It's relatively calm once I clear the cove off to my left, where the winds are stiffly blowing down a canyon leading toward the dam. Whitecaps and foot-high waves are already making open expanses rough, but in the lee of the shore it's quite calm and much easier paddling. About two miles up the western shore I find a convenient place to stop, to take pictures and stretch my legs. Much of the shore in this area is comprised of layers of flat rock, sandstone or something similar. The layered cliffs seem to be made of stacks of six-inch slabs piled one atop the other.
Many large pieces look like flagstones waiting to be quarried for home landscaping and patios.
Those at the water's edge are covered with algae and quite slick and slippery to walk upon. And though the waters are fairly clear, there is suspended dirt to limit downward viewing to perhaps just six feet. I was surprised to find the waters fairly warm, even this early in the season, for much of the inflow comes from snow melt in the mountains east of Santa Fe. I continued north to the end of the lake. There were few signs of wild life, just some fish jumping and one large bird that looked like an overgrown cormorant.