New Mexico

We arrived in New Mexico and loaded up with tourist brochures so we could make a plan of places to see and the route we would take.

There was lots of interesting places like the Gila Cliff Dwellings, Silver City, hot springs, Forts, Petroglyphs, rock collecting and Space Museums all along the southern route we were travelling. John had to keep me focused or we would never make it out of New Mexico.

Finally the temperature began to warm up and our chilled bones began to thaw out and we enjoyed nice clear blue skies.

We stopped a night nestled at the base of the Florida Mountains in Rockhound State Park a place where I could quite happily while away the days searching for alluring rocks such as Jasper and quartz. While John worked on making a new magnet holder to display our growing collection of National Park magnets I strolled down the road to the Visitor’s Centre. I chatted with the park volunteer who suggested the best location for finding the rocks was on a trail leading back to the camp ground.

By now it was late afternoon and the sun was getting low on the horizon so I decided to stay on the trail and take in the view rather than set off rock collecting....it was still warm and I didn't want an unexpected encounter with a rattle snake.

The tourist brochure advertised there was a Balloon Rally in Las Cruses and for the first time our travels coincided with this event being held over the weekend. So we left camp early the next morning and drove to Las Cruses. The only hitch was there was no address for the event only that it was being held in an area called Mesilla Valley. After a few stops we eventually made it to the location only to find by10am the Balloons had been packed away and everyone was enjoying a pot luck breakfast. So we left the festive rally and vowed to come back at 7.30 in the next morning.   

With the Rio Grande nearby we drove out to the Leasburg Dam for the night. We ventured down to the Rio Grande River expecting to see something similar to the Colorado but it was bone dry. All the water was being retained in the Leasburg and Percha Dams above us. 

Next morning the alarm went off at 6.30 and as I jumped out of bed to turn it off the cold air hit me and it was then I noticed the temperature of 17.5 F (-8 C). On our way out we discovered Dude's pipes were frozen. With time ticking away we headed into Las Cruces to rendezvous with the group of Hot Air Balloonists.

We arrived to find them busy pulling out their colourful balloons and filling them with air from the fans. People in their 2 man baskets were noisily firing their gas.

We walked out onto the paddock with the early morning light giving no reprieve from the cold and we were instantly frozen.

The balloonists didn’t appear to be wearing anything more than beanies and warm jackets but it must have been extremely cold up in the air.

We watched the ground support as they helped each basket take off and it was very peaceful to watch as the bright colours filled the sky. It was a very memorable morning.

We then drove up into the Organ Mountains to the Aguirre Springs National Recreation Area and camped at the base of the mountains. We were at 7,000 ft (2,133 m) and it was nice in the sun but chilly in the shade. There were patches of snow that hadn’t yet melted from a recent snow storm covering the campground.

We hiked a 4 mile (6.5 km) loop trail higher into the mountains and saw a rock formation much like half dome. The trail was still covered in lots of snow.

We got a great view of the valley below and could even see a vast area of white sand and the Sacramento Mountains on the other side of the basin.

The next day we arrived at White Sands National Monument and watched a video of the park before driving into the Park. At first we were on a paved road and then as we drove further the road turned into rock hard sand. Everything was white as the dunes towered above on both sides.

We stopped at the Alkali Lake Trailhead and went on an awesome 5 mile (8 km) hike through the desert following marker posts on top of the dunes.

The white sand and the blue sky made for some amazing photos.

We drove to different viewing areas around the park and as the afternoon light softened we went back out into the sand dunes in our own worlds to take some photos.

We drove onto Lee Oliver Memorial State Park below the stately Sacramento Mountains and during the night I was woken up by the scurrying noise on our roof of a Ringtail Cat, like our ringtail possums. Then with excitement we got to watch him climbing up and down the rear steps to the roof of Dude. It was so cool that we could look through the window with our faces only inches away from him and he couldn’t see us.

We camped a night at Brantley Lake State Park and saw the famous Pecos River before driving down to Carlsbad. On the way we saw signs to Roswell and in true Roswell spirit we donned the appropriate protection and took a photo of the sign getting a honk from a passing driver in appreciation.

