Sunday Drive To McGaffey

Above, the Jeep at McGaffey Lake today. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before any thunderstorms hit the area today, I decided to take a little "Sunday drive" up through Six Mile Canyon to McGaffey, which is the recreation area of the Cibola National Forest in the Mt. Taylor Ranger District of New Mexico.

The drive was a pleasant one. The little rain we got yesterday helped to keep the road dust to a minimum.

Above, Christmas waiting for her treats. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before heading into Six Mile Canyon, I stopped to feed Christmas some carrots. She seemed to enjoy her treats. From there, I headed to Six Mile Canyon.

Above, people enjoying some lake fishing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This time, I went over to the McGaffey Lake and there were many people along the shoreline fishing. This was the most amount of people I've seen at the lake since I moved here.

Above, just outside of the recreational area, I spotted some cattle grazing in a field. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

From the lake, I decided to explore the area north of the recreation area. After a couple of miles, I found myself out of the national forest. There were ranches in this area with grazing cattle. One ranch had a "for sale" sign (more about this in another blog post).

After looking around and snapping a few pictures, I headed back to the recreation area. I went down to the Quaking Aspen Campground and found it (and McGaffey Campground) with a locked and closed gate.

Above, the Quaking Aspen Campground sign. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I then turned around and headed up the road to Forest Road 162 to head back to Six Mile Canyon and home.

The ride back was not as good. The Jeep developed some problems and kept killing out, like it was out of gasoline. I checked and it had plenty. After four stall-outs, I eventually made it back home. (During one stall-out, the skies opened up with thunder and heavy rain.) I'll look into the problem this week.

Other than that, it was a nice ride.