02-26 - Valley of Fires, New Mexico - Mileage 213 - Cumulative 3148

Today was a fun day if nothing else. I didn't really travel that far but did get to see things I was interested in. I was quite disappointed with the RV park, I expected at least a clean bathroom even if it was only $8.00.

I dropped off mail for Hanna, Nam Sang So and Mimi at the post office and drove the very short distance to Fort Davis, an Army infantry post both pre and post Civil War and held by both sides. The installation's primary purpose was to protect the trade trails between San Antonio and El Paso as the primary trails of the Indians who went marauding in Mexico, Apache to the west, Comanches to the east, during the winter and returned to the plains for the summer buffalo crossed the military trail in Fort Davis area. Cavalry troops as well as "Buffalo Troops" were stationed there and had interesting altercations with the Indians over the years. Although it was only functional from 1854 to 1891

Significant efforts are being expending to expand the reconstruction and to perform more "digs" to follow-up on the life of the era. Two building are under reconstruction and some work has been done on the walls of the stockade. The current superintendent has an agenda to carry out prior to his retirement and is his local 'conscripted" labor as much as possible. It reduces the costs drastically. The funding available from federal sources is still a quantum leap ahead of what the State of Virginia is willing to provide. Virginia's current administration just doesn't seem to think that parks and recreation are at all important and are the lowest, regardless of measuring tool used, the lowest state in the Union.

From there it was just a sort drive - all uphill - to McDonald Observatory for a quick look-see around the visitor's center. My brother worked there back in the 70s and I flew out via the University of Texas shuttle aircraft to visit for a day or two. Because of the very few towns in the area light pollution is not a problem. Both conventional telescopes and radio telescope antenna are used for various aspects of astronomy. The telescopes range from 29" to 432" in diameter and are continually digging into outer space. The observatory is at over 8000 feet and the road is the highest public road in Texas.

From there it was a drop down to the "Great Empty" and picked up I10 at Kent heading west to Van Horn. The trip down the mountain was through cattle country warning that cattle on the road have the right of way. While I didn't see any cattle on the road, I went very slowly through a small herd that were eating grass along the side of the road. There was physical evidence on the road that proved they crossed the road however. I have an idea it could ruin your entire day if you hit a cow with your car, it could do a lot worse if you are riding a motorcycle. I have seen what happens when somebody hits a moose, it is then a question as who is the winner.

I do enjoy, if that is the correct term, these dips in the roads where water would cross in the event of a flash flood. Hopefully if one is going fast enough you would just skip over the top, or you would come to a very abrupt stop. Every year there are deaths of drowning because somebody found there was more water than expected in one of these dips.

The roads are interesting in a way. The roads will be going along normally and then drop into a dip and back out again. The dips are were in the event of a flash flood the water would cross and from what I can understand hitting one when it is full of water can ruin a person's day. I also saw my first roadrunner, a scrawny little bird that much too fast for me to stop and take a picture of.

Once off the Interstate at Van Horn headed for Guadalupe Mountains, I was driving parallel to the Sierra Diablo Mountains to the west and the Baylor Mountains to the east.. While these are more a long series of buttes rather than mountains as we visualize them back East, they have a rugged grandeur that is magnificent.

About thirty miles from Guadalupe Mountain one rounds a corner and is staring at "El Capitan". It is a magnificent bluff and the keystone of Guadalupe Mountain National Park. It still took thirty minutes to get close to the base. Once at the base one starts climbing the ridge and even Tiny slowed down to thirty mph going up. I remember this canyon very well from 1952 when my father and the rest of us pulled a house trailer up the slope at 3 or 4 miles an hour, stopping frequently to allow the engine to cool off. There is one section where the rock wall is very close to the road and I was eyeball to eyeball with a snake. I remember it as the largest rattlesnake in the world and must have been twenty feet long and a foot in diameter.

Since I will be working at Guadalupe start in June, I stopped by for a fast coordination visit with the volunteer coordinator and a fast breakdown of what I will be doing and where I will be living. It appears that I will be stationed at Frijole Ranch History Museum and alternating at McKittrick Canyon trail head. I visited both locations and they are impressive. The park is better known for its hiking trails than tourist exhibits and probably draws most of the casual visitors due to its proximity to Carlsbad Caverns some forty miles away. The closet grocery store is also the other side of Carlsbad, some 48 miles away.

