Blogs from New Mexico, United States, North America - page 17

I'd like to tell you that I was off with the sun for my foray into Black Canyon, but that would be a lie, It was almost 9:00 by the time I fired up the truck. The research that I had done from back home gave a pretty good synopsis of the fishing in the three branches of the Gila. The west and middle branches are considered the best for trout, or had been, before the awful 2012 fire, which burned for two months, and destroyed over 300k acres of forest. The east branch was not effected by the fires, but for most of it's length it runs in an open canyon, and the summertime water temps rise too high for trout. For the last few miles of it's run however, before it combines with the ... read more

Hi from Ruidoso, up in the mountains of the Lincoln National Forest, where we're enjoying a few days away from the rigours of riding in the Chihuahuan desert! It's a different world up here at 6,500ft, with pine trees, cool air and tons of ski and snowboarding outfittters. Just a couple of days ago we were toiling away past the gleaming dunes of White Sands National Monument, with temperatures in the low 90s, yet yesterday we were donning hats and warm jackets as we crested a 9,000ft pass. We've been very fortunate here in Ruidoso to enjoy a couple of nights' accommodation free of charge in a motel run by our Warm Showers host Lisa, from Las Cruces. Lisa was kind enough to host us in her little adobe house in Las Cruces for 2 nights ... read more

I'll make it short tonight, because frankly, we didn't do too much today. It was a comfortable night, not nearly as cold as the one before. We did a few things around the site after we got up, then we went to Walmart so I could buy my 5 day New Mexico fishing license. After that, we paid a visit to the Gila National Forest headquarters. I asked about the Scorpion campground, right near the Gila Cliff Dwellings. The folks there nixed that, as it is not recommended for trailers longer than 15'. Plan B time again. While there, I did enjoy seeing one of the rare, golden bronze Gila Trout swimming in a glass tank. I fully expect that this may be the last look I will get at one of those. After that, we ... read more

Tucumcari, New Mexico Technological change hits rural America hard and fast. Take the simple changes in how we travel. Modern vehicles not only go faster, but they are more efficient, traveling further on a gallon of gasoline, which has also become more efficient. And the changes are on the inside too, making hours of travel much easier on the occupants. All of which means that, although they travel more miles, they are stopping less frequently, especially in the towns in-between destinations. Towns like Tucumcari, New Mexico. In the forties, fifties, and sixties, Route 66 went through this town and it was, more or less, a popular stop. You can tell that because of the many motel lodges scattered up and down the main, Route 66, drag. With original names like Cactus and Apache, these motor inns ... read more

It's Tuesday, and that means we are on the road 3 weeks today. Another week or so, and we'll have to think about heading back to the barn, but not yet.... We had never unhooked at Guadalupe Mountain NP, so it was just a matter of cranking up the jacks and rolling off our "giant lego" leveling blocks (thanks Scott & Becky!) and we were on our way north. It's was less than 40 miles to Carlsbad Caverns, so we were there in no time. We wanted a place nearby to drop the trailer off, so we pulled in at the "White's City RV Park" right outside the entrance. I was a bit concerned by the name, but we saw no sign of any recent cross burnings or such. To be kind, the place was a ... read more