As this year’s snowbird trip is ending, we have found ourselves in the midst of record breaking high temperatures across the southwest and far up into the central states. We left Moriarty, New Mexico on Wednesday with the goal of reaching central Kansas by Friday and then home on Saturday.

Ute Lake State Park

We stayed Wednesday night at Ute Lake State Park in Logan, New Mexico. It was very hot when we arrived and spent our free time catching up on our blog with the AC running in the van at the Yucca Electric Campground. Fortunately, it cooled off once the sun went down.

Certainly nothing really fancy at this park, but there was a lake to walk around and the campsites had nice sheltered picnic tables. Lisa reserved a campsite right next to the bathhouse, but alas, it was closed for maintenance, so we had to hoof it quite a ways for our evening showers. Wide open skies provided beautiful views of the sunset and sunrise the next morning.

Meade State Park

We stayed Thursday night at Mead State Park near Meade, Kansas. The drive from New Mexico through the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and into Kansas was hot, but uneventful. Similar to the previous stay, this park too, was cheap, and good for an overnighter as we make our way home. With this heat and no seasonal shade yet, we needed the electricity until sunset. It was really nice to hear the birds and see the stars. It was a peaceful spot, and popular with the locals, one of whom checked that we were indeed leaving the next day so his buddy could have our spot.