On our way home

As we travel home to Minnesota we move from the desert mountains and plains into the grassland and midwest and witness the changes with every few miles. The temps have changed little as we move north because we also lower our altitude. But the surroundings change dramatically. With the spring rains in the desert things were beginning to bloom but as we near the midwest, the trees are bare and the grass is brown. But the signs of spring are many at each stop on the road. From the migration of birds, Red Tail hawks and Turkey Vultures to Robins and Cardinals singing their morning songs, even a blue heron in the now open creek bottom, life is changing fast. New buds are beginning to form on the trees and the smell of moist air filled with decayed leaves assaults our senses with every breath.

Tonight's stay is just a few miles north of KC (Kansas City) in Watkins Woolen Mill State Park, Missouri. The park is also a historic site containing a beautifully restored woolen mill and farm from the mid 18800's once owned by the Watkins family. Sounds a little odd but the park is very nice with grounds surrounding a quite little lake. Tomorrow we move into Iowa.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

I would never have believed that there was such a beautiful park in the panhandle of Texas, but there is. Palo Duro Canyon appears out of no where on the flat plains, dropping 800 feet and 120 miles long, it is the second largest canyon in the US (the Grand Canyon being the largest). Thanks to Cassie and Jack for the tip or we would never have found this park. We entered the park from the top of the ridge and were meet with a small herd of deer. As we approached the campground a flock of turkey crossed the road. Later this group came through our site looking for a hand out. Last night we sat by our campfire and listened to Bobcats howling near the cliffs behind our rig. What a fantastic place!

Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Our next destination, Santa Rosa Lake State Park, put us back on the mother road, Route 66. I'm amazed how the landscape changes with just a 100 miles. We are back in the high country with pines and junipers. Near our campsite, we found the Colorado Pine that are responsible for Pinion (Pine Nuts) but the season is long over and the remaining seeds are dried up. So sad!

Revenge of Minnesota winter

Many back home will get a chuckle when they hear that we had a few inches of snow. It made a stark contrast to the lava in the park so I had to run out to take a picture first thing in the morning. I almost fell on my fanny when I hit the ice covered road in front of our rig but the years of experience on snow and ice paid off.

We made some wonderful friends at the Valley of Fires and hope to catch up with Cassie and Jack in future travels. One of the wonderful things about traveling in an RV are the new friends we make along the way.

Valley of Fires

On to the Valley of Fires, also a BLM managed property. This site has the youngest lava flow on the Continental US (Mount St. Helens erupted in 90 but did not cause a lava flow across the land) flowing into the Tularosa basin. The one photo is of a graceful Juniper thought to be over 400 years old. This is a nice campground but moving north has it's drawbacks with a storm moving in. Still, a beautiful spot to spend a few days.

Three Rivers Petroglyphs

As we begin our slow journey home we are spending less time in locations but we are still hitting new sites. Yesterday we stayed in the BLM Three Rivers Petroglyph park and hiked the Trails. The first trail was to visit the Petroglyphs, and there are many. Over 21,000 in a small area recorded by the local Archaeological Society which took over 6 years. We also explored the near by village ruins. The camping facilities at the park are minimal, two sites with electric and most unlevel, but hey, they are free and all have beautiful views of the Sierra Blanca mountains rising 12,003 feet above the Tularosa basin.

Beautiful Rain

With just a little rain comes a beautiful bounty.

Scenic Chihuahuan desert and Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

We moved just a few hours north back into New Mexico at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. Back in the Tularosa Basin, the other side of The White Sands in the Chihuahuan desert, the park sits at the base of the Sacramento Mountains. It looks to be another great hiking area with a 5.5 mile Dog Canyon National Recreation Trail rising 3,100 feet in elevation.

The park's namesake, Oliver Milton Lee (1865-1941), was a rancher, U.S. marshal, gunman and one of the most colorful characters in New Mexico history. Crinoids and other fossils riddle the area limestone and native american people have used the canyon pathway for 4,000 years.

The area was the site of many battles between the US Army soldiers and Apache. However, Apache and Army skirmishes aren't the only interesting stories of the canyon. A French homesteader near the mouth of the canyon named Francois-Jean "Frenchy" Rochas ran cattle and cultivated an orchard in the area. He was found murdered in his cabin in 1894. The State Park has partially reconstructed Frenchy's cabin and the walls he built to contain his cattle remain in and near the campground.

In our short hikes we found several mortar stones along the wash area, one containing the stone mano used to grind seeds. We hope to hike the longer trail tomorrow if the weather clears. We spend the few rainy periods in the rig, playing with blue. Being the young man that he is, and given to exploration, he has found a place under the dash to hide when we are not playing. One more reason to have him on a leash as we go traveling down the road.

Franklin Mountain State Park, a hike to remember

Our last day in Franklin Mountain was exceptional. With only a few other campers in the park we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon hike, a warm sunset and some quality time with Jerry Garcia and Blue. The camp ranger's keen eye spotted the Grateful Dead sticker on the Porsche and burned a CD for me with a hard to find, original cut from the 69 version of AoxomoxoA. For those not in the know about all things Garcia, this was consider to be the experimental apex of the band's history.

Blue was down to his last mouse so Gary picked up a new batch. The new mouse has lost and eye and I noticed some of the white paper filling on the floor. He is hard on his mice but it helps him to sleep at night. Playing with Blue before bedtime helps us sleep as well?

Border crossing

We made two border crossings this week, one near Columbus into Mexico and another into Texas. We found a gem of a park in El Paso with Franklin Mountain State Park. The park was created in 1979 and is the largest urban park in the nation at 24,247 acres, covering some 37 square miles. We hiked the Aztec Cave Trail (1.2 miles up) today and after a week of no hiking found it a nice challenge. Good vertical elevation change and the trails are easy to follow. The views from the top are unbelievable and we had the park all to ourselves. No other campers as the locals have yet to figure this place out. For the RV'ers that like to hike, this is a great place and undiscovered.