Bottomless Lakes State Park

Bottomless Lakes are a chain of eight lakes that are actually sinkholes that range from 17 to 90 feet deep. They were formed when circulating water dissolved salt and gypsum deposits to form subterranean caverns. Eventually, the roofs of the caverns collapsed from their own weight. Sinkholes resulted and soon filled with water and formed the existing lakes. A story we were told of why they are called "bottomless"is that Billy the Kid's gang members (this is referred to a Billy the Kid territory) tried to determine the depth of the lakes and used weighted ropes that got swept along by underground rivers and so the lakes seemed to have no bottom.
 

We began our drive from Elephant Butte to Bottomless Lakes (230 miles) along some sweeping New Mexico landscapes during a "high wind warning."

I don't think that such a warning is unusual, but...

we were fortunate that we were headed in basically the same direction as the wind which...

provided us with a nice tailwind - at least for part of the way.

Not too far up I-25 from Elephant Butte we passed Fort Craig National Historical Site. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Craig

Distinctive...

New Mexico...

landscape.

After about 50-miles traveling north on I-25 we turned east and headed across the northern reaches of the White Sands Missile Range.

At one point we passed a Historical Marker that identified this are as "Trinity Site" where the world's first atomic bomb exploded on July 16, 1945. 

Heading east we crossed more Basin & Range landscape and ...

entered The Malpais mountains.

what looks like a lake is actually an area of black volcanic rock called Valley of Fires.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrizozo_Malpais

We finally arrived at Bottomless Lakes State Park and set-up home at the Lea Lake Recreation Area. Lea Lake is the largest of the eight lakes.

Across the road from the campground is the 2010 constructed Wetlands Trail. The first part of the trail is along a boardwalk that travels right through the wetland, on top of the flowing water, similar to the everglades. Also in 2010, these wetlands were named a Ramsar Site of International Importance. Designated wetlands have to meet criteria that show the wetlands are unique and support biological diversity. These are an important rest stop on the Great Central Flyway for migrating birds including snow geese. 

This is the summer day-use pavilion adjacent to the campground. The tower may be an observation tower, we'll have to check it out.

Along Lea Lake - with the wind still blowing strong!

Today's hike:

Length - 1.20 miles

Duration - 56 minutes

Elevation gain - 0 feet