New Mexico State Park closings December 22, 2009, 10:40:32 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108719Here's the official announcement concerning upcoming two-day closures, due to statewide unpaid employee furloughs.http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/Media%20Releases/documents/PR-ParksNewMexicoStateParksApprovedforAlternativeFurloughDays.pdf>orhttp://tinyurl.com/ybzc97g> Note that although the furloughs are only for one day apiece, NM State Parks has somehow managed to turn them into TWO-NIGHT park closures. :-( To summarize, all NM state parks will close to campers on the following days:December 23 and 24, 2009 January 14 and 15, 2010 February 8 and 9, 2010 March 1 and 2, 2010 March 22 and 23, 2010 Although the parks will be closed, all campground hosts will remain in place, and rangers will patrol to make sure nobody camps. Visitor center staff told me this morning that they plan to hide the "iron ranger" payment boxes, just so nobody can try to pay (!). In short, it sounds to me as though they're going to lose ten days of revenue, but save very little money. Feel free to write or call Governor Bill Richardson's office and let him know how you feel. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/