Conchas Lake

 

        Conchas Lake may be just a lake, but it is also a place I can call my second home.  I've been visiting since I could remember, every summer, sometimes 2-3 times a year.  Located in northeastern New Mexico, it is a beautiful reservoir, known for its clear waters and scenic surrounding, but known to me as a childhood memory that will forever be there.  Conchas Lake when at its fullest can reach 158 feet deep and surface area of 16,033 acres.  Conchas Lake is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and camping.  It receives quite a bit of rain throughout the year, which helps keep the lake full.  Right now it is reaching the emergency spillways.  The lake is surrounded by rolling hills and shrubs.  A local you will always find there are tarantulas, they are relatively nice unless you bother them, but for the most part they just crawl around.  Just don't leave your tent or RV open at night.  

        I have been to this lake more than I can count, it's become tradition to go every year with my family.  There have been times I have gone with other people, like my best friend for 4th of July.  I was only there for 3 days, but it was definitely a trip to remember, I have never been on a trip with her and I was super excited for it.  While I did get really sunburned, it was worth it. We got to spend time on the boat, and even flagged down some people to take us on their jet skis.  Another time I went with another person was my dad's best friend, we were all up there having a blast, also on a boat.  My first time ever going tubing was that trip,  but a significant memory that really sticks out is when my mom was getting off the boat, she dropped her phone right into the drink.  My dad's friend dove in to retrieve it, it was broken and useless, but I guess we still had the phone.  

         The trip I went on last summer was honestly maybe the worst trip to Conchas Lake, we showed up and had a max of 45 minutes to set everything up before the next storm rolled in.  Once the storm hit, it rained for about 3 hours, we sat underneath our awning and ate our food.  We were all soggy, but the rain eventually game to a drizzle, and stopped, allowing us to change into dry clothes and go to sleep.  It rained all night and into the next morning.  The next day it was just foggy, and cloudy.  We made breakfast and got our fishing gear and headed to the shoreline.  There we fished for about an hour, till it started raining cats and dogs.  We were getting flooded out and we had to drop everything and run for cover.  We ended up leaving and going home, it was forecasted rain the whole trip, meaning we would be stuck in the campsite all day.  This trip was awful, and while I wish we stayed the whole thing out, I'm also happy we didn't stay in the rain the entire time.  

        Every trip means so much to me and they have all given me such amazing memories.  I hope to continue going with my family every year to the lake and continuing to make these memories.  Conchas lake is like another home to me, it will always be apart of me and my childhood, and I glad to remember it as my second home.