My RV pad is nothing short of fantastic. I have an absolutely stunning view of El Capitan out the window. Both the sunrises and sunsets must be fantastic. It was interesting to note however, that there are provisions to attach chains between the RV and rings in the concrete pad. I do not know if this is to keep volunteers at the park or to keep the RV from being blown over in high winds. I guess I will find out. I am hoping that one of the other volunteers has a car so I do not have to unchain Tiny every time I need something from the store.

I did met many of the Park staff, Doug Buehler is the VIP coordinator and is very knowledge about the park and very positive about the volunteer program. One young lady at the front desk is an hmtl whiz and there is a computer nerd assigned to the park so I will have kindred souls to lament to.

I hadn't realized it but I had crossed over into Mountain Standard Time and I was an hour ahead of everybody else. Since there are volksmarches in New Mexico at Cloudcroft where the elevation is 9000 ft - making it the highest volksmarch in the United States - and Alamagordo both of which are more or less on the route to Socorro to visit my brother. I drove right by Carlsbad Caverns on the way but didn't stop as I felt it was too late. It was only when I went to Walmart in Carlsbad that I found I was an hour off. However, I will have many opportunities to visit Carlsbad Caverns later as the closest store to Guadalupe is Carlsbad.

Of course once in Carlsbad I was in New Mexico, another state to mark off and I headed north to Artesia where I then headed west toward Cloudcroft. The road is two lane and narrow with no place to pull off so when I saw this campground I pulled off. Other than animal noises a few times during the night it has been quiet. There are many sites I would like to investigate further and will do so when I return in June. Tiny did not like the altitude, no power and very easy to flood. I was a little concerned that I would have a problem getting back on the main road. Tiny however acted like a trooper and made it but not without fussing a little bit.

It has snowed quite heavily during the nigh and the snow plows were out in force. They were not using salt on the road at all, much better for the environment and for the vehicles that travel the roads in the winter - no rust. I wonder just what the costs are in using salt or salt derivative for road clearance. Virginia spends millions of dollars on salt and those who benefit the most are automotive body shops. I would rather see funds spent of conservation.

One thing I did notice was the deer here are intelligent. So far every time there has been a sign stating deer crossing, there have been deer crossing. They all have been White Tailed deer but I know the much larger Mule deer and elk are in the area. The mule deer are browsers, white tailed are grazers if I remember correctly. I think I will learn a lot this summer And much more than just geology. Knowing the questions visitors ask even in the relatively conquered mountains in Virginia, I imagine the questions that come up here are much more involved.

02-27 - Valley of Fires - Mileage 181 - Cumulative 3329

It has been an interesting day, imagine my surprise to wake up and find six inches of snow covering everything. It was a struggle to get out of the campground but that was the only problem I found the start point without difficulty and hit the road. The hike didn't climb that much but it is very different hiking at 3000 meters than it does at sea level. It was an attractive hike but I think I would have enjoyed it more in the summer. The ownership of the cafe that housed the start point has changed the name and the operating hours but was very kind and allowed me to register two hours before she opened. I could not find any coffee shop open and would have loved to have another cup and maybe even a bite to eat after tackling that hike.

On leaving Cloudcroft and part way down the mountain I could start seeing the gleaming white sands of White Sands National Monument in the distance. Of course the White Sands area has been used in the testing of various weaponry that requires a vast amount of empty space if something goes wrong with the missile or when testing a nuclear device. The first atomic bomb was tested at Trinity Flats at the north end of White Sands. I have been told that it is still possible to find glass made of the white sand that was fused by the heat of the bomb detonation.

The white sand is the result of gypsum being leached out of the rocks in the Sacramento Mountains to the east and deposited on the floor of what was once an ocean. The white sand is constantly moving, the wind just keeps it rolling like a wave of sand rather than water. Vegetation tends to keep the sand within the valley as it grows and creates roots.

White Sands is also used as an alternative landing site for the space shuttles as where the sand is wet it is as hard as concrete and they have runways that are over ten miles long. 747's are capable `of landing there; having a shuttle attached piggy back and taking off again so the shuttle can be refurbished and used again.

I was glad that it was an overcast day as when the sun is bright the reflection from the sand is almost blinding. The road from the visitors center goes back into the dunes so ten miles and they have created picnic areas and even a small museum but the roads have to be plowed frequently to keep them open. It is interesting just how much life does exist in the sand, most of it is nocturnal of course to escape the heat. It can be 30 degrees cooler just twelve inches under the top of the sand.