 We drove onto the Carlsberg Caverns NP and heading into the Visitors Centre I tried to suppress my claustrophobic fears of riding an elevator 750ft (228 m) underground.  However when the elevator doors opened and I walked out into the Big Room I was blown away with what I saw and all doubts ebbed away.

With 1.25 miles (2 km's) of trail just in the Big Room and another 1.25 miles (2 km's) of trail to the Natural Entrance we decided to explore the later first because they close the entrance at 1pm.

We took a leisurely walk back up 750 ft (228 m) marveling at all the formations along the way until we arrived at the top. We had enjoyed it so much that instead of taking the lift we walked back down to the Big Room.

We reached the bottom just as our stomachs began to rumble and decided to eat some lunch in the underground restaurant; it was eerie but fantastic having the place to ourselves. We then did the absolutely huge Big Room. In total there are over 90 caves and 120 miles (193 km's) of underground passages in the park.

You really need to see it for yourself to appreciate the grandeur, it is awesome.

We left the Caverns late in the day and promptly drove back westward into the setting sun…..

Arizona

We claimed a spot amongst the procession of traffic driving east along the I-10 and promptly got buffeted around by the strong headwind. So we slip streamed behind a trucker doing a similar speed and this made our progress more comfortable.

We crossed the mighty Colorado River and entered into Arizona. At first we drove by hundreds of migratory Sun Seekers in their shiny Class-A motor homes filling the numerous RV Parks along the highway.

Then as Arizona’s iconic Saguaro trees began dotting the rocky hillsides I was happily transported back in time to our Havasupai hiking trip in the Grand Canyon.

Saguaro and prickly Pear Cactus 

The closer we drove to Tucson the desert landscape changed to crops of harvested cotton and large areas of cleared desert vegetation with signs warning of “Dust Storms”.

Saguaro Cactus 

Another sign took our interest and instead of heading into Tucson as planned we turned into the Western Saguaro NP. After loading up with information at the Visitors Centre we drove south and set up camp surrounded by rugged mountain’s covered in Saguaro’s.

Saguaro Cactus in flower

Barrel Cactus in flower

Before the dust from our tires had time to settle John and I started hiking up to the nearby Brown Mountain stopping regularly to take photos. We arrived back in camp just as the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping.

View from campground

We had decided to travel this southern route to escape the colder weather but somehow it found us. The temperature had been dropping each morning but we weren’t prepared for the crazy new low of 19 F when we poked our heads out from the bed covers.

Wasson Peak

We rugged up from the cold and spent the day hiking 2,000 ft up to Wasson Peak where we got a panoramic view of Tucson, Mt Lemmon and the Rincon Mountains to the East. The beautiful blue sky and interesting cloud formations helped take our minds off the cold.

The trail down from Wasson Peak

A few other hikers braved the cold and reached the summit around the time we did. As they headed back down we sheltered behind some rocks out of the wind and sipped wonderfully hot coffee from our Thermos.

We called into the Desert Museum after our hike thinking we could see all there was to see in an hour but once we got there we realised it would take a full day so we registered for another night in our beautifully presented camp ground.

Dude at home in the desert

We woke to 15.0 F (-9.44 Celsius) !!!!! a new record for Dude. This was well on its way to our all time record of 5 F while snow camping in the Sierra’s. We thought the day would warm up but we were chilled to the bone all day from the icy wind. Ignoring the cold we drove to the Desert Museum and on entering immediately began running to catch the remaining 20 minutes of the Raptors in Free Flight demonstration.

Raptors only feet away

It was awesome with the raptors swooping inches above our head from tree to tree, with the excitement we couldn’t wait for the repeat afternoon showing.

Barn House Owl

We then only had time to see a few other exhibits before setting off for the Gila Monster and Rattle snake presentation but as we were now chilled to the bone we stopped to buy a cuppa tea on the way.

