Welcome to Roswell!
Home of much more than alien forklore. We took a drive through Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge yesterday. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in two separate sections in central Chaves County, New Mexico, United States, a few miles northeast of the city of Roswell. Both sections lie on the banks of the Pecos River. It's home to hundreds of species of birds, dragonflies, reptiles and amphibians. It was also home to a roadrunner that I finally got a picture of!
Today, we went to Bottomless Lake State Park. Bottomless Lakes State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Mexico, located along the Pecos River, about 15 miles southeast of Roswell. Established in 1933, it was the first state park in New Mexico. It takes its name from nine small, deep lakes located along the eastern escarpment of the Pecos River valley.
So how did Bottomless Lake get its name? When cowboys were exploring the Wild West, they came across nine lakes in New Mexico. In an attempt to get to know the land, they cut giant pieces of rope to try to measure how deep these bodies of water were. No luck. They tied several long pieces of rope together and they still couldn’t reach the bottom. They couldn’t even see the bottom.
Local legends tell of objects going missing in the lakes, only to wash up later in the Carlsbad Caverns or Gulf of Mexico. Others warn of strong underwater currents that suck up swimmers and divers, never to be seen again. There are some who tell stories about a giant turtle monster who patrols the bottom of the lake.
I'm not sure if these legends are true at all, but the scenery was beautiful!
So how did Bottomless Lake get its name? When cowboys were exploring the Wild West, they came across nine lakes in New Mexico. In an attempt to get to know the land, they cut giant pieces of rope to try to measure how deep these bodies of water were. No luck. They tied several long pieces of rope together and they still couldn’t reach the bottom. They couldn’t even see the bottom.
Local legends tell of objects going missing in the lakes, only to wash up later in the Carlsbad Caverns or Gulf of Mexico. Others warn of strong underwater currents that suck up swimmers and divers, never to be seen again. There are some who tell stories about a giant turtle monster who patrols the bottom of the lake.
I'm not sure if these legends are true at all, but the scenery was beautiful!