As the July closes and August begins Norma’s check list of
wildlife still had a bear on the list. We have seen this sign all over the
cities we have visited but no bear sightings.
So we decided on a campsite in Raton, New Mexico at Sugarite Canyon State Park. We arrived and decided to go to the Soda Pocket
Campground. After a two mile up the midpoint of the Bartlett Mesa we found the
top sites on the point were full so settled on site 7.
In the morning Norma and Mia enjoyed her coffee in the
perfect 60 degree temperatures at the picnic table. Suddenly Craig heard Norma say something, is she saying BEAR. YES, A BLACK BEAR! Norma grabbed Mia and Craig looked aout the window, yes a large black bear. Well no picture but we saw a black bear. We
quickly let the camp host know and news quickly spread about the bear.
The other good news was a site opened up on the point (8000 ft
elevation) and we quickly moved to site 21. Its views were perfect for us. On one side the top of Barlett Mesa and if front
of us the Little Horse Mesa and Johnson Mesa. In between the Mesa’s the town on
Raton. The canyon was destroyed five years ago from a fire but is quickly coming back with a lot of wildlife and new growth but the trees bare and burned were a bit telling of the history. The state has really done a fabulous job restoring the campsite and the park. More details.
We explored several hikes and the flowers were beautiful.
Also, above the lakes you can get access to Colorado back country!
Oh and the sunsets were awesome.
We also enjoyed visiting with the Rangers of the park. They
were full of information and pointed out areas to view wild life through our binoculars.
We spotted beautiful Elk with 7 and 8 points on the Mesa as well at wild turkey.
Finally, every night the Black Bears were busy with the campsite. They explored the bear proof trash cans by toss them around and finally last night at 2:30 am a bear was found in the back of a pickup truck! Oh Boy, what fun! We have been lucky to meet numerous couples on RV adventures and enjoyed sharing stories!
