Tall Mountains and the Real Rolling Turd



 

The last couple of weeks have been challenging and a little scary.

We left Roswell, New Mexico feeling rested and excited to get back on the road. Before we could head out we had to take care of the important tasks of dumping our waste tank and washing off the weeks’ worth of sand that had built up on the Big Lebowski.

We were lucky enough to find a carwash with a large truck bay near the free dump station. After washing the Big Lebowski we kept smelling pooh. We had already emptied and cleaned the waste tanks at the RV dump station. Our tanks were closed and we were not leaking anything. We checked our feet, we checked Doug, and still could not find the source of the smell. While pulling out we noticed that someone had cleaned a horse trailer. Great, the car wash recycled their water, but evidently did not filter it very well.

The pooh wash. Roswell, NM

 So now we were truly riding in a rolling turd.

We headed North West towards Ruidoso, New Mexico where we planned to stay a couple of days. The ride to Ruidoso was a little mountainous and we had to disconnect the tow car and drive separately for a little ways. I didn’t really mind driving the car, but having to pull the tow dolly is a little nerve wracking. The tow dolly for the car tends to bounce when the roads are less than perfect and make a lot of noise. I drove white knuckled and prayed the whole trip over the mountain. We made good time getting to Ruidoso, NM. We checked the website for the Inn of the Mountain Gods and found that they had an RV park advertised.

How awesome, we could stay on the Indian reservation near the casino.

We were so excited. We tried calling the phone number listed but no one was answering the phone. After about four attempts to reach someone we decided to just find an RV park near the Indian reservation. When we checked into the park we found out that he RV park on the reservation is first come first served. No one ever answers the phone.

We stayed at Twin Spruce RV Park in Ruidoso. Twin Spruce was a nice little park with two tiers. Just like the rest of the town, it too is built on the side of a mountain. We originally requested a site on the top tier, but once we got to the site we quickly realized that we were not ready for mountain camping. The sites were as level as they could be for being on the side of a mountain.

Tracy was in the process of trying to put the jacks down and level the motorhome when the Big Lebowski decided to slip backwards off the jacks. Luckily the jack controls are near the emergency brake and Tracy was able to stop the Big Lebowski from rolling down the mountain side. Tracy tried again. Once he was finished we looked down and realized the jacks were so far up that the tires were six inches off the ground. He felt this was unsafe and drove down to the bottom tier where the slots were more level.

Our RV slot at Twin Spruce RV Park in Ruidoso, NM

 

The owners of the RV park are nice people but we felt like they were pressuring us to book the full week because Memorial Day Weekend was coming up. Park rates jump dramatically on a holiday weekend. We had only planned to spend a couple of days and then head to Valley of Fires National Park. Twin Spruce RV Park is pet friendly, and just like every other RV Park they have a strict leash rule. However, there is no designated pet area where your pets can be off the leash to exercise or play, so Doug was a little miserable. The Wi-Fi at the park was non-existent when the wind blew, which was about 90% of the time during our stay.

Due to the strict pet policy we had to keep boss lady in the motorhome and not let her roam at night like she prefers. So the first night we had to listen to her whine and meow all night. This was fine until another cat sprayed the outside of the bus.

Big Pinon tree that sat above us. So glad it
did not slide on to us. Rudsoio, NM

I was not happy about this new aroma we were sporting.

Now we smelled like horse pooh and cat urine. A real cesspool. Not a great mix. I forgot the rule the second night and let the cat out. At the very least she could keep the other cat away. Luckily it rained the second day we were there.

Boss Lady

Ruidoso is a beautiful little mountain town, but it is also very touristy. It can be expensive if you don’t watch your wallet. The Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort sits on the Mescalero Apache Tribe Reservation. It’s a very nice resort and small casino nestled in the mountains. I had visited the Inn of the Mountain Gods about thirty years ago and had remembered a huge, round, copper fireplace in the center of the lobby. I had looked forward to seeing this again, but the fire place was taken out during a renovation about 20 years ago. I was a little disappointed at this revelation, but things change.  It was replaced by a large water fountain.

Inn of the Mountain Gods on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation near
Ruidoso, New Mexico

Water fountain inside the resort hotel. Inn of the Mountain Gods.

