Happy Thanksgiving, state parks, and a nice hike.......

Our Location: City of Rocks State Park, Faywood, NM

Riley and I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day here in the USA. Plenty of food, plenty of laughter, good friends, loving family and a very good day!!!

Peter Cottontail not worried about Miss Kitty or me.

A coolish night but still nice for sleeping. We didn’t need our heater on this morning as the Igloo warmed up nicely with the sun shining in the windows. Since we really didn’t have any plans for today we kind of just puttered around for a bit. We did decide about 8:30 am or so that we would head out to see the other state parks in the area for the next time we stop in this neighbourhood. 

Leave me alone, I'm having breakfast.

Of course this meant we had to go to Deming. First we headed out to Rockhound State Park, and our way through noticed Walmart was open but not extremely busy. We didn’t stop but made note of that. A number of stores and fuel stations were open which surprised me, I thought it was a holiday.

Heading toward Rockhound and Stone Canyon State Parks

We journeyed out to Rockhound State Park, finding it easily and taking a short tour. A nice park to be certain. Although all walking would be up and down since it’s on a hill side. However still a nice place. We noted a few spots we’d fit into easily and the boon docking area looks pretty good as well. So we will keep that in mind for another time. 

Rockhound campground up on the left

From there we headed cross country to  Poncho Villa State Park. At first Bella our US GPS wouldn’t find the park but found Columbus. I figured we’d manage from there. A scenic drive out to the park, about 30 miles just a few miles from the Mexican border. We notice a few interesting sights on the way out but didn’t manage to get pictures of them. Oh well, perhaps another time. 

Southwest flavour here at Rockhound State Park

We arrived in Poncho Villa State Park and chatted with a nice ranger there. He gave us the information regarding the park, hook ups, prices, etc. A very nice park, if it were not quite so far out I think we would consider it. The sites are huge and the ground is very level. Some nice gardens there as well. It’s a big park, with lots of sites to choose from. Even some 50 amp spots. 

Leaving Rockhound State Park

Heading back to Deming we had to stop at the inspection station. The guard was officious and almost polite. He assumed we were US citizen while he was looking inside the Dogsled, when I answered, No Canadians, he immediately wanted to see our passports. I found this very odd. We hadn’t left the US, we weren’t even at the border crossing. He scolded me for not carrying my passport all the time while in the US. I offered up my drivers license and Riley’s health card, as both are picture ID. He eventually let us through. I don’t carry my passport with me when in the truck out for a day’s touring. If we had planned on crossing into Mexico then yes, we would have had it. His comment was that if we were within 25 miles of the border we should carry it. I didn’t argue but believe me I’ve travelled well within the 25 mile radius at many Ontario crossing and never once have I ever had to stop at an inspection station that far from the border. If we had crossed into Mexico we still would have had to pass through US customs to get back in the country which means I’ve already been vetted and accepted. So I wasn’t really sure what his purpose was so far from the border other than to check we had no illegal passengers. Yes I know the Mexican border is much different than the Canadian border but I still won’t be carrying my passport with me every where I go. I think that is just inviting trouble. I leave it locked in the safe until we need it for something such as crossing the border, going onto a military base, etc. However it’s better not argue with those folks and so I didn’t. 

Poncho Villa raided the town of Columbus, NM  not far from the Mexican border. This raid caused a reactionary force to enter Mexico after him but they failed in their mission returning back to the USA without him.

Back in Deming we found the Wally’s world and decided to brave the store. It wasn’t that busy actually. However they were getting ready for long lines later in the evening when their Black Friday sales starts. They had clothing racks and skids, etc all jammed here and there to make room for ‘customer lines at check out’ with arrows taped to the floor indicating which line should go to which cash register. We picked up our few groceries and headed out. We pulled up to a cashier and just started unloading, no wait, so you know it wasn’t busy.

Noticed a farmer working this field as we passed by on our way to Deming

Back in the Dogsled we headed home. Eager to get back for some lunch. As we pulled in we noticed a few turn overs in the park, some folks left, new folks moved in their spot and of course the boon docking spots have a big turn over every couple of days too. 

The top of Observation Hill

After putting away our few groceries, I prepped the lunch veggies and Riley prepared our green salad. Before long we were outside BBQ’ing mixed veggies with orange zest and a nice chicken breast with Hawaiin BBQ sauce. We enjoyed our books and salads waiting for the rest to cook on low heat. Inside we had also made up some stuffing and that was lunch. Salad, stuffing, mixed veggies and chicken breast. I topped mine off with a small pecan pie and Riley had a couple of small chocolate donuts she picked up at Wally’s today. 

We made it.

After cleaning up we packed our little backpack with a couple bottles of water, sun screen and the camera, grabbed our walking sticks and headed for the top of Observation Hill. It’s a mile hike each way. A very steep climb but the view is stunning from the top. We wandered along the hiking path taking our time as we climbed to the top resting only once. At the top we plopped ourselves on a bench to enjoy the view, some water and a wee rest. We opted for the road on the way down instead of the trail. It was a steep decent but we made it with no slipping or sliding, and Riley didn’t have to catch me even one time. I didn’t check the time before we left but I think we were gone about an hour. Not a fast walk but it was quite the climb. We did enjoy it very much though. 

Love the sun on the desert plants as it sets

Home again I started to edit pictures but headed out to catch the sunset instead. A number of rabbits in the area. One eating breakfast outside the Igloo window this morning had the cat and I fighting for a seat at the window, with different thoughts of course. Her thoughts were definitely …yum….breakfast and mine were…..oh how cute!! The little fella was a cotton tail and he wasn’t one bit concerned with our moving around or making noise. Tonight on my way to a good vantage point to see the sunset I noticed a number of cotton tails here and there along the way. I also managed to catch a Jack Rabbit on the run through the cactus garden tonight during the sunset. He almost looked like a kangaroo, he was moving right along with those long hind legs. 

Going down....

A pretty nice sunset tonight, not a lot of clouds but still a few caught the ‘fire’ of the sun. Home and in the door by 5:30 pm having finished with the sunset I have been editing pictures and writing this post since. 

Sinking fast...

So as you can see our day is about over and it was certainly an educational and enjoyable one. Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to all of our US friends and to those Canadians that are here celebrating as well. 

The cloud colour is also fading fast...

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. 

Taken while sitting in my chair at our spot

Until next time….be safe, take care..

The eastern sky is a beautiful hue.

Deb