Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument
Travel Blog 353: White Sands and Blue Burros
The weather was perfect, the roads were smooth, and the traffic was sparse. Some road construction? Yes. But, overall, we had easy travel from Texas stays to our stops across New Mexico.
Mountain View RV, Van Horn Texas
We were set up in no time in this huge park that can accommodate gigantic rigs. Lots of space to walk and lots of critters for pups to admire, including both bunny and jack rabbits. Gotta love Texas.
Several years ago, the mega-billionaire Jeff Bezos bought a 165,000-acre chunk of land 25 miles north of Van Horn for his Blue Origin space company. Many locals are expecting a boom from his investment. For example, the owner of Mt. View RV Park is pumping big sums of money into his RV park hoping to lure the influx of expected Blue Origin workers and others attracted to the space center and its anticipated launches. We shall see.
Walking around the park we saw this house sparrow and a Cassin’s kingbird building a nest.
Boot Hill RV Resort, Alamogordo, New Mexico
Our trip north into New Mexico was pleasantly uneventful as well. We have stayed at Boot Hill RV three times in the past, primarily because of the close 25-minute proximity to White Sands National Park. Normally, we would stay a day or two, but because of repair requirements on our coach to be done in Alamogordo, we cancelled other destinations so we could stay six days to get the work completed. Oh, well, this was an opportunity to do a better job of exploring Alamogordo and the surrounding areas.
Side Note: When we arrived at Boot Hill the high temperature that day was 84 degrees. Each day the heat dial went up a notch. At the end of our stay, it was over 100 degrees. Dry heat, yes, but still lots of heat. Hence, we tried to pack most of our energy and focus into the early hours of the days.
White Sands National Park https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm
The Park is 145,000 acres known for its dunes of gypsum sand. A great place to hike, climb the dunes, and do some serious sledding. The magnetic attraction the park has for us is the joy it brings to our dogs as they run for all they are worth wearing the smiles of little kids on Christmas morning. We visited here twice while in Alamogordo.
Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument https://www.blm.gov/visit/omdp
After our first visit to the dunes, we took a trip on Highway 70 heading west of White Sands for 40 miles. Here we took the smooth but curvy, flat but up and down, Aguirre Springs Road down to part of this national monument. Nice.
Osha Loop Trail
After considerable searching, I found what looked like a perfect hike for the four of us—not too far, not too long, not too difficult. Something to get us back into the hiking groove out West.
So, at 6:05 one morning, we left our 71-degree, 4,330-feet of elevation campground and headed east on Highway 82 toward Cloudcroft and into the Lincoln National Forest. One mile before reaching Cloudcroft, we pulled into the parking lot for the Osha Loop trailhead advertised as an easy-to-moderate 2.6-mile trail. At our 6:50 a.m. arrival the temperature was 49 degrees at an elevation of 9,517.
We quickly put on our emergency hooded sweatshirts from the trunk and started out. It was beautiful on the mountain with the green vistas and the sweet fragrance of pristine air and a feeling of lightness (maybe brought on by lack of circulating oxygen?). So nice to see the forest trees not infected with beetles, as in so many places out West. We were rewarded with our early trek as we saw four elk, several towhee and heard woodpeckers, chickadees, wild turkeys, stellar jays, and a hummer. Of course, the Pups loved it—especially the elk sighting, Toby’s first.
This pic from the Osha trailhead shows White Sand NP way in the back.
Hiking Tip! Do not do what we did! For the last 20 months, the highest elevation of our Florida hikes was around 13 feet or so. Take it easy and rebuild your stamina slowly…I thought I might have get Jan down the mountain with a stretcher and a fire crew. BTW, the 2.6-mile trek turned into a 3.3-mile journey.
After our successful hike, we took a short road trip on 82 East, heading into, and then out of, the charming little town of Cloudcroft. It reminded us of the Colorado village of Evergreen—quaint but classy. After 17 miles we reached the little town of Mayhill, where we turned south and then west on Highway 130, returning to Alamogordo via Highway 82. Gorgeous morning.
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park
This small park sits on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and borders the Sacramento Mountains. We have fond memories of this state park from years ago when we camped there. The camp host was an extremely capable astronomer, and he shared his knowledge of the heavens and his views of the desert skies through his telescope.
This time our day trip was to do a little hiking. We took the short and easy Riparian Nature Trail, and then the first part of the challenging Dog Canyon Trail. Then, what the heck, we returned to the dunes of White Sands NP.
Shock and Awe
If you are an RV-er, you can relate to this scenario:
Shock Number 1: When I asked for an appointment, the RV shop said they could accommodate me in four days (it is weeks for most places).
Shock Number 2: They took my word that I had identified the correct parts (most places “have to see it”), and they ordered the parts right after my call without my credit card.