Bobcat

Big Horn Sheep

Mountain Lions

Wily Coyote

Road Runner

The Gila Monster reminded us of our Blue Tongued Lizard…it also bites and doesn’t let go. We also learnt that rattlesnakes are sighted every month of the year in Arizona and here I was thinking it was too darn cold. We only just managed to see all the exhibits and animals as the Museum closed.

We drove straight through Tucson passing the Air Force Base and the vast Military Aircraft Graveyard to the Eastern section of the Saguaro National Park.

We did a leisurely drive around the Cactus Forest Loop with a quick stop for lunch. With thoughts of visiting Tombstone tomorrow we settled into a camp ground in the Colossal Cave Mountain Park just south of Tuscon. Dude only just made it along the very narrow entrance road.

Tombstone wasn’t what we expected as we drove in on the main road, it seemed like a very tidy ghost town but as we turned down a side street we came across the old town. 

With childhood memories of Wyatt Earp the town today didn’t disappoint. They have managed to keep their town unique. It was refreshing to find that they have no chain food restaurants or “the same everywhere” strip malls in town,

Main street Tombstone

The streets were closed to traffic and we had free reign to amble down the street taking in the buildings, the in character gun totting cowboys, horse and carriages. We went for a very informative ride on an original 150 year old Butterfield stage coach....in original condition.

Butterfield Stage Coach

It was so interesting to learn the other side of Tombstones repeated boom to bust history.

Doc Holiday's girlfriends Saloon

We visited the iconic OK Corral which has a number of original buildings converted to museums and figures placed as they were for the gunfight.

OK Corral gunfight

Interestingly in an18ft square space and 30 shots fired only 3 people died......all bad guys, just like the movies.   

California

New Years Day came and went along with our intended departure. Unforeseen delays had us settling down in the Walmart car park for the night waiting for the world of commerce and trade to open up the next day.

After waking to 28 F (-2 C), a chilly morning by Pleasanton standards, we concluded our outstanding business and finally started our “Coast to Coast” road trip.

We endured a couple of noisy nights in rest stops. One planned and the other forced after driving Dude high up into the San Bernardino Mountains on a road that promised a campground. We gave up searching when Dude started skating around on the icy road only feet away from a precarious cliff.

We successfully skirted the urban sprawl of the greater LA area and took the first opportunity to exit Interstate 10 for a more leisurely paced drive into Joshua Tree NP.

Joshua Tree NP

The Park surprised us with how quickly the barren desert terrain changed. At first we were surrounded by Joshua Tree covered hillsides with canyons hiding beautiful oasis's of Palms. Then the further we explored the park we encountered boulder strewn landscapes that resulted in the campgrounds being full with eager rock climbers.

Californian Fan Palms

Boulder landscape

The air was chilly but when the wind picked up it was frigid and our faces and fingers, if left uncovered, would begin to freeze. 

Each day we ventured out on a desert hike to explore mountain peaks and canyons of varying terrain and features.

Mastodon Peak

Ocotillo Cactus

Mastodon Peak

On one of our hikes to a mine site we had to take shelter behind a rock wall and sip some coffee from our thermos just to keep warm. Then instead of completing our intended loop we hightailed it the shortest route back camp.

Soaking up the sun's rays

We rode our bikes to some of the trail heads all rugged up to protect ourselves from the chilly morning air.

Eureka Peak, Black Rock Canyon

Jumbo Rock Camp Ground

We came across a wily Coyote circling the perimeter of a campground and inspired to capture our wildlife moment we hastily tried to take his photo but ended up with lots of photos of the grass....! 

Coyote too wily for me....

John was also inspired one night to capture the silhouette of the Joshua Trees against the star filled sky

Joshua Tree and Orion's Belt

One morning I jumped out of bed to capture the blaze of colour as the sun rose but by the time I got outside it had already began to fade.

A blaze of colour in the morning,..

Then on our last morning I woke up to a snowy wonderland and excitedly jumped out of bed to capture it before it disappeared.

A snowy moment

Wandering  through the Cholla Cactus Garden

Cholla Cactus

It’s no wonder it took us over a week before we were ready to move on…..

Teddy Bear Cholla