Desert Cove — Elephant Butte Lake State Park

This is a great little campsite close to the Lake/River at Elephant Butte State Park. We arrived after dark so the visitor centre was closed. We had no idea what to do so picked up and envelope, filled it in and drove the the Campground which said reservations only. We knocked on the door of the Host, who was amazing and showed us how to book online, the next day he spent some time with us talking about some of the geology, cultural and natural history of the area. I'm not sure if there's another way to pay but it's shown as $14, but there's a $4 booking fee, which makes it not $14 (30 or 50 Amp included as is water, so decently priced). The visitor centre was staffed by vols, who were brilliant and we got lots of top tips as well as a good book exchange. The restrooms were clean and free showers dispensed with an on/off button with no temp control (bit too cool for my liking, but I like 'em hot). A bit brutalised in design, but functional. The dump station was great with big deeply sloping channels for spillage, plus non-potable tank cleaning/spill rinsing water supply. We did a big cycle ride along the first dam, but second dam near the Butte is gated and locked so had to double back. The town of Truth or Consequences (T or C) had a lovely craft brewery and interesting shops, plus the various hot springs, which the latter we didn't visit. Great spot.