Shock Number 3: We took our coach in to be worked on at 9 a.m. for our 9 a.m. appointment, and there was no waiting—they started work immediately.
Shock Number 4: The needed part they ordered arrived in time.
Shock Number 5: It was the correct part.
Shock Number 6: They fixed the problem, plus one other task we asked for, within two hours—yes, two hours.
Shock Number 7: The bill was reasonable.
I was in awe after the shock.
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site
Another nearby point of interest was the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. We arrived at 7 a.m., an hour before their official opening. The campground was empty and all was quiet. As we pulled in, Jan spotted a small covey of Gambrel’s quail, and I quickly exited the Jeep to snap a few shots. Before my feet hit the ground, however, the flies started swarming like hobos at a pig roast. While still out of the car, Jan pointed at big black bugs ferociously attacking a tree. Swatting away the nasty flies, I took several pictures. I later found out from Jan that those big black bugs where carpenter bees strongly attracted to the flowers of desert willows. We had hoped to take the pups for a hike, but both the Petroglyph Trail and one other trail at the site were closed to dogs. Just as well, as the flies were not giving up. Since we were here, though, I could not miss the chance to at least see some of the petroglyphs. While Jan and the Kids stayed in the Jeep (a No-Fly Zone), I scurried down the Petroglyph Trail, captured a few photos of a few petroglyphs, and then hurried back to the safety of our Jeep.
Carrizoza
Traveling on from the Three Rivers Site, we pulled off the highway to give the Pups a walk around the pond of the town park. Along with killdeer, geese, and ravens, we spotted a peahen with entangled monofilament between both feet. We told three locals who were playing tennis in the park about the problem. They said they were aware and tried to save her but were unsuccessful so far. They appreciated our input and talked about the positives of the area. They said that we should visit the art on 12th Street (check out the roof), and just go four more miles to the east on Highway 82 to visit the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. Our new friends from Carrizoza shared their motto, “You don’t have to be crazy to live in Carrizoza, but it helps.” Nice dudes. We followed up on their suggestions.
The Valley of Fires is a Bureau of Land Management site and very nicely done. A highly manicured trail takes visitors through the lava field. There were restrooms, a visitor center, and power and water RV sites. We walked part of the trail, but with the day quickly heating up, we kept it short.
The street art of Carrizoza was worth the trip. What we found most intriguing was the rooftop pieces modeled after escaped burros.
After that day trip, we wound down our Alamogordo experience and made our way north of Santa Fe to Roadrunner RV Park, our last stay in New Mexico for this season’s adventure.
Onward to Colorado!
Mountain View RV, Van Horn Texas
We were set up in no time in this huge park that can accommodate gigantic rigs. Lots of space to walk and lots of critters for pups to admire, including both bunny and jack rabbits. Gotta love Texas.
Several years ago, the mega-billionaire Jeff Bezos bought a 165,000-acre chunk of land 25 miles north of Van Horn for his Blue Origin space company. Many locals are expecting a boom from his investment. For example, the owner of Mt. View RV Park is pumping big sums of money into his RV park hoping to lure the influx of expected Blue Origin workers and others attracted to the space center and its anticipated launches. We shall see.
Walking around the park we saw this house sparrow and a Cassin’s kingbird building a nest.
Boot Hill RV Resort, Alamogordo, New Mexico
Our trip north into New Mexico was pleasantly uneventful as well. We have stayed at Boot Hill RV three times in the past, primarily because of the close 25-minute proximity to White Sands National Park. Normally, we would stay a day or two, but because of repair requirements on our coach to be done in Alamogordo, we cancelled other destinations so we could stay six days to get the work completed. Oh, well, this was an opportunity to do a better job of exploring Alamogordo and the surrounding areas.
Side Note: When we arrived at Boot Hill the high temperature that day was 84 degrees. Each day the heat dial went up a notch. At the end of our stay, it was over 100 degrees. Dry heat, yes, but still lots of heat. Hence, we tried to pack most of our energy and focus into the early hours of the days.
White Sands National Park https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm
The Park is 145,000 acres known for its dunes of gypsum sand. A great place to hike, climb the dunes, and do some serious sledding. The magnetic attraction the park has for us is the joy it brings to our dogs as they run for all they are worth wearing the smiles of little kids on Christmas morning. We visited here twice while in Alamogordo.
Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument https://www.blm.gov/visit/omdp
After our first visit to the dunes, we took a trip on Highway 70 heading west of White Sands for 40 miles. Here we took the smooth but curvy, flat but up and down, Aguirre Springs Road down to part of this national monument. Nice.
Osha Loop Trail
After considerable searching, I found what looked like a perfect hike for the four of us—not too far, not too long, not too difficult. Something to get us back into the hiking groove out West.
