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Published: January 23rd 2014
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Can you see the elephant head?
It's looking at you just behind the tree Mon, 20 January, 2014
We decided against going into Mexico and drove north instead after stopping a few minutes at the visitor center. They had memorabilia of the town’s claim to fame, Pancho Villa’s incursion into the US at Columbus, NM.
We drove on to Deming, where we did a little shopping. Then, after calling Rockhound SP again, and finding they were still full, we drove on to City of Rocks State Park near Faywood, NM. It’s a beautiful little park that is pretty much a pile of boulders in the middle of the desert. Apparently it’s the result of a volcanic explosion some 35 million years ago, and we were told, the boulders are ash, not volcanic rock. I don’t know about that, but the camp sites are tucked nicely in between the boulders with paths all over the place. It’s dry camping, no hookups except in the sissy area, but we don’t mind. We got set up fairly easily, even though the sites are somewhat unlevel. When Kerry started to cook dinner, his grill wouldn’t work. He finally figured that one of our propane tanks was empty, but the valve wouldn’t switch over to the other tank.
City of Rocks SP
Our camper tucked in among the rocks So he had to reverse them then all was well. Once it was dark, we went out to look at the stars. The park is way far away from civilization so the night sky is wonderfully dark. We saw lots of stars again, although I thought not as many as at Fort Davis, but Kerry thought it was about the same. But the breeze came up and it got pretty chilly, so we went inside early.
Tues, 21 Jan
It’s a pretty, sunny day, but cooler than yesterday when we were enjoying short sleeves. We walked among the rocks some and took a few pictures. The clouds began moving in this afternoon, just high thin ones, but by evening it was enough to prevent star-gazing. Kerry got nervous about the battery after dark and worried it wouldn’t keep the blower to the furnace working all night, but it was not a problem. Sometimes I think he just has to have something to worry about.
Wed, 22 January 2014
This morning we decided to again take the road less traveled and drove up NM 61 to hwy 152 that passes through the Gila Natl Forest
and over the Black Range of the Mimbres Mountains. The road on the map was squiggly, so we knew it would not be a fast road. It was NOT. For about 40 miles it was 15, 20, and 30 mph turns up and down through the mountains. In some places the snow was still visible on the ground in the shaded areas. We got to the top of Emory Pass and had to wait about 10 minutes as a road crew was cutting trees. It was a beautiful drive, but slow and winding. Once past Kingston it got less kinky and then past Hillsboro it flattened out through dry desert valley. We’ve set up at Elephant Butte Lake State Park, another beautiful place overlooking the lake.
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Martha G
non-member comment
Elephants
I'm loving following your journey through God's amazing creation, especially through the roads less traveled. It so reminds me of John's and my travels and our love of enjoying the "native and uncommercialized" areas. Thanks for sharing your experiences! Be safe, build memories and enjoy!