volock - 17-9-2014 at 06:47 PM
Anyone ever kited any of the national grass lands? Summer or Winter? I called for the closest local one and they said they thought it'd be
allowed/fine, but weren't positive.. Just wondering, as I'm looking for new places to add to go.
kiteballoon - 18-9-2014 at 02:23 PM
No dry lakes around for you to play on? I would assume folks in New Mexico would have some nice spots free of trees and other windcatchers :-)
volock - 18-9-2014 at 08:09 PM
Very few dry lake beds in the state as a whole. We have a lot more foilage (especially the spiky kind) through lots of the mesas and other sandy
areas. In the south part of the state there's a few dry lake beds, and then a huge national park known as white sands, which is 2+ hours away by car.
The other issue is part of the dry lakes sit on private land/reservations, so aren't easy to go use. There's a few large parks (soccer fields and one
for hot air balloons) around Albuquerque to go as well, but we lack the large sandy beaches to play on. Not as many places as many would assume.
Come winter there's a few passes that exceed 10,000 feet so are above the treeline to play on, two decent sized lakes that freeze over, and then the
Valles Caldera, which is open to us kiters only for winter when there's enough snow.
As I have a place to stay, cattle ranch run by my aunt and older sister, right near the Kiowa Grasslands which is why I asked. And yup, I kite on the ranch, so long as I stay away from the cattle, but more places to go is never a bad
thing.