Sumner Lake

Stephen has an excellent sense of direction.  It's sort of an internal GPS with a map and a compass right in his brain.  In the Northeast, he navigates using this sixth sense and when he gets off track, he just takes the next left or right to correct course.  This works really well in the NE where roads connect to other roads every couple of miles.  It can be slightly more problematic out here in the Wild West, where (as we discovered yesterday) if you miss your turn and decide to "take the next left," you can add 100 miles to your trip. 
Our intended destination was Sumner Lake, created by a dam built in 1937 for the purpose of irrigation.  There was a lot of empty land on the way, with long straight roads featuring just enough elevation change so that you could see 5 or 6 miles ahead before cresting the next gentle rise.  We stopped at this dry lake bed because it was the only variation in the landscape we had seen in an hour.

Apparently the locals thought that using the sign for target practice was the point of interest.

  I actually have no idea what happened to extend the trip; I just know that I fell asleep and when I woke up Stephen said he had missed a turn but he knew approximately where we were and we would take the next left.  20 miles later, the next left appeared, with a sign that said "Fort Sumner - 54 miles." 
The thing is, we hadn't really had lunch, which was OK with me but not quite as awesome for Stephen, although I had packed snacks and water and we bought more snacks at a gas station.  Earlier, around lunch time, we had driven through Encino, NM.  This is what the town looked like:

So we bought gas and trail mix and kept going. 
When we finally reached Fort Sumner, Stephen thought he might get his lunch at long last, but even though it was a Saturday afternoon, the ENTIRE TOWN was closed.  Tourist info: closed.  Billy the Kid Museum: closed.  Restaurants: closed.  Stores: closed.  It was actually a little spooky.  We drove through town twice to double-check, then left town to find the lake, about 7 miles away.
Lake Sumner is a state park with a boat launch, camp sites, ranger station, etc.  It was all closed, and there was no one around.  That was OK with us, so we parked at the scenic overlook and walked the Discovery Trail, then along the shore.  It had gotten very cloudy by then, with moody lighting in the late afternoon.

The rock is very porous.  Stephen thought it looked volcanic. 

Close-up of a weirdly eroded rock.

Stephen got some of the local vegetation in his shoe.  Not nice.

 When we had explored as much as we chose, we set my GPS (not the one in Stephen's head) for the fastest route back to ABQ.  When we got to I-40, we finally found some restaurants, and Stephen FINALLY got his meal at a Mexican-American place by the freeway.  I drove the rest of the way home, in the dark, to give him a break.  We did see some pretty cool places, and had a nice day.  Neither of us got bent out of shape by the unexpected detour, and we were fairly well prepared.  But for those of you used to NY and New England, here's some advice.  Always bring water and snacks, and never pass up the opportunity to fill the car with gas!