 

We toured the art displays at the resort and ate breakfast in the casino. Tracy wanted to do the zip line across the lake, but they were closed due to the wind. We returned to the RV park and lounged around for the rest of the day.

 

This was my favorite  sculpture on display.  It is called "Morning Song".

 

Tracy decided he would try the zip line at the Ski Apache Ski Lodge instead.

He called to make reservations, but had to leave a message. The web site says they are open daily, year round. We decided that since our stay was up at the Twin Spruce RV Park, we would drive to the Ski Apache Zip Line after we took the Big Lebowski over to the Valley of Fires National Park and setting up.

The drive from Ruidoso, NM to the Valley of Fires National Park is a little mountainous. Ok, a lot mountainous. We had to drive separately, Tracy in the Big Lebowski, and me in the car with the tow dolly. We made pretty good time considering the drive is a steep winding path up one side of the mountain and then down the other side. After getting set up at the Valley of Fires we made the 30 mile drive back to Ruidoso to go to the Ski Apache Lodge on  top of El Capitan Mountain.

The drive back to Ruidoso went quickly in the little car, but the ride up to the Ski Apache Lodge took a while. It’s only a twelve mile drive up a winding, narrow, mountain trail. The road consist of nothing but blind switch back, hair pin curves up to the top of a mountain. This was the longest ride of my life. I am afraid of heights. I have known this about myself for a very long time. We made our way up the mountain with me clawing at the dash, gripping the car door, and Tracy laughing at me the whole way. It did not help matters that when I did open my eyes and dare look out the window all I could see was the edge of a cliff going straight down. I suddenly developed an irrational fear of just flying off the road. I was scared and way out of my comfort zone. Doug didn’t seem to mind the drive. He just hung his head out the window sniffing the air.

This is a picture of the road taken from a look out about 9 miles up the Mountain

This is a picture of the road taken from a look out about 9 miles up the Mountain

This is a picture of the road taken from a look out about 9 miles up the Mountain

This was the elevation at the look out. There is still more to go!

 

It took us almost an hour to drive the twelve miles up the mountain.

The Ski Apache Lodge looked a little deserted when we arrived. There were only a few vehicles in the parking lot. We did find a grounds keeper who informed us that the lodge was only open Thursday thru Sunday. This was Wednesday. Tracy was a little upset at this discovery. The website said “Open Daily”. The guys attitude was “Hey, you can come back tomorrow.”

We spent some time walking around and viewed the valley from the top of the mountain. It was pretty, but also very chilly since there was still snow on the ground. I wished I had remembered my sweater. Then it dawned on me that we would have to drive back down the mountain. Knowing what to expect made the drive down seem a little better, but for some reason the cliff was still on my side of the vehicle. How is this possible?

We visited the Lincoln National Forest at the base of the  mountain. It is a very beautiful place. This is also the final resting place of Smokey the Bear.

Tracy at Lincoln National Forest near Ruidoso, NM.

Lincoln National Forest

Lincoln National Forest

Lincoln National Forest

 

We made it back to the Valley of Fires National Park before sunset.

Valley of Fires National Park, NM

Valley of Fires National Park, NM

 

We enjoyed watching the sun go down and ate dinner and planned to go hike the trails the next day. Just as we finished cleaning up from dinner the wind started blowing a little hard so we decided to get out the weather radio.

There were no wind or storm advisories for the area so we figured it would just pass.

After about an hour the wind got even stronger. The sustained wind speed had to be at least 40 mph and it was hitting us broad side. The big Lebowski was rocking. The pilot light on the refrigerator would not stay lit so we had to move everything to the ice chest. Luckily I had gotten ice on our way back to the park.

We were both getting scared.

When I am scared it’s ok, Tracy calms me. BUT when we are both scared, I know it is time to really worry. The wind was sustained with huge gusts that made us feel like we were going to get blown over. We tried to sleep that night, but it was really hard. Sometime around 3:30 in the morning I finally gave in and fell asleep for a couple of hours. I figured we had survived that long, and it wasn’t going to matter if I was awake or not, there was nothing I could do.

