City of Rocks State Park

---

We flew into El Paso on Wednesday, January 16^th, and drove to Deming, NM, where we spent the night. The next morning, we drove about 25 miles north to the City of Rocks State Park where we hiked the Table Mountain Trail and returned to the trailhead by way of a spur trail that took us through the middle of the collection of huge boulders that make up the “city of rocks.” The hike to the top of Table Mountain, which is really more a mesa than a mountain, took us to a neat high point that afforded a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside. We trekked back down the trail to the spur trail that took us through the area of boulders, marveling at how they came to be there in the middle of the desert. Among the boulders are lots of campsites for RV's or tent camping, some with full hookups and others with none. We found an unoccupied site with a nice picnic table where we had lunch, watched closely by several crows that swooped in once we left to check for crumbs. The boulders that make up the city are in the middle of a pretty flat desert, not where you would expect the remains of a volcano, However, the park info indicates that “These rocks were formed about 34.9 million years ago when a very large volcano erupted. Then, erosion over millions of years slowly formed the sculptured columns seen today.” But that really doesn’t explain why they are in an area surrounded by mostly flat desert. But then, I guess a lot of erosion can occur in 34.9 million years.

---

Photos

The City in the desert
Interesting shot from the summit of Table Mt.

Table Mountain
More of a mesa than a mountain, the summit is where we hiked to. Trail went up on to the left side then climbed from left to right to the top.

Table Mountain
Another of the Mountain.

The City of Rocks
Taken from about half way up the Table Mt Trail.

The City in the desert
From the trail, the city is located in a relatively flat desert area, but is actually the remains of an ancient volcano from around 34 million years ago.

City of Rocks
Another of the City taken from the summit of Table Mt.

On the summit
Standing on the overlook on Table Mountain's summit.

Desert Valley
View from the summit of Table Mt.

US
From Table Mountain

Rocks
Some of the city, up close.

Table Mountain
View of the Mt. from the "city".

City of Rocks
Part of the city.

City of Rocks
More rocks

2 Crows
Near our lunch spot, the crows were waiting for us to leave so they could check for crumbs.

City of Rocks
And more rocks. The one with the little window sort of looks like a gargoyle.

City of Rocks
One more of Table Mt from the city.