Sitting Bull Falls

 Location: Brantley State Park (el. 3,300 ft); Carlsbad, New Mexico

All pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone

I arrived at Brantley State Park on Monday, the 19th after a short tow of only 100 miles. With such a short haul, I stopped on the way to do some grocery shopping at Walmart in the town of Artesia. As I was approaching Artesia, it seemed as though I crossed an imaginary line in the oil/gas fields as there were oil service industries everywhere. Quite a change from the last several weeks. 

Brantley State Park is located several miles off the main road and is on a small oasis. This is my third New Mexico State Park and none of the offices/visitors centers have been opened. The volunteer camp hosts seem to be running the camp grounds. Routine maintenance is being ignored in 2 of the 3 parks. I can only assume there must be a budget crisis in the state.

The campground is somewhere down this road

At least the clouds were putting on a show

Brantley Lake. I only saw one boat on the lake.

Liberty's campsite

View from my window

One of the reasons I came here is to visit Sitting Bull Falls. I had heard of this place as I passed through the southern part of the state during the early spring of last year but didn't stop. This time, I paid it a visit. It is located 31 miles off of the U.S. Highway. The road is in very good condition but has few travelers. During the 31 miles, I saw only 2 other passenger vehicles and a couple of tanker trucks. It is a nice drive through some pretty country. Although it is pretty country, it is not pristine. There are many signs of oil and gas exploration with a few visible pipeline locations. To me, it was not a problem.

Lonely road, but a nice drive.

I can imagine that cone shaped hill being used as a guidpost/landmark in the past.

You cross this valley and the falls are in those mountains in the distance.

The road surface changes for the last few miles, but still in very good condition

The road begins to follow the dry streambed. This is definitely a flash flood location during heavy rains upstream.

 Other than a volunteer host, I was the only one at the falls. It was very peaceful and quiet. The water fall is 150 feet high and flows year round. Within about 300 yards of the base of the falls, most of the water goes underground with very little of it flowing on the surface. Most of the rockwork was constructed by the CCC from the 1930's. I've seen their work in many locations throughout the country and it is always top-notch. It was a successful program in the 30's and it should be modernized and re-vamped for use today.

That is the camp host's RV on the right. He just started a 6 month stint and will be here through the winter. Very isolated duty. 

The rock shelters are picnic locations.
I found a bench too. :)

Nice view over the whole picnic area.

A bench at the falls

The camp host was told this place is packed in the summertime.

I took this picture mainly because of the strange looking cloud. 

I'll be seeing the famous caverns today. I'm preparing myself for a let-down because of the hype surrounding the caverns. I hope I'm not disappointed.

Mediocre sunset last night. Hopefully a better one tonight

Tomorrow is moving day. I'll be headed to Balmorhea State Park in Balmorhea, Texas. I'll be moving every 3 days for the next couple weeks as I head back towards Louisiana.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.