiful and peaceful view of a little "lake" (Hasty Lake)--a diversion of the Arkansas River below the dam which makes Lake Meredith. Very clean. The sites are far enough apart that you can barely hear your neighbors.
I wouldn't swim in Hasty Lake--it was shallow and kind of algae-ish. But very pretty and there were tons of birds all around. I didn't see any trails but walking on the road and around in the huge campground was just fine.
There was a disc golf course adjacent to the park--well-maintained, too. Excellent.
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