I woke up at 6:30 am to find Tracy sitting and starring out the window. We sat there most of the day watching the clouds hang over the mountain range. Finally, sometime around 5 pm we decided to move the Big Lebowski to a more aerodynamic position because the winds had not let up for 24 hours.

Valley of Fires National Park, NM

Valley of Fires National Park, NM

 

It was not feasible to change the Big Lebowski’s position in the slot we were camped in, so we had to take the car and drive around to find a new location. We found one spot at the top of the hill that would allow us to position the Big Lebowski into the wind, rather than against it. The new position did give some relief from the wind shaking the motorhome, and we were able to get a little sleep.

 

We decided that as soon as the wind let up we were leaving.

I thought about our ride from Texas to New Mexico with the wind blowing us all over the road and how it just stopped once we crossed the state line. I figured out that the wind stopped at the state line because New Mexico was saving up all their wind for this one location, they were holding it up. Saving it for this one occasion.

We woke up early the next morning and left.

Valley of Fires National Park, NM. It is hard to believe that such delicate life
exist in such a hellish place.

The wind was still blowing, but not like it had been. At least now we could safely escape the Valley of Fires National Park prison. That place should be renamed to the Valley of Howling Winds.

We headed west to Socorro, New Mexico, Home of New Mexico Tech.

"M" (Magdalina) Mountain, Socorro, NM

New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM

Doug took a swim in the water fountain.

I attended college there right out of high school. I got to tour the grounds and see the changes that have been made in the last 25 years. I enjoyed the walk, and Doug enjoyed a dip in the fountain. We ate at a restaurant that was my favorite back in the day. The El Sombrero Restaurant is still good after all these years.

El Sombrero, Socorro, NM

We stayed at the Walmart parking lot since we were planning on heading out the next morning. The Socorro, NM Walmart must be a popular stop because we woke up the next morning to find a parking lot full of RVs.

I have to add that we both slept like the dead that night. Until I woke both of us up laughing at a dream I had about my nephew. In my dream he was insisting he was a leprechaun and had to hide his treasure. His treasure was a bunch of broken stuff and he had to hide it before his mom threw it away.

We headed north and took a short cut around Albuquerque, NM.

We were headed to Gallup, NM. I wanted to visit some of the Indian ruins in Western New Mexico. We stayed at the USA RV Park. The facility is very nice, well maintained, and active. They had a designated dog park and great WiFi, even with the wind. My only gripe was that the park is all gravel and the sap from the Pinon trees makes the gravel stick to your shoes, Doug’s paws, and the cat’s fur. We spent our time there mostly picking pebbles out of Doug’s paws.

We ate at the World Famous El Rancho Hotel in Gallup. This is a little hotel where movie stars used to stay while filming western movies.  If you’re a fan of old westerns you would recognize the names of Jane Wyman, Allan Ladd, and Ronald Regan. The menu list a whole host of choices, all named after a famous person who stayed at the hotel.

The next morning we decided to head north to get closer to the Indian ruins we wanted to visit.

We stopped in Shiprock, NM. Shiprock is a town located on the Navajo Indian Reservation. It’s a good size town and we thought we might stay there. We pulled into a parking lot next to the McDonald’s and noticed a really nice laundry mat next door. We needed to wash a few blankets that will not fit in our little washer, and decided to do them there.

Shiprock, NM

 

While we were waiting on our laundry we were approached by little girls selling homemade cupcakes for $1.00. I bought one so they would go away. I gave the cupcake to another set of kids that arrived later. I hope it wasn’t poisoned.

Then we were approached by a drunk Indian asking for change. Tracy pulled the change out from his pocket. There was two dollars in quarters so he gave the guy a dollar. They guy had the nerve to ask for the rest of it, but we told him no we still had to dry our clothes and that was all we had. He went on.

Then while Tracy was outside another drunk Indian approached him and demanded Tracy give him his change. Tracy told him no and went back inside the laundry mat. We decided we would leave Shiprock as soon as our laundry was finished, and head towards Farmington, NM. I was a little bummed because I really wanted to see the Zuni Indian Ruins, but we could still see the Aztec Indian Ruins outside of Farmington, NM. Better safe than sorry. I am sure that there is more to Shiprock than what we experienced but I did not want to stick around to find out.

