Southwest New Mexico

March 8, 2016 - Three Rivers Petroglyph Site - US Dept. of Interior - Near Tularosa, NM

We had a banner day today.  Woke up to rain for the first time in 5 weeks since we've been back on the mainland.  Saw a nice rainbow as the squalls passed by.  Enjoyed the pungent aroma of moist Creosote bush, fantastic, following the rain showers.   All of this followed 2 days at a little gem of a state park, Rockhound State Park, near Deming, NM.  First night in, we visited one of the two wineries in town and ended up buying bottles of Gewurtztraminer and Moscato after our tasting.  Got our oil changed while in town, and enjoyed three nice hikes around the campground and the South Canyon section of the park. 

There are semi-precious stones scattered on the hills surrounding the park, geodes, thunder eggs, jasper, perlites...

Our campsite had gorgeous views of the hills in back, and the basin and sunsets to our west.

Today, on our way North from Rockhound, we stopped at the White Sands National Monument where evaporated gypsum has been deposited by the Southwest winds:

Sliding is an option here.

Pretty cool place.

We ended up this afternoon at this gem of a park, where we are one of 3 campers.  We're surrounded by over 21,000 documented petroglyphs and there are some cool trails, and we even visited a beautiful little church chapel from 1911 about 3 miles down the road.

 Like I said, a banner day!

When in Tombstone

March 8, 2016 - Reflecting back on Tombstone, AZ

While we were staying at Kartchner Caverns, outside Benson, AZ the other day, we took an afternoon to visit Tombstone, AZ, about 20 miles down the road.  You gotta see the gunfight at the OK Corral:

Where your actors will encourage the audience to support the good guys (dressed in black!) with hoots and "yays!", and discourage the bad guys (scruffy cowboy types) with Boos and Hisses.

You can also see a real live replica of an old Tombstone Bath:

We stopped at Big Nose Kate's Saloon for lunch:

And rounded out the afternoon with a visit to the Bootstrap Graveyard:

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Hiking the different Deserts

March 3, 2016 - Kartchner Caverns State Park - Benson, AZ

The desert flora and fauna vary considerably, often over short distances.  Access to water and, to a lesser extent, elevation, orientation (south facing vs. north facing hillsides) greatly impact the type and quantity of both plant and animal life.

Hiking in the Sonoran Desert (such as found at Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park)

You might find coyote.

Or Gopher snakes:

Or barrel cactus in crestate form:

Some wildflowers, but a weak year for them:

Or if you are in a hot enough spot, with south facing hillside you can see a Senita Cactus at the far northern reaches of its range (actually in Organ Pipe Cactus Park)

You can see Cactus Wren nests in nasty chainfruit cholla:

Or nursery trees, like the Palo Verde, this one was "nursing" 13 young Saguaro cactii:

Sometimes you see odd stuff, like a golfball resting on top of a saguaro, or a dying cactus that reminded me of the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz.

You can never get enough of the beautiful desert sunsets (taken from our campsite).

Now, 50 miles east of Tucson, we're heading toward the Chihuahuan Desert:  Quite a different look:

More agave, century plant, and yucca:

More non-native grass here:

Lots of evidence of mining:

A few deer:

Pink pincushion cactus:

Evidence of ancient human activity, like these grinding holes worn in smooth rock from grinding mesquite seed into flour:

Amazing variety!