White Sands is also in the same area as Holloman Air Base which is where the German Air Force comes to train as there is nowhere in Europe were there is unrestricted air space. Many of the signs in Alamogordo are in German; I saw cars with stickers proclaiming the drivers were from other NATO countries. I understand the volksmarching club at Holloman is very active and is international as in Europe. They have both a number of year around and scheduled events.

I had planned to visit 3 Rivers Petroglyphs National Recreation Area but when I arrived the road was closed and under construction. I then headed for the Valley of Fire mostly because it sounded interesting. It seems that about 2500 years ago the valley floor cracked and magna flowed up and covered an area of some 200 hundred square miles with lava, some of as deep as 160 feet. The paleo-Indians living in the area must have thought that all the gods were ganging up on them. It is the most recent lava flow in the continental United States.

It is fascinating how the lava has broken down and is creating its own ecosystem and how the entire area is supporting new forms of life. The junipers of course allowed the Indians to survive in this somewhat hostile environment as it supplied so many commodities needed by the Indians. Most of the flora of the area was investigated and used by the Indians to eat or as curative medicine. Little went to waste in a land as hostile to people as this region. The paleo-Indians were replaced by the more nomadic and aggressive tribes of Apaches who raided the Mexicans who migrated to this area.

Also interesting is the many forms of cactus that exist to stick you as you walk by, I think some of the varieties even jump to the attack. I was scraped by a couple on the nature walk and they still burn somewhat. Some of the thorns are barbed and they will stick in you until they are either pulled out - painful - or abscesses form and they drop out. They do not feel good. Of course the plants need the protection from the browsing animals so it all turns out even in the long run.

The natural trail and its interpretive signs are some of the best I have ever seen. They go into great detail on cause and effect in a manner most children can understand. There is an entire series of lava and its origin and its aging process. It covered points that I hadn't known about and I found it fascinating. I do not know who designed the signs but they are fantastic. Maybe the Bureau of Reclamation has a better budget than the Park Service. The signs that are used in Virginia are no way near as useful or attractive.

Since it started to rain and that the day was drawing rapidly to a close I decided to stay here in the park. I located a spot on the crest of the hill where I could see the mountains on both sides of the valley and the winds are whistling now that they have changed direction. I notice that just about everything moveable is chained to the ground so I suspect winds get a little strong sometimes. I imagine when the winds change direction in the afternoon of a hot day it gets really rambunctious up here. I remember seeing house trailers overturned at Desert Palms on a hot afternoon in the summer. I completely enjoyed the night noises being made by the nocturnal hunters outside. The coyotes were especially noisy with their very high pitched yelps. The owls also were making their noises. The weather had lifted and the lights of the town were very visible despite the distance of over twenty miles.

02-28 - Socorro, NM - Mileage 81 - Cumulative 3400

Not much driving today but what driving I did was very interesting. In the middle of the night the storm hit and it was darn right interesting. Lightening struck in the immediate area twice that I saw and I decided it was to get out of Dodge. I disconnected the umbilical cords from the RV and headed out of the park and downhill. My hair was standing straight up until I was down lower. Once down from the crest of the ridge I felt better and then the hail and sleet started and continued heavily until about five inches accumulated. The wind continued to blow very strongly and the hail was coming sideways. I curled up as best as I could until daylight and headed for Socorro. The generator would not start so there wasn't any coffee until I could find something up and nothing was open till I reached Socorro. This is not the way I like to start the day.

I met my brother at NRAO, had more coffee, told family war stories and finally figured out e-mail status and caught up on current events. I went to their house and soaked in the shower for a long while cleaning off the flotsam from last night. My pucker factor was working overtime. Tonight we are going out to the only pub in town and check out the action. I am not expecting a hot time.

03-01 - Gage, NM - Mileage 267 - Cumulative 3667

The weather this morning was perfect but later on it turned to high overcast and this didn't help photography very much.

Tiny acted up for the first time. She flooded and it took some doing to get her started again. Once she started she has behaved herself the rest of the day. I rewarded her this afternoon by giving her a grease job and changing her oil and I even washed off much of the trail dirt. It will take more than that to get her clean but it was a start. It will take several days of hand washing to get off all the road oil and grit that has accumulated over the 3000 miles. I hope I can find some high students or church members having a car wash that would be willing to get some of the worst off.

