The Town too Tough to Die

Tombstone is too much!
The home of the OK Corral is a little to touristy for our taste. This is a shame as this little mining town is filled with the ruckus history of the old west.

Bisbee Arizona

Just a short drive north from the border we hit the Mule Mountains and the quaint little mining town of Bisbee. Bisbee sprang up in 1877 when calvary patrols found what looked to be promising rock and a mining community was born. The area turned out two profitable copper mines. In the early 70's the town fell on disrepair as the price of copper dropped and the mines closed. The influx of young hippies brought the old town back to life with restoration of the old buildings. Much of the old town looks today as it did over a 100 years ago. We hit the town the day after Thanksgiving and couldn't have had better timing. The Old Mine RV park sits on the edge of the dusty mine on one side and the town on the other. A great place to watch the lights of the town on the eve of "the lighting of the holiday trees" which is probably the most spectacular day for BisBeans.

Into Arizona

The pictures are some last reminders of the City of Rocks State Park, We've moved into Arizona just a few miles from the Mexico border in the little town of Douglas. Hard to believe that this little town was once the largest town in Arizona. There is not much here but a border crossing and lots of border patrol cars. In fact, driving in on 80, ever other car we passed was a border patrol.

There is a old western hotel in the midst of main street with a colorful history, including a chip out of the marble staircase where Poncho Villa road his horse up the stairs. We are staying at the municipal golf course.

Rockhound State Park

I forgot to include the photos from Rockhound, we found some nice geodes that need polishing. I hit "the big one" in Rockhound park, unfortunately it was over the 15# weight allowance so we through it back.

City of Rocks, Rocks!

Peg and Savannah, we love you! It is so nice to hear from folks.

Peg, we will be in Arizona for TG and if the clan can get their act together, we could Skype. Today we are in the City of Rocks State Park NM and enjoying the time exploring the big boulders. For those that have been to the Baths in Virgin Gorda, it is just like that without the ocean. This is suppose to be the best place for viewing the stars as it is in the middle of no-where. Unfortunately the moon was so bright last night which made star gazing not so good. Very dark and very quite with just the sounds of wind in the Yucca stocks near our rig.

The little horned larks have been driving Tig crazy all morning so he has decided to take a nap, very cat of him. We're off to do some hiking.

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The White Sands NM revisited

The last few days we have been traveling the southern part of New Mexico, enjoying the warm weather and warm people. As our time grows shorter in NM we have really enjoyed visiting many of the State Parks, a wonderful experience which I would recommend to anyone. Elephant Butte Lake, Leasburg Dam where the most recent including many great hikes and a day trip to Truth or Consequences (the strange structure in the 6th picture is of a hot spring on the center of town). Both parks site on the Rio Grande.

Yesterday our day trip included Las Cruces and the White Sands National Monument. This is my second time in the White Sands, but I remember little from the trip I made as a little girl with my mother and brothers. The drive into Las Cruces was a back road that took us through the long rows of Pecan groves, loaded with ripe pecans waiting to be shaken from their branches.

Those aren't snow drifts!
The picture does not do justice to the expansive white dunes of gypsum in the Tularosa basin between the San Andres and Sacramento mountains. I hope to do another picture of these white dunes to complement the large painting in our living room that I did in college.

Tonight we are relaxing after a strenuous day hunting the steep slopes above Rockhound State Park for geodes and minerals. Not much luck with the geodes but we found some nice rocks to take home and met a nice couple just few site away from ours that gave us good advice on what to look for and where to hunt for the unique rocks. The view from the top was spectacular and at night the basin floor twinkles with the lights from homes and small towns in the area.

New Mexico Flora and Fauna

Just to be different, here are some native birds and plants in the campground at Elephant Butte Lake State Park. Last night we survived temps of 18.5 degrees, that is cold for this time of year but it is cold at night in the desert.

Blue Birds drinking near the water
Prickly Pear
Cow Tongue
Yucca
Agave
Barrel Cactus
Tree Cholla

P.S. Also included, a walk with Tigger. He is very good on a leash, as long as there are no other people near us!