Today, we finally moved on to New Mexico!  We had planned to pick up information at the Welcome center as we crossed the border but it was closed.  Maybe we aren’t welcome? Never daunted by a lack of information, we chose a park and pushed on hoping for the best. On the way to our park we stopped by White Sands National Monument. The white sand dunes are amazing. They look like Michigan sand dunes but shorter and much whiter. The sand is gypsum sand. They even rent sleds to sled down the dunes! It felt like home. Sand dunes, but they looked like piles of snow!

We arrived at our chosen state park to find that they only had 27 campsites and only 6 had electric. Of course, they were all full so we camped off grid for the night. The park was out of state park information, the park ranger was not very friendly but worst of all, no petroglyphs. We chose the park because a fellow camper in Texas told us there were petroglyphs nearby! They did have one steep hiking trail which we went part way on. It was quite steep but we still couldn’t understand why we got winded so quickly since we've been hiking mountains nearly every day.  But, when we got back down, we found that the trail started at 4000  feet in elevation and climbed quickly to 6000 feet. So, we are blaming thin air 😁

Janet, leading as usual .

View from the top (or as far up as we went).

We also went on a short river walk.

So, after only one night and one hike and still no park information, we chose another park at random and moved on. We arrived at said chosen park to find that it also had an unfriendly ranger, no information, no water and only a few (full) electric sites. We chose to move on toward Gila Bend Cliff Dwelling National Monument, our destination. After a 2 ½ hour drive where we only went 67 miles, we arrived at the only RV park within 50 miles of the monument.  The drive was twisty, winding, and narrow, on the edge of mountains with hairpin turns and few guard rails, but oh, so beautiful!

Wait....why did we drive 3000 miles to see snow?!

 

Gila Bend Hot Springs Park is small and privately owned with pastures of sheep, goats and some free range horses. Now, we feel at home. 💓 And, a short walk down to the river brings you to a small hot spring where you can soak for $5. And, on the walk you see the goats and it is birthing season, nothing cuter than lots of a few days old baby goats playing!

These guys were just hours old and still damp. This is how they move them from the birthing pasture to the baby pasture. Mom just follows along.

The only downside is there is no internet, no WiFi, no cell service and no TV reception, which is why this is being posted days later!

We arrived at our last stop in Texas, Hueco Tanks State Park right before dark so we set up quickly.
Since it is an archaeological site as well as a state park, there are many rules, including being in the campground with a locked gate by 6:00!  But, since it was fully dark by then, we didn't mind.

Morning view from our campsite.

We had only registered for a couple of nights but after exploring a bit decided to stay a bit longer. Hueco means hollows. These hollows were formed by gas bubbles that were exposed when the mountains were pushed up. These hollows hold water which in the desert is all important. It is  like being in the middle of the desert with many small oases.

Many different Native populations lived here over thousands of years. The walls have thousands of pictographs, many of which are accessible if you are willing to hike. Much of the park though, is accessible only with a guide to prevent vandalism.
In addition, the park is a premier rock climbing site, one of the top 3 in the world. Only 70 hikers and/or rock climbers are allowed in the park each day. And, you must get a pass in order to do so.
So, not wanting to feel left out, we hiked and climbed rocks. We even obtained a map from the office and found and entered a cave on our hands and knees. Luckily, you only had to crawl a short distance before you could stand up. My claustrophobic family will be proud of me. I couldn't have done it in a group but with just Denny and I, I did some deep breathing and conquered my fears! Inside were 8 masks painted on the wall, which were thousands of years old.

We think this guy looks like a hippie with sunglasses.

These were everywhere and we got snagged on them often. Ouch!

We also climbed the “Chain Trail”, so called because there is a chain to help you get up the steepest part. We went thinking if we couldn’t do it we would just climb back down. But, we came, we saw, we conquered!

View from the top, note the chains all the way down.

Rock climbers don’t need no stinking chain (but they also have rock climbing shoes).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also took a guided tour where we saw some amazing pictographs, probably painted in the 1100s-1200s.

This guy was called “puking horse” in spite of the fact that horses are physically unable to vomit.

A god or maybe an alien? We are near Roswell, New Mexico!

Pictographs and modern day graffiti.

Sadly disfigured by graffiti, What are people thinking!

 The only turquoise colored pictograph in the park, believed to have been painted by the Mogollon.

On the way to our last stop in Texas, we made a side trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, on the Texas New Mexico northern border. It is a beautiful mountainous park and we were told it is a hiking park. There is a small campground but unless you are hiking, most of the park is inaccessible. We took two short hikes but really didn't experience much of the park. Maybe some other time.

Walking Stick Cholla, I've picked mine out but I think someone needs to remove the thorns before I can use it!

 

 

 

One of the many boob mountains in this range. Denny sure took a lot of pictures of them :)

As we drive through west Texas, we are amazed by the number of goat ranches. They are not dairy goats or angora goats so I can only assume they are for meat. I know very few Americans who eat goat meat and I have never seen it in a store. I know it is popular in other countries but what do we do with all these goats here?
Another ranch type that is popular here are exotic hunting ranches that are enormous. We saw many exotic non-predator species including zebras, ostrich, camel and so many deer type species that I have never seen before. Some spotted, some striped, most with amazing horns or antlers. They all seemed easily accessible in the scrub and small trees surrounding them. Doesn't seem like this should really be called hunting, the animals are fed and kept in a fenced enclosure, more like slaughter for fun.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. We continued on to Davis Mountains State Park where we have stayed before.  One of our favorites. We camped along a creek bed that was running two years ago but is now totally dry. We saw no javelina or quail which were plentiful last time, I imagine because of the drought. We hiked some of the trails we had hiked last time we were here and finally climbed Skyline Drive trail that we missed last time due to rain. Nice views from the top!

The large white building in the top left quadrant is Indian Lodge, built by the CCC.

The solar array that powers the park. Cool!

Another excellent choice for a sibling trip, either camping or staying at Indian Lodge! You would all love the hikes.

1/23 "Oklahoma, where the winds come sweeping down the plains" is not just a line in a song, it's reality! Our last 2 days have been short driving days due to extreme wind. Lots of fighting the steering wheel to keep the RV on the road and white knuckle driving. We had to stop several times to let the color return to Denny’s knuckles and give his neck a chance to relax! We are at another state park on a man-made lake, Foss Lake State Park. And, since everyone but us apparently thinks it’s too cold to camp, we again have the campground to ourselves and a lake front spot! It was 65 degrees and sunny today, which is good enough for us Michiganders! We did quite a bit of hiking and Geo-caching again. Our plan was to go west to Amarillo next until we looked at the weather. Luckily, since we plan on the fly, we changed our plans and are heading straight south to warmer weather until the polar air mass heads back north where it belongs!

 On the road to our next park, we saw a few vintage gas stations. Denny can't ever pass up a photo op of an old station!

1/26 We’ve snagged another lakeside spot at Inks Lake State Park north of San Antonio but this time on the sunset side.

We went for a hike and some Geo-caching on a beautiful sunny day. Today’s finds: small waterfalls, a Great Blue Heron, an egret and a bobcat. He was a pretty chunky bobcat. Must be good eats around here!

He wasn't much bigger than a house cat!

Denny taking a picture of me taking a picture of him!

I was feeling great until I heard from Trevor that Dusty had fallen and he and the vet together couldn’t get her back up and she had to be put down. We have had horses for 40 years. It is going to be very strange. Dusty was almost 38 or 110 in people years. She lived a good long life but had been suffering from hip and back issues. I will miss her greatly. We have had her longer than either of our kids! I'm very sad.

1/28 We haven’t had cell, TV or internet service in days. So, I am posting belatedly. We are now in a canyon west of San Antonio in a state park called Lost Maples. The cold front persists in following us. It got down to 42 last night and is only expected to get in the high 50s today. But, the sun is out so I am hopeful. We intend to climb today so maybe the cooler temperatures will keep us from overheating. There’s always a silver lining! It’s supposed to warm up tomorrow. I have my fingers crossed.

The day that the ranger told us was supposed to be mostly cloudy and 50s turned out to be completely cloudless and mid 60s.  I guess weather forecasters aren’t any better here than at home! We climbed/walked 11.5 miles today and what my Fit-bit thought was 142 flights of stairs and actually don’t feel too bad. Pretty good for two old farts! After some debate, we decided to go on the hike rated as challenging and steep as that’s where the vistas were. One part was described as the StairMaster from hell, a name it deserved! We were rewarded with some beautiful views and sore feet. A couple of Geo-caches along the way made our day complete.
When we started Rv-ing, I would have said we liked beaches and warmth but after a couple of years of travel, we now know we are mountain hiking, moderate temperature people!

Early in the day-jacket on!

Monkey Rock! I think he looks like Curious George.

Where we started from.

Near the top. That's our route down on the right.

At the top, coat no longer needed!