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Published: March 6th 2019
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We hooked up and got an early start from Davis Mountains SP. We headed down along empty roads back to US90, no traffic at all, these are the lonely roads. Back on 90 we headed west towards the sad little town of Valentine TX. Not much still moving there, mostly all wrecked cars and abandoned buildings, with a few mangy mutts staring at the traffic, this is now what the rural West looks like. Soon we approached Van Horn, down in a shallow valley before some distant blue peaks. You could see the transport trucks inching along on I10 from ten miles away.
Back onto the SuperSlab, we crawled our way west again, through the smoggy sprawl of booming El Paso and on into New Mexico. It was Sunday, so the traffic was light, but we were nose into a howling west wind, and our Scan Gauge was showing a miserable 11mpg -- groan. Being the tightwad I am, that is the one figure I watch while traveling more than any other. Usually, we can get somewhere around 15mpg while pulling Fred, but hills and headwinds can and do take a toll. At Demming NM we headed NW
toward Silver City, and we reached City of Rocks SP in due course.
I had heard of this park a few years ago on Campendium, a campground review site I read. We had tried to get a spot there 2 years ago when we were around here, but it was booked at the time. They have now changed their reservation policy, with only maybe one third of the campsites available to reserve, and the rest on a "first come" basis. So, in order to stay two nights, we would have to scope out an opening the next morning and grab it. When we approached the campground we were amazed to see it below us, looking for all the world like a spilled-out bucket of gravel, but with each stone the size of a dump truck. We checked in and headed to our site, way down at the far end of the property.
Our site was fine, a large open spot with plenty of room for us, and a beautiful long view to the west and north. It was mid-afternoon and the temperature was mild, but with the open prairie to the west, we were
getting blasted by the wind. Nice as the sun was, it was still uncomfortable to sit outside. We bundled up and took a walk around the grounds, the place was amazing. From the pictures I had seen, it had reminded me of "The Baths" in the British Virgin Islands, only without the water. Now, being there and seeing it first hand, it did seem just like that other spot. The center of the "pile" was interlaced with walking trails, while all around were arranged the various campsites, all different, all interesting, each with unique features.
One quality our reserved site had that we really appreciated was 3 bars of Verizon coverage. Our days in the Davis Mountains SP had required hiking or driving out of the valley in order to get anything on our phones. It pains me to have to admit it, but that is important to me now, alas. In the morning I set out early on foot to see what may have opened up, and I found an ideal spot in the center of the grounds, close to the showers. This site required a bit of a tricky back-in with the trailer, but it
was level, sunny, and well protected from the west wind. Cathy walked over to hold it while I got the rig and brought it over. We were set up in no time, and so we unhooked from Fred and headed into Silver City to look around.
Silver City is one of those artsy/post-hippy enclaves that you find sprinkled around the west. Lots of galleries, craft stores, antique shops, etc. This one seems to have a bit more "fade" to it though. There seemed to be many more shuttered establishments than the last time we were here, but there was still plenty to look at. We had another great lunch at "The Little Toad Creek Brewery". Hot (Toad Sauce) wings for me, and couple of nice porters -- hmmm!
Back at the campsite we enjoyed the simple (old folks) pleasure of sitting in our comfy camp chairs in the warm afternoon sun. I got bored after a bit and headed up into the surrounding rock pile. I was surprised not to see anyone else climbing on the stones, as they are perfect for bouldering. A very grippy surface, lots of handholds, seams, chimneys, it's irresistible. Thirty years ago, I would have Royal Robbins'd the hell out of it, but not now. I found some very easy routes though, and I probably spent a delightful a 90 minutes or so climbing up and down various stones, just to see what I could see from up there, of course.
I also found what would have to have been an ancient campsite. A shallow overhang cave, with a perfectly flat floor, and with a miles-long view to the southwest. It took a scrambling climb up through a seam to reach the floor, maybe 8 feet above the ground. That would be enough to offer some protection from saber-tooth cats and short-face bears if a family was here say, 14 thousand years ago. There were blackened burn marks there too, like from a campfire, but for all I know those could have been made by Boy Scouts 50 years ago. Still, I prefer to think it was from fires made by my paleo-Americans, there's no harm in that, is there?
The weather shows that there is some cold coming in here again, so we have decided not to head up to Show Low AZ, and instead will travel down towards Bisbee AZ, one of our favorite spots out here. We'll be giving the low-down from there soon.
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Armchair Travels
Enjoy The Land of the Azurite Dreams! I'm envious. More photos, please! d