Plenty happening for Labor Day

Staff report

If the plan involves booking a motel and spending the Labor Day weekend at Ute Lake near Logan, you may want to hurry up.

“We have one room (left) for Friday and one room (left) for Sunday,” said Logan’s Yucca Motel Owner Jennifer Perry on Thursday afternoon.

“We’re already filled for Saturday.”

There are other places to stay in the Logan-Tucumcari area, of course, but Perry said all signs point to a busy holiday for the region’s largest lake.

Visitors usually book her rooms for two or three days, she said, but this year most are one-night stayers.

“I don’t know if it’s the economy, but something is different,” she said.

What’s not unusual are the opportunities for water sports. The lake levels are “as high as I’ve seen them in 12 years,” Perry said.

Not everyone is staying close to home for the unofficial end of summer.

Airlines for America reports more than 14.2 million people are expected to fly over the seven days surrounding the Labor Day holiday, a 3 percent increase from last year.

For those who want to travel and are content with a day trip, eastern New Mexico offers multiple options.

If you like to scuba dive and play poker at the same time, Bottomless Lakes State Park near Roswell will have something to suit your fancy, according to Christina Cordova, public relations coordinator for New Mexico State Parks.

Cordova said the game is played using weighted cards that are tossed into Lea Lake, and divers leap after the cards they want. Only five cards can be held at a time, she said, and players can trade out an old card for a new card one time. The diver with the best hand as of Monday, Cordova said, wins.

The games begin Saturday and last through Monday, Cordova said.

If scuba-diving poker isn’t your thing and you’d rather be fishing, Oasis State Park near Portales will be holding its seventh annual Biggest Catfish Challenge on Saturday, Cordova said.

There will be two age groups for participants, a junior category for fishermen 15 and younger, and an adult category for those 16 and older, Cordova said. There will be prizes for first, second and third biggest catch.

Cordova said park rangers expect a large turnout at parks across the state this weekend, especially after massive rainfall amounts.

“And campfires,” Cordova added. “This is the first year we’ve had fire restrictions lifted, so fires are a go this year. People can sit around the campfire and have s’mores, and we’re excited.”

Cordova said most campsites have been booked, however rangers do reserve a few sites on a first-come, first-serve basis for spontaneous campers.

“It’s a great event for family and a great way to get together and have a family oriented weekend,” Cordova said. “It’s reasonable, and a state park is closer than you think.”

Can’t get away this weekend?

Perry said Ute Lake, at least, will still be full of visitors throughout the fall.

“Family wise, we are busy right straight through September, October, even into November,” she said.

“There’s a fishing tournament almost every weekend; this whole month is antelope (hunting) season, then after that it’s elk season.

“So we stay busy all season.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.