It’s unfortunate but all I could think of while we were in Shiprock was the stereotype of the drunk Indian. I really don’t like to perpetuate that stereotype, but that was our experience while driving thru the Navajo reservation in Western New Mexico.

We made our way east to Farmington, NM.

We over nighted at the Walmart. Not too bad, the parking lot was clean and quiet. Again, we woke up surrounded by RVs.

Doug and Boss Lady catch a nap
in Farmington, NM

It was shortly after I snapped this
photo that I realized I am a Cat Lady

The next morning we headed to the Aztec Indian Ruins National Monument.

Aztec Indian Ruins National Monument, Farmington, NM

 
The Aztec Indian Ruins National Monument is small. The walking path is less than a mile long, but does get steep in some areas. During our visit a storm blew in and we had to sit in one of the kivas. I was entertained by Tracy dancing around and singing made up Indian chants. Some of the other visitors were annoyed, but watching Tracy being silly made the time pass. The rain did not last too long, but it was cold.
 

Inside the Great Kiva, Aztec Indian Ruins National Monument,
Farmington, NM

Even with the rain storm our visit was over in about two hours.

We then headed north to Durango, Colorado.

It’s a short drive from Farmington, NM. We encountered a few areas with steep grades, but nothing so steep that we had to take the tow car off. The decent down into Durango was quite steep, but since it was downhill we did not worry too much. Once we reached the bottom of the mountain one of the back brakes went out.

Luckily there was a Walmart nearby.

The local O’Rileys had the part we needed in stock and Tracy rebuilt the brake in the Walmart parking lot.

Tracy repairing the brake

We found an RV Park outside of town and spent two days there. The Lightner Creek RV Park is a nice mixture of RV slots and rental cabins along the Lightner Creek. They had decent WiFi, a dog park, and heated pool. But most importantly it was close to the Full Blast Adventure Zip Line Tour!

The first night at the RV park in Durango we thought we had closed the cats door.

I guess we did not close it well enough. Boss Lady proudly bought us a prize in the middle of the night. I could hear her batting something around and made Tracy get up to see what she had. It was a big chipmunk and she was not happy when he took it away from her.

The next day Tracy begged and pleaded with me to go on the zip line with him. I am a spectator, and he is the thrill seeker. Flying thru the air attached to a little safety harness does not appeal to me. The very thought scares the hell out of me. When I even considered the zip line, I had a vision of my large ars plummeting to the ground in a firey crash. I don’t know where the fire came from in my vision. I guess my imagination adds it for dramatic effect. There was no way I could be persuaded, so I reassured him that it was good for us to spend time apart and enjoy separate activities on occasion.

Tracy’s Zip Line Tour started at 2 pm so we went and walked in the Historic Downtown area of Durango. It’s a nice downtown area and is very busy with people from every walk of life. We got a hot dog from a street vendor and ate lunch on a bus bench. I prayed the hot dogs were not tainted and we watched people walk by. The street vendor also offered split pea soup which smelled great, but I am normally not a fan of thick green slime.

Tracy enjoyed the Zip Line, but said it was not as adrenalin pumping as he would have liked. It’s a good thing because he was hyped up and excited when I picked him up. He is still sore more than two days later.

Tracy getting ready for his Zip Line tour in Durango, CO

 The next morning we headed west to Cortez, Colorado.

The drive is a sustained 5 to 6% grade with an 11% grade thrown in going up the mountain and a sustained 5 to 6 % grade down the other side of the mountain. So again we drove separately. We had to stop to let the Big Lebowski cool off just before we reached the top of the mountain, but the view was spectacular. Once we arrived into Cortez we parked the Big Lebowski and drove out to Mesa Verde National Park.

Lake Durango, Durango,CO

Twin Buttes, Durango, CO

 

I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I wanted to go see the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde.

I guess I did not associate the word cliff with the word mountain. The drive to the cliff dwellings is a 45 minute, 23 miles up a mountain with blind, hair pin curves and switch backs. At least this road had a decent barrier and pull offs. I still felt scared and worried about driving over the edge.

We made it half way up the mountain when Tracy realized we needed gas.

