May 2, 2012 - Week 86 (4/25-5/1):

Week 86 (4/25-5/1): The 25th was our launch day. We were one of the last to leave, and we got an early start. We stopped at Casa Grande NM for a couple hours on our way to Catalina SP, near Tucson. We settled in, then took a nice stroll on the Nature Trail after dinner. In the middle of the night it started. A dog barked, then an air horn sounded. Over and over; the dog would bark, then the air horn would pierce the darkness. Obviously, it was an attempt by the owner to cure the dog of senseless barking, but it's hard to say which was more...

Oct 19, 2011 - Quiet in the Desert

After eleven days in the Albuquerque, we’ve been enjoying the solitude of the desert. Our first stop was at South Monticello Campground within Elephant Butte Lake State Park. The campground was 10 miles off the freeway and located at the northern most park of the lake. The sites were huge and the campground was exceptionally quiet. Some of the sites were suppose to overlook the lake. However, due to years of sparse rain, the lake is currently 49’ below its normal level and the lake continues to recede. The marina is temporarily closed so no...

Feb 14, 2010 - City of Rocks

Feb 14 and 15 Rock City Arrived at Rock City National Monument. Very unusual worn rock formations stacked and piled into a maze of shape and form. Very nice camp right in among the rocks. These rock formations are on the toe of a butte spreading out and surrounded by flat desert. From the distance it looks like a big pile of potatoes. Erie at night the coyotes howl and the rusty old windmill creaks and moans as it slowly pumps water from the desert. Two varieties of rabbit in the area, small cotton tail up in the rocks and Black tail Jack...

Nov 25, 2008 - City of Rocks, NM

We had a very nice stay in City of Rocks State Park. We didn't go anywhere outside the park, and that is a first for us on this trip. (The park itself is in the middle of nowhere in western NM.) The "rock city" was formed when rock was pushed out during a volcanic event. When it cooled it formed vertical fissures. Over time, wind and sand eroded the fissures leaving large rock formation standing like buildings. Eventually, these rocks will be reduced to the sand that surrounds the area and the interesting outcroppings will disappear. There...

May 23, 2008 - City of Rocks State Park, Silver City, NM

City of Rocks State Park in Silver City NM was larger than life. Huge rock monoliths formed from volcanic ash seem to spring out of the ground with paths to wander between them. It had rained much of today and is still very windy. As we arrived at City of Rocks, the sky cleared a bit and the rain disappeared. We saw a red tail hawk perched on a rock and spotted him several times as we wandered through the rocks. We saw a roadrunner, lots of big jackrabbits and a lovely botanical garden. The campground here is spacious and nicely laid out. ...

Jan 27, 2008 - City of Rocks State Park.

On Sunday after making phone calls to England we decided to go to the City of Rocks State Park just south of Silver City really to give Jenny a good walk! The “city is a geologic monument formed by large sculptured rock columns or pinnacles, rising as high as 40 feet and separated by paths or lanes resembling city streets. Theory is that these formations were thrown 180 miles from a volcano near Albuquerque and then eroded over time to how they are today. We walked through the formations first and then decided to walk the trail up to the...

Jan 19, 2008 - New Mexico State Parks

Our main reason for going to Deming, New Mexico was to locate the St. Clair Winery. Trish bought some of their wine, really enjoyed it and wanted some more. Sooooooooooo.....We went there and bought some of their exotics. Yum Yum While we were there, we discovered the area was full of state parks so we picked a couple that looked interesting and away we went. Rockhound State Park is a rockhounds paradise. Not only can you dig all you want, but you can keep what you find. There a variety of semi-precious gems to discover, all for a day pass...

Jan 9, 2007 - City of Rocks

Our mail didn't come in on Monday, so Tuesday we decided to make some side trips. Unfortunately, the museum in town which had been given glowing reviews by some fellow travelers was closed for renovation. We got a line on a great state park and drove up to see it. Wow! Were we impressed! It was created by volcanic ash millions of years ago and the rocks have been weathered by erosion into these fantastic shapes. As you walk past the visitor center, this is what you see . Every time you turn, you get a different perspective on the shapes ....

Feb 14, 2006 - City of Rocks Faywood New Mexico

Continued our northward trek but stopped for our first experience with a New Mexico hot Spring in a place called Faywood. The spring is covered and a crummy but adequate RV park is built around it. Looks as if they started improvements some years ago and are progressing one brick at a time. The hot spring, however, was fantastic-I spent 2.5 hours soaking my creaky bones and am going back for more today. Down the road a piece is City of Rocks State park . So we hiked the rocks and the trail they advertised as 5.5 miles but we measured at...