So, at 6:05 one morning, we left our 71-degree, 4,330-feet of elevation campground and headed east on Highway 82 toward Cloudcroft and into the Lincoln National Forest. One mile before reaching Cloudcroft, we pulled into the parking lot for the Osha Loop trailhead advertised as an easy-to-moderate 2.6-mile trail. At our 6:50 a.m. arrival the temperature was 49 degrees at an elevation of 9,517.
We quickly put on our emergency hooded sweatshirts from the trunk and started out. It was beautiful on the mountain with the green vistas and the sweet fragrance of pristine air and a feeling of lightness (maybe brought on by lack of circulating oxygen?). So nice to see the forest trees not infected with beetles, as in so many places out West. We were rewarded with our early trek as we saw four elk, several towhee and heard woodpeckers, chickadees, wild turkeys, stellar jays, and a hummer. Of course, the Pups loved it—especially the elk sighting, Toby’s first.
This pic from the Osha trailhead shows White Sand NP way in the back.
Hiking Tip! Do not do what we did! For the last 20 months, the highest elevation of our Florida hikes was around 13 feet or so. Take it easy and rebuild your stamina slowly…I thought I might have get Jan down the mountain with a stretcher and a fire crew. BTW, the 2.6-mile trek turned into a 3.3-mile journey.
After our successful hike, we took a short road trip on 82 East, heading into, and then out of, the charming little town of Cloudcroft. It reminded us of the Colorado village of Evergreen—quaint but classy. After 17 miles we reached the little town of Mayhill, where we turned south and then west on Highway 130, returning to Alamogordo via Highway 82. Gorgeous morning.
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park
This small park sits on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and borders the Sacramento Mountains. We have fond memories of this state park from years ago when we camped there. The camp host was an extremely capable astronomer, and he shared his knowledge of the heavens and his views of the desert skies through his telescope.
This time our day trip was to do a little hiking. We took the short and easy Riparian Nature Trail, and then the first part of the challenging Dog Canyon Trail. Then, what the heck, we returned to the dunes of White Sands NP.
Shock and Awe
If you are an RV-er, you can relate to this scenario:
Shock Number 1: When I asked for an appointment, the RV shop said they could accommodate me in four days (it is weeks for most places).
Shock Number 2: They took my word that I had identified the correct parts (most places “have to see it”), and they ordered the parts right after my call without my credit card.
Shock Number 3: We took our coach in to be worked on at 9 a.m. for our 9 a.m. appointment, and there was no waiting—they started work immediately.
Shock Number 4: The needed part they ordered arrived in time.
Shock Number 5: It was the correct part.
Shock Number 6: They fixed the problem, plus one other task we asked for, within two hours—yes, two hours.
Shock Number 7: The bill was reasonable.
I was in awe after the shock.
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site
Another nearby point of interest was the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. We arrived at 7 a.m., an hour before their official opening. The campground was empty and all was quiet. As we pulled in, Jan spotted a small covey of Gambrel’s quail, and I quickly exited the Jeep to snap a few shots. Before my feet hit the ground, however, the flies started swarming like hobos at a pig roast. While still out of the car, Jan pointed at big black bugs ferociously attacking a tree. Swatting away the nasty flies, I took several pictures. I later found out from Jan that those big black bugs where carpenter bees strongly attracted to the flowers of desert willows. We had hoped to take the pups for a hike, but both the Petroglyph Trail and one other trail at the site were closed to dogs. Just as well, as the flies were not giving up. Since we were here, though, I could not miss the chance to at least see some of the petroglyphs. While Jan and the Kids stayed in the Jeep (a No-Fly Zone), I scurried down the Petroglyph Trail, captured a few photos of a few petroglyphs, and then hurried back to the safety of our Jeep.
Carrizoza
Traveling on from the Three Rivers Site, we pulled off the highway to give the Pups a walk around the pond of the town park. Along with killdeer, geese, and ravens, we spotted a peahen with entangled monofilament between both feet. We told three locals who were playing tennis in the park about the problem. They said they were aware and tried to save her but were unsuccessful so far. They appreciated our input and talked about the positives of the area. They said that we should visit the art on 12th Street (check out the roof), and just go four more miles to the east on Highway 82 to visit the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. Our new friends from Carrizoza shared their motto, “You don’t have to be crazy to live in Carrizoza, but it helps.” Nice dudes. We followed up on their suggestions.
The Valley of Fires is a Bureau of Land Management site and very nicely done. A highly manicured trail takes visitors through the lava field. There were restrooms, a visitor center, and power and water RV sites. We walked part of the trail, but with the day quickly heating up, we kept it short.
The street art of Carrizoza was worth the trip. What we found most intriguing was the rooftop pieces modeled after escaped burros.
After that day trip, we wound down our Alamogordo experience and made our way north of Santa Fe to Roadrunner RV Park, our last stay in New Mexico for this season’s adventure.
Onward to Colorado!