Blog 305: White Sands and Dripping Springs
From Big Bend we headed north and west. First stopping at the Lost Alaskan in Alpine for one night, then rumbling through sprawling El Paso on I-10, and finally rolling to our stop in Las Cruces at the Sunny Acres RV Park.
White Sands National Monument
We headed out early one morning driving east one hour to one of our favorite places, White Sands National Monument. We arrived early in the morning with only a few other souls out wandering in the 35-degree weather. The cold temperature made no negative impact on Jack, as he raced up and down the gypsum dunes, running like a war horse headed for battle. Mitzy has been here many times, and I am not quite sure her perception of the place, but she hung out like a trooper, padding across the sand. Also, we were pleased to introduce Tucker the pup to the joys of sand slogging.
After our time at the Monument we headed east 15 miles into Alamagordo, stopping at the Pistachio Shop, and then enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading back to camp.
Organ Mountains Deserts Peaks National Monument
Just 30 minutes outside of Las Cruces is a little known national monument. In talking to the staff at the visitor center though, popularity is surging as the illustrious leader of the Department of the Interior has threatened to shrink or eliminate the monument—the publicity has more than doubled attendance! We arrived at the time the monument opened and hiked the Dripping Springs Trail.
From Las Cruces, we took I-10 West, turned onto 26 North at Deming, took 180 East, and then 61 to 152 to 35 to our next stay at Mountain Spirits RV Park.
Mimbres
Our park’s address was Mimbres, a tiny village about 20 miles east of Silver City, the nearest place for groceries and gas.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
We made a day trip to the biggest attraction in the area, the Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument. Although just 38 miles away, this curvy journey took over an hour and a half to get to. Because of its isolation, this stepchild of the National Park System gets only a tiny fraction of the attendance of its big brothers and sisters. However, that does not diminish the interest and the importance of this protected place where Mogollon Indians once lived. After hiking up to the ruins and touring the rooms we had a picnic at Lake Roberts on our return to camp.
Silver City
We enjoyed several short visits to Old Town in Silver City, checking out the architecture, having a beer at the Little Toad Creek Brewery, and enjoying a world-class Mexican meal at Jaliscos. Enjoyable, relaxing visit.
Caballo
From Mimbres, we headed south and east, and then back north to Caballo Lake, camping at Caballo Lake RV Park. We could walk to the lake from the campgrounds, and Jack enjoyed his time off leash. Our campground was neat as a pin, and the lady that owned and managed the place was a doll.
We took a day trip to Chloride, an almost (there were 5 residents) ghost town. The museum was especially interesting, as it was once a general store that was shut down, boarded up, hidden, and stayed exactly intact with its entire inventory for 70 years.
Old Trucks
Here are three old trucks from the Mimbres area.
Great week!
See you next time.