Walk Around With Ralph at Elephant Butte, New Mexico

[@ancientburner]

Thanks for sharing this RALPH!!!

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

Thanks for watching ❤

[@ralphvickers2339]

howdy Ralph....nice walk around

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

Thanks, Ralph. 😊

[@TwoTravelingTramps]

Heathcliff does an outstanding job of filming. Shame he couldn't fly around the dam, but with all that's been happing around the world, I can see why. Beautiful part of the country, Ralph. Thanks for bringing us along.

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

@TwoTravelingTramps thanks. Look in the description. Click that link. I did get some big drone video from the lake side. With LAANC approval from the FAA. 😁

[@mknight4124]

Hi Ralph, thanks for uploading these vids, great to see some parts of NM

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

Glad you like them!. 😁

[@DeborahAnstey]

That is sad how low the lake has gotten. I miss that part of the country so much! Thank you so much for this.

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

It was a good trip, but I was shocked at how low the water level was. Loved the squirrels. They'll come right up to you.

[@bitfenix90]

I can always understand why the southwest kids strongly considered the Navy and oceans... and I bet so many discovered there was a great continuum between Oceans and Desert. I think it's the amount of sky - oceans and desert offer up "half yer world is always the sky" to those inhabitants. All of that landscape around the Lake looks like it's gypsum and quartz, perfect ingredients for Pecos Valley Diamonds. Gotta remember to take my 'entrenching tool' and a few li'l beach-buckets. I learned smaller is better for carrying rocks!

[@bitfenix90]

And THANKS for the tip about raw peanuts. Can you get down into the canyon channel? Mighty green down there but I bet that soil would like melons... or dates...

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

The Ocean and the Desert have so many similarities. You can see from one horizon to the other on both. you can see ALL the stars at night on both. One has Swells, the other has Dunes, On and on. I love being in the middle of both.

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

We only had carrots to feed them, be they didn't seem to mind. you can get down there, with some effort. There's been a lot of rain there in the past few weeks, so everything was greening up. It rained the day I was there even.

[@bitfenix90]

@@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl Are August afternoon rains common? I first discovered that in West Texas-to-Permian Basin. Where I also discovered that Midland and Odessa didn't have much for drainage-sewers, hence their city streets were concave - deeper in the middle than a howl-effect like I was used to. Seeing those turn rivers with water lapping halfway into yards was shocking to me. And 30 minutes later, ALL GONE! Poof!! But really... it's the SKIES that I fell ni love with. I could easily imagine sleeping days and wandering at night under starlight, and moons being too bright - blindingly so.

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

​@bitfenix90 Yes. This is actually our monsoon season. A lot of towns in this area of NM and Texas have terrible drainage systems. I guess it cost less to maintain the road damage than to actually build a real drainage system. 😂😂😂

[@ralphvickers2339]

are they still producing electricity from this dam ?

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

Yes, Elephant Butte Dam in New Mexico still generates electricity, primarily during the irrigation season from mid-March to mid-October. The dam's hydroelectric facility is the second largest in the state.

[@retirementbootcampoff-grid237]

Are you retired, Ralph? I am new to you. 👌

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

Yes. I'm retired Military with nine years active duty in the Navy and thirteen years New Mexico National Guard. I'm al retired from the Roswell, New Mexico Fire Department after twenty years of service. And of course, Social Security. I do this for fun. As my channels aren't monetized. It passes the time. ❤😂

[@retirementbootcampoff-grid237]

@@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl Wanted to retire in New Mexico but northern NM was too high elevation for me. People love travel stuff on YT--you should do great. 🥳

[@WalkAroundWithRalph-ut8sl]

@@retirementbootcampoff-grid237 Thanks. We're at 3700 feet here in my hometown. Elephant Butte is about 4500. Overall, it's a wonderful state.