May 10, 2016
New Mexico
Elephant Butte Reservoir
This Reservoir is the 84th largest man-made lake in the United States and the largest in the state of New Mexico, by total surface area. It is the only place in New Mexico where one can find pelicans perched along the side of the lake. The lake is impounded by Elephant Butte Dam and is home to the largest State Park in N.M.: Elephant Butte Lake State Park.
The Reservoir is part of the Rio Grande Project, a massive project to provide power & irrigation to south-central NM & west TX. The dam was initially filled between 1915-1916. This October will be the Centennial Celebration at Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the surrounding towns: Elephant Butte, T or C (Truth or Consequences), and some mountain areas as well, will all join in festivities.
The Reservoir can hold 2,065,010 acre feet of water from a drainage of 28,900 square miles. It provides irrigation to 178,000 acres.
The name “Elephant Butte” refers to a volcanic core similar to Devils Tower in WY. It is now an island in the lake. The Butte is said to have the shape of an elephant lying on its side (as long as you have the imagination of a toddler). The lake contains: striped bass, white bass, largemouth bass, walleye & catfish (contact us for your dinner reservations: Dial….)
History of Elephant Butte
Elephant Butte Dam, constructed between 1911 – 1916, with the reservoir fill started in 1915, was a major engineering feat in its day. The enormous concrete dam is the major feature of the Elephant Butte National Register Historic District. At the time of its construction, the dam was the largest irrigation dam ever built with the exception of the Aswan Dam in Egypt.
A large construction community sprang up, which included work camps, railways, cable systems, and the former Administration Building of the Bureau of Reclamation. The “camps” housed American & Mexican workers throughout the construction of the dam. Many of the former camps ended up under the reservoir itself, while others disappeared altogether.
The former Administration Building of the Bureau of Reclamation still stands as a Bed and Breakfast facility and, along with other structures of the time, are listed in the National Registry of Historical Places. When the lake falls 10 meters (30 feet) below maximum capacity, the ruins of an old machine shop rise out of the water. Located near the southeast shore, this 3000 square-foot concrete structure was once believed to be the remnants of the old field hospital that treated the frequently injured dam construction crews. That building is located further upstream in the aptly named “Hospital Canyon”. Plans are under way to make the machine shop ruins a scuba destination in years of high water-level.
We Arrive…
The 10th of May we pulled out of Percha Dam Campground, (yes our stay there was disappointing) – driving to Elephant Butte Lake State Park campsite #18 on the Quail Run loop, arriving around noonish. This spot, the volunteer clued us in on, is “the campsite campers fight over”. Setting up and taking down has become second nature to us now.. so quickly unhooking, and leveling we are planted – and excited to be able to see the lake from our semi-secluded temporary (tiny) home, Rosalita.
As the information accurately explained, Elephant Butte Lake is the largest watering hole in New Mexico. Here you can (to name just a few) go sailboating, kayaking, paddle boarding, fish, or just get out of the heat at the Marina, when the temperatures climb to, if not over, 100 degrees!
We drove down to the Marina with our picnic lunch, after the settling in was completed, of course. The lake is truly huge, especially in the middle of the desert. We drove to the Elephant Butte Dam a bit later. People used to be able to drive across the top of the dam, but now they have blocked off all vehicles – but yes, you can walk across the top. This is like no other dam that I have seen, thus far in our travels. There is no “out source” within the dam itself. We were not sure where the irrigation is let out from, but it appears it is not at the Dam site itself.
Leaving the Dam, we headed to the town of T or C, Truth or Consequences, for a bite of food. As we are driving around we see the familiar: Wendy’s, McDonald’s, BBQ joints, the ever familiar bars, etc. When we don’t find what we are seeking, we drive to Historic Downtown. We love Historic Downtown’s! There is always a ‘golden nugget’ hidden on some small winding street. The road changed into a one way street (Main Street) that makes a loop encircling the District and becomes Broadway going back east. We toured around the block because we missed a really quaint cafe, Passion Pie Cafe: now who would pass up a chance to eat at this PLACE! We both ordered the Tomato Asiago quiche. I was going to order the Albacore/Tuna sandwich, but they were sold out. No worries, the quiche was wonderful and the staff, very welcoming and pleasant. Three women run this establishment, it is very clean, art on the walls, a trading book library, free wifi , and of course, scrumptious food including vegan & gluten free. We WILL be BACK…
The next morning, we did return and had a late morning snack: Patti had Carrot Cake in a cupcake paper: I had the Apricot Almond bar that was gluten free (a whole meal in itself.) Again, both were delicious. A VERY popular item is the fruit waffle, we did not have it but the word was – 5*’s. All the baking and meals are made fresh in the small kitchen and handed through a portal. The place is small, clean and intimate, get there early for lunch to avoid the lines, they are open 7am – 3pm every day. I would imagine this would be doubly true when school gets out. A must stop…
Just down the street from the Passion Pie Cafe, we drove to the library so Patti could catch up on the news, via the newspaper, news from a printed source: imagine that… While Patti was pursuing the printed material, I went next door to the community garden, which was alive and flourishing, with individual garden plots costing $20.00 per season, while others were communal. I didn’t ask what the season was in terms of length of time. By the looks of it the season HAS begun, and not only begun but flourishing. There were several plots with artichokes in them with the fruit as big as what is in the stores now. I don’t know when the planting season is for artichokes, but I’m in – give me a trowel.. Sadly we will only be here a week.
Still awaiting Patti, I took a drive to the Geronimo Museum on Main Street to photograph a lovely water fountain. The Fountain is named Las Palomas Fountain, Palomas means dove. Yes, there are an abundance of doves in this area. I couldn’t get much detail about construction although this fountain was definitely built with care and forethought. It seems by size and decoration it was built for children. The water flows from two separate fountain heads and each water trough meanders around in a circle connecting in the back center, down the drain and up again through the two fountain heads. Quite amazing, actually!
The town of T or C offers many artistic buildings and unusual structures. Also, the Geronimo Museum, the Healing Waters Tour, and I am taking a 2 hour hiking tour into Hidden Canyon this Sunday (15th). The tour is sponsored by Ted Turner Expeditions a sort of ‘pre’centennial event. Lots going on for the Centennial year with the culmination happening in October of 2016. Come out, enjoy the water sports, hiking, and the festivities: the best Truth or Consequences has to offer.
Patti and I so enjoy driving the back streets to see how creative the residents are – the brightly painted adobe houses with contrasting doors and windows, the wall surrounding a private inner courtyard, a rock house, a ‘tiny house’ with a ‘tiny business’, and a Namaste wall – the Namaste wall was surely a yoga studio…
Stay tuned for the great outdoor adventure to Hidden Canyon…
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