So we drove back down to the check in and found out that there is gas available at the camp ground, which is located about a quarter of the way back up the mountain. The drive up was worth the trip (both times). The view is unbelievable and the cliff dwellings are awesome to see. It’s like nothing else. Words and pictures do not do them justice.

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Me & Doug at Mesa Verde National Park,
Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

 

We visited the museum and watched the educational film. The hike down the trail to the cliff dwellings is only half a mile. What they don’t tell you is that it’s a steep grade down, and then you have to hike back up. The walk down was not so bad, but I had to stop three times to catch my breath on the way back up. Fortunately, I was not the only one who had to stop and rest.

Museum at Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

After visiting the museum and walking down the trail to the dwellings, we drove back down the mountain stopping at some of the pull outs to take pictures. Tracy got several good pictures of deer and other wild life while I held on to the car for dear life. I did not want to fly off the mountain. Tracy still laughs at me about this, and for the life of me, I do not know why I have this irrational fear.

Comfort Station Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Deer at Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

Deer at Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO

 

We will be heading towards Utah next, but will visit the Four Corners Monument and dip down into Arizona for a couple of days first.

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Big Caves and Little Green Men: Carlsbad to Roswell, New Mexico

 

Our visit to Carlsbad, New Mexico was very relaxed.

After the hell we had the previous week, I was ready for some quite R&R. We camped out in the parking lot of the Hobbs, New Mexico Walmart after we got off Gilligan’s three hour tour of West Texas. We were slow moving the next morning and did not head to Carlsbad, New Mexico until late in the afternoon. We had not made reservations for an RV park and just decided to wing it.

The trip from Hobbs to Carlsbad is a quick trip. The scenery consist of Hazardous Waste Disposal Facilities, oil wells, and sand dunes. The ride was quiet, Tracy and I listened to a few pod casts on the way.

About five miles outside of Carlsbad Tracy started screaming and hopping in his seat. This unnerved me, and I started grabbing the arm rest and stomping the floor board. He was screaming “Something’s got me!”

When we finally pulled over and stopped Tracy pulled a bee out of his pant legs. I guess having something flying into your pants leg and biting you is a little shocking. I don’t know, it is an experience I would rather not have.

When we arrived in Carlsbad, New Mexico luck was on our side.

We found an RV park right on the Pecos River. The Pecos RV Park is small, quiet, and comfortable. The owner is onsite and he also runs a small store at the front of the park. He says he generally stays busy and that we were just lucky he had a slot open. The slot rent was $4 more than most of the other RV parks, but this RV park is shaded, has free Wi-Fi, cable, and full hook-ups. Plus, it was quiet.

 

The City of Carlsbad has a nice walking path around the river.

 

  

After dinner we took a walk along the Pecos River. The path is well lit at night which made it easy to keep from stepping in goose pooh. There were a lot of ducks and geese on the river. The guy that lives under the bridge was nice enough to tell us where to find the new hatchlings that had been born that day. We found the new hatchlings and I thought they were pretty cool since it was Mother’s Day. Hey, we meet all kinds of people on the road.

 

Doug really wanted to chase the ducks and geese, but he listens pretty well and kept his distance. I like to think it’s because he is such a good dog, but it might have been because the new mothers were hissing at him. I had forgotten how geese hiss when you get too close.

The path we took ended in the park. The city park has a course for disc golf, but we did not get to explore much because it was getting dark.

 

We set out to catch the afternoon tour of the caverns first thing in the morning.

First we decided to stop by the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM manages thousands of acres of public land in the United States. The lands are mostly open for public use. We wanted to find out more about the program and see how we could access some of the camping sites. The ranger at the Carlsbad field office explained that all we needed was to be sure we were on BLM land and that we could camp for free. She explained that some areas did charge a fee, but if we had a National Parks Pass our fee was waived or cut in half depending upon the area and amenities offered.

We bought two maps for one for the Roswell area and one for the Carlsbad area. We also got the app that we can use to make sure we are on BML land. They also have an extensive hunting program. If anyone is interested in hunting on federal land I would recommend you look into it. The visit was very informative and we enjoyed our visit with the rangers in the office.