I did enjoy looking at the snow capped mountains close to Socorro; they are over 10,000 feet high. A new optical observatory is to be built on the summit. It will be a DOD project so will at least partially have something to do with missiles that impact on White Sands Missile Range

The drive from Socorro to Las Cruces was somewhat of a nothing unless one to look at Elephant Butte Lake or at the Rio Grande. I took a practice nap along the way but still reached Las Cruces before lunch. I did the hike at Organ which goes up into the Organ Mountains for a while. At 5000 feet it takes a lot of breath to move this old carcass up a hill. It is a very attractive hike and worth coming back for sometime in the future. The hike is one of the better hikes I have seen for a while, the scenery was breathtaking. It could only have been better if the weather would allowed better photography.

The light was fading rapidly and when I attempted to take another picture of the mountains the flash went off. The temperature was also dropping rapidly and the wind breaker just wasn't warm enough; I scurried back to Tiny and warmth. Without moisture in the air to hold in the heat it gets cold fast. I stopped to attempt to contact a acquaintance in Las Cruces but he was out working on his pickup truck which had quit. He did contact me later when I was fifty or more miles down the road.

I was tempted to head for Gila Mountain National Park but I will save that for later this year. If the weather forecast was favorable I would have gone anyway. I may show up at Boo's as early as Sunday night. If I drove the rest of the way on I10 I would be there by lunch tomorrow but I want to detour down to the Mexican border and do a hike or two there before going to Tucson.

03-02 - Tombstone, Arizona - Mileage 248 - Cumulative 3915

Slept good and was on the road before 0700. Even the Union Pacific freight trains going through the bedroom didn't disturb me.

Got off of I10 just west of Lordsburg and headed south toward the border. There was a road sign for Chiricahua National Monument so I attempted to get there. Got half way up the pass only to find it closed due to snow. I probably could have made it but I will go from the other side some time in the future. The scenery has been fantastic. Every time one goes over a crest of a hill there is more to be seen.

I saw the Border Patrol in action several times. In both cases they had stopped vans and had napped illegals. I saw the Border Patrol in helicopters, on all terrain vehicles (ATV) and on horse back.

I couldn't understand what was causing a trail of dust that was headed for me then noticed it was an ATV dragging tire casings behind it to rake the trails so foot prints could be seen. Of course many still get through despite the best efforts.

Along the way I saw the monument commemorating the last peace treaty with the Indians. General Miles and Geromino agreed to the terms I guess. It is an interesting piece of work. It was this peace treaty that finally brought an end to the Indian Wars and made it safe to live. I am actually surprised that the whites kept their side of the bargain; that was the root cause for most of treaty violations prior to that date.

I took a short cut again and wound up on an unpaved road for ten miles. It was a little dusty but still made it to Naco which is directly on the border. The volksmarch was not that great as hikes go but it was half in the US and half in Mexico. It was open and on streets with no curbs and almost entirely residential or businesses. But it was unusual. The hike start point was the Turquoise Valley Golf Club which has a par 6 hole. I didn't get very far in asking why. The fairways were not bad but it appeared that if one left the fairway the next sot would be off hardpan. The sand traps were deep and well banked.

While I was in Mexico I picked up a bottle of kahlua, there was no sense of letting an opportunity to get inexpensive kahlua go to waste. It is half the cost that I would expect in the D.C. area. If I have the opportunity I may check the price in the PX where we military types are supposed to save so much money.

From there it was to Bisbee, the site of copper mining until just twenty years ago. It was an interesting hike in an interesting town but it started to snow. The temperature dropped rapidly and I hurried as much as I could to get back. The altitude is over 5000 feet so I wasn't hurrying all that much. It is going to take a while until I am adjusted to this height thing.

The town is a tourist trap, it cost $8.00 to park the RV and there is very little on-street parking at all. The RV parks just a few miles away were only charging $10.00 a night and that included utilities. Most of the town is a museum and most of the stores cater only to tourists. I could not tell you how many people live there but I couldn't spot anyplace to buy anything other than overpriced tourist goods and restaurants. There were no supermarkets to be seen. The drive to Sierra Vista is at least an hour over two lane road.

The Lavender mine is something else, they just about completed chopped off the top of the mountain to bring out the copper ore. There are more switch backs and roads cut into the side of the pit that it just have taken hours just to get the wagons up to the top. Ecologically this entire area is a disaster with the debris of many mines sitting around rusting and the pits themselves are an eyesore - interesting - but still an eyesore. I did see a number of tipples which would leave me to believe there was shaft mining in this area as well as the open pit. I do not believe there is anyway to return this area to anