During our travels we've primarily stayed at State Parks, the sites seem larger and more spread out and we enjoy the natural settings. When we got into the truck we had every intention of staying at City of Rocks State Park near Deming, New Mexico. However, while doing some research on New Mexico parks, I found Hidden Valley Ranch, a private RV park. The reviews were excellent and the price was less expensive than the nearby state park and we get wi-fi, use of the laundry facilities and full hook-ups. It was an easy decision to switch our plans.
This is a working ranch with, I believe, 17,000 acres. They raise cattle and also have horses. There
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| Hidden Valley Ranch |
are many ATV trails and lots of hiking. Many of the people here stay on a permanent basis and many others stay each winter. Everyone has been incredibly friendly and they have a pot-luck every Friday which we attended. They also have a wonderful library, books and dvd's and, speaking of dvd's, we've already watched the first season of Breaking Bad - only 4 seasons more to go, what a good show!
On Friday morning we took a drive about 25 miles north to visit the City of Rocks State Park. While there we purchased an annual pass so we can now go in to any New Mexico Park for free for one year. I wonder how many State's annual passes we're going to end up with?
City of Rocks State Park was incredibly photogenic and Marty was in photographer heaven (as you can tell from the following pictures)
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| I think this one looks like a postcard. |
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| Who knew rocks could be so photogenic? |
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| Yes, that's Marty balancing between two boulders, way higher than he should be. |
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| Just give me a good book and I could stay here all day. |
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| Awww, aren't we cute? |
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| Looks like a scene from a Western, doesn't it? |
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On Saturday we drove north to Silver City and walked around the historic downtown area for a little while. I checked out antique shops and thrift stores but living in a RV has quenched my desire for "stuff". When something comes in to the rig something else should leave (not always the way it happens but I try).
After Silver City we drove straight south for about 65 miles to Palomas, Mexico for lunch. The town of Palomas doesn't really have much to recommend it, we just did it because we could. The margaritas were good and so was our lunch.
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| Palomas, Mexico |
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| It's 5:00 somewhere. |
On Sunday morning we decided to do a little exploring around the campground. We climbed a large, very rocky hill and took a picture of the campground.
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| A view from above |
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Monday morning we took a drive over to Rock Hound State Park. This park is a rock collector's paradise, you are allowed to take out 15 pounds of rock and it's possible to find agates and quartz crystals. We did not do any rock collecting (we have plenty of other hobbies and they weigh too much and my middle name is not Lucy).
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| I love my walking poles, especially on these rocky paths. |
Tuesday night we paid our final visit to City of Rocks State Park for some sunset photos - this park is even more beautiful at sunset. I climbed a few rocks following Marty around but then I stopped to do a little "face-time" with my brother, Tom and when I was done with that Marty was nowhere to be seen. So I went back to the car and waited - thank goodness I had my Kindle. Unfortunately the book I was reading was a true story about two girls in New Mexico who were kidnapped and left for dead by a psycho killer. I'm reading my book and the skies are getting darker and darker and owls are hooting and still no Marty. I heard a noise and saw a flashlight and got very nervous so I turned off the Kindle so whoever it was wouldn't see the light and then I tried very hard to see if I could make out who it was. They were walking by the road and then made a turn into the campsite we were parked in. He walked past the front of the car and disappeared into the rocks. I'm freaking out a little bit by now and have all the doors locked and all electronic devices off. About 5 minutes later I see someone again by the road but this time it was Marty and I guess the previous time it was Marty too. No more creepy psycho killer books for me for awhile (at least not when I'm alone in a car in the dark!). These pictures were definitely worth the trip (and the scare).
That's it for now in New Mexico. We enjoyed staying at the Hidden Valley Ranch and, if we are back in this area, would definitely stay there again. On our last night there one of our fellow rver's stopped by our rig and offered to take us on an ATV tour of the ranch. Since we were leaving the next morning we didn't get to do that but will take him up on his offer next time.
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