Next, we stopped by the National Parks field office in Carlsbad to ask questions about the National Parks pass. The park ranger in the office explained the program and how it waived our fees for access to recreation areas operated by the National Parks Service, BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation. So on the surface the $80 for the Annual National Parks and Federal Recreational Land Pass looks expensive, but if used it is a good investment.

Over Landers, Ahoy!

I am not really sure why, but Tracy pulled in to the little strip of stores at White’s City. Just as we got out of the car to walk around an over-lander van pulled in. I have read a few blogs about Over Landers so I am slightly familiar with the culture. Tracy was intrigued and we started talking to the couple. Their names were John and Mandi and they were just starting their journey to drive the Pan-American Highway.

They were leaving for an Over Lander meet up and then would head north to Alaska to spend some time. Once they reached the most northern point in Alaska they are planning to head south and drive the Pan-American Highway all the way to the southernmost tip of Argentina. After spending an hour talking with the couple, we wished them a happy and safe voyage and drove up to the Carlsbad Cavern National Park.

This was my third visit to Carlsbad Caverns.

On each visit I have felt weepy on the drive up the mountain. I don’t know why. Maybe it is the altitude change, or the fact that the road hangs on the side of a mountain. The scenic drive up the mountain makes me think about how special and fragile our planet is, and how we take nature for granted. I think of the television commercial from the 1970’s that showed the American Indian sitting on a horse, near a polluted stream, shedding a single tear. I know – sappy.

After we made our way up the mountain and had gotten our tickets we were set! We visited the book store and souvenir shop before our visit to the cave. I knew we would be tired after the tour.

We opted for the self-guided tour of the Big Room. We rode the elevator down. The decent is 800 feet and the elevator goes very fast. It made me feel a little queasy and Tracy’s ears popped on the ride down, but once the elevator doors opened we were both in awe. It was very quiet and cool. The temperature change is always drastic. The caverns stay at about 52°F year round. The hike in the caverns Big Room is about 2 miles and gets very steep in some parts, so my suggestion is to wear good walking shoes and take a sweater. One more tip is to make sure you go to the restroom before you head down the elevator.

Pictures just do not convey the enormity of the caverns.

We returned to the RV park for the evening.

We met a nice couple who were making a trip from California to Colorado and decided to take a side trip to see the caverns. Tracy helped them out with some trouble they were having with their tow vehicle and we all visited a little while.

They gave us a copy of the new Good Sam’s Directory. I had debated on purchasing the book, but thought that everything we needed we could find on the internet. I have to admit I was wrong and the directory came in handy when we were looking for a dump station in Roswell. So, to the couple we met in Carlsbad, New Mexico I want to say thank you very much.

The next morning we decided to travel north to Roswell, New Mexico to find an alien.

 

 

The trip from Carlsbad to Roswell is less than 100 miles and only took us and hour. Tracy was excited to make the trip because he is a SPACE FANATIC. Anything to do with space he loves. So as you can imagine, one of our regular conversations is, “If the aliens come and Tracy gets to go to space”. My answer is always the same, “I will miss you, but I am not going. Hope they don’t eat your a**.”

Roswell has been fun for both of us.

The first night we overnighted at the Walmart parking lot. I am not a fan of doing this, but it gives us a chance to buy provisions and get our bearings on where we are going. It gives us a chance to take the tow vehicle off and visit a couple of RV or camp locations without driving the motorhome. This save us on gas and keeps us from getting into a location where we could potentially get the motorhome stuck. So for those benefits I am ok with a layover at Walmart, or any other business that might let us park for a few hours.

We picked a BML location 32 miles north east of Roswell.

The site we are at is called the Haystack OHV Recreation area. This is a site set aside for Off Highway Vehicles such as dirt bikes, dune buggies, or small jeeps to use for recreation. There are trails set up for these and they are clearly marked. We have been here a week and have only seen two people use the site for less than a couple of hours. The BLM does host competitions and allow commercial competitions at the site. The competitions start in the late spring, so if you are looking for quiet time come in the early spring.

The location is a roughly developed site that has no hook ups. It’s dry camping. There is no water available unless you pack it in. There is a communal toilet (out house) available and four pavilions at the site. Luckily, we have our own toilet.

 

We were able to dump our waste tanks and fill our fresh water tanks for free at Main RV in Roswell before heading out to our campsite. We have a large fresh water tank so we were able to haul enough water to last several days.

 

We have also discovered that our solar power system is awesome.

We already knew we could run everything we needed to when we wanted and did not have to worry about power too much as long as we had some sun shine during the day. We also discovered that we can run the small AC unit in the back of the Big Lebowski. We had only tried the front AC unit which is the bigger unit. We might have overshot our power needs a little, but I guess it is better to overestimate than under estimate in this case.

The temperatures have been nice during our visit to Roswell. They have stayed in the upper 70’s during the day, but once the sun goes down Tracy and I are both looking for sweaters and pants.

We have only had our National Parks Access Pass for a week and it has almost paid for itself!

Since we have our National Parks Pass we do not have to pay the $5 daily use fee. Our campsite is free for up to 14 days. We will stay at the site for five or six days, this saves us $25. So after spending $80 on the card, we saved $40 on the fees for Carlsbad Caverns and $25 on our camping in Roswell. That means we still have $15 left to make up for the cost of our pass card.

 

We visited the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge on our first day.

The Bitter Lake site is for day use only and is so very pretty. It is hard to believe there is so much wildlife in the dessert. There is a 6.5 mile scenic drive with short trails around the park. The Ranger Station has telescopes and binoculars for use in the station along with several displays and educational information. There is a small gift shop inside with refreshments. We watched the educational film they had available before making the scenic drive.

This is a new National Wildlife Refuge so don’t forget to get your Passport America souvenir book stamped for visiting.

 

The second day on our visit to Roswell we did not do much.

Tracy went for a hike into the valley early in the morning. I opted to stay at the Big Lebowski because it was early and cold. I am not a morning person. Later in the afternoon while Tracy took a nap, I sat on the ridge for about four and a half hours and watched the valley floor for signs of life. I saw more rabbits and hares than I care to count, a hawk, a vulture, and a javalina.

 

The butterflies are also out. There are several species fluttering about and I spent the better part of two hours taking pictures of just butterflies.

The sunsets from our campsite were spectacular. We could not take our eyes off the stars at night. There are no city lights for over 30 miles so you can really see the stars at night. I feels and looks like you can just reach out and touch them. The howling of coyotes across both sides of the canyon are kind of funny to me. I think of Wylie Coyote and Road Runner when I hear them. Tracy said he felt like the coyotes were circling.

 

We found the aliens on day three!

 

 

Day three started early. We headed into town to go tour the International UFO Museum and Research Center and to tour the souvenir shops. We had fun looking at all of the displays and taking pictures. The museum is pet friendly and cost $10 per person to enter. Unless you have a great interest in UFOs and would like to see the affidavits given by the people involved I would suggest forgoing the museum and just walk around town to view the alien displays. It is a true tourist trap, but we knew that going in.



 

 

The fourth day at the BLM campsite we hiked down into the canyon.

 

 

 

 

The decent down did not take too long, but was a little treacherous. Distance is deceiving when you are up on the ridge and looking out. The view from the mountain top makes the terrain look a little rocky but level at the bottom.

Once down into the canyon it quickly becomes apparent that the terrain is not what it seems when looking into the valley from the bluff.  There are several animal trails and paths that have been made by the wildlife in addition to the OHV trails. We saw several different types of animal tracks, but luckily only found rabbits, beetles, spiders, butterflies, hawks, and one lizard.

 

 

Boss Lady has been very active and giving chase to every rabbit she sees. She has been a tired kitty during our visit.

 

 

No Internet?

The only drawback about our camping experience at the BLM Haystack site so far has been the lack of internet and cell service. We have gotten cell service for about 10 minutes every two hours. I don’t really know if you can call this a drawback, it has been a little refreshing to not hear our phones chime, chirp, and ring every time we get a text, tweet, or email.

We will head for Ruidoso and the Mescalero Apache Reservation in the next day or two. We both want to revisit the Inn of the Mountain Gods and tour the Valley of Fires National Monument.

I am working on getting all of our photos loaded to a hosting site so that interested people can view them. We have taken so many and it is hard to share them on a blog post. I will let everyone know as soon as I get them uploaded. If anyone has experience with one of the many photo sharing sites please let us know what your experience has been.

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