Friday, October 22 – OUT OF THE COLD!!!! It was 41 degrees this morning when we woke-up in Gallup, NM......that's toooooo cold!!! We headed to warmer areas in southern NM. We stopped in Socorro to see the Very Large Array Observatory. After driving about 20 miles off I-25 south, we saw a sign saying 44 more miles. We were in twisting mountain terrain and Paul decided to turn around. He wishes he would have stopped just off the interstate and unhooked the car for the sightseeing trip. Rookie mistake.....he'll remember it next time (yeah....right!).
We had a beautiful drive. We went through a large area of Lava rock from El Malpais.There is much evidence of past volcanic action in New Mexico, including El Malpais National Monument. The deposits near Grants are the largest, and most are contained within El Malpais.
What a drive!
So back on I-25 South to Truth or Consequences, NM and a two night stop at Elephant Butte State Park. Our new friends, Sheryl and Jeff, gave us a heads up on New Mexico State Parks. We are in site #61 overlooking the lake. We choose to go with 30 amp electric over the 50 amp because the view is sooooo much better. The 50 amp sites don't overlook the lake and are much more crowded with sites very close to each other. The price is $14/night, 30 or 50 amp…your choice!
This is our camp site. It is so big.
A super picnic area and fire pit.
Look at this view…right out side our front window, and we aren’t even on the beach. If you camp here, get on the third tier. It is so awesome. Can you see the mountains in the background?
We took a drive around the park. Just beauty at every turn! This is Elephant Butte Island.
There is camping right on the beach…0 dollars!
There is boating, swimming, fishing, etc.
We drove off road down to the beach. There are tons of dirt roads…if you are adventurous.
Seems like a pretty nice place. This could be one of the best campgrounds we've had in our full-timing days!
We took a walk with Bella and Marsha saw what she called a Jackalope......I think it was a Jack Rabbit. It was huge with big ole' ears! Later, we went for a ride and saw our first Coyote in the wild. We saw him twice in the brush along the road. Really neat, but he was on the move, and we couldn't get a picture of him. Makes us re-affirm our need to watch Bella when she out doors!
Bella is marking her territory. This is to let those wild animals know this is HER territory…STAY AWAY!
She's sitting now on the dash board looking for all the wild creatures outside.....ha ha! What a cutie!
Marsha has stars in her eyes...jeesh! She wrote to the Colorado Dept. of Travel Webmaster reporting a broken link on their site. She received an email today thanking her and telling her that the link is now fixed. BUT…there is more to the email. She said I was to put exactly what they said, so I told her just to copy and paste it…so here it is.
P.S. – I LOVE your blog! You have a fantastic set of photography skills. Should your travels take you into Colorado, we would be honored to post them on our website.
She is on Cloud 9. Does this mean we have to head to Colorado soon????? Goodness!
We had a beautiful moon rise over the lake this evening. What a view out our front window! We aren’t even closing the curtains tonight.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again real soon. Have a great day!
I think we will take in that area on our way to Demming. Sounds like a great area to visit. We will be in Shreveport, LA for the next 2 weeks, then we are heading that way.
ReplyDeleteSite #61 got it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIf you have time - go to the El Camino Real Heritage Center. And I agree with the guys in Colorado - you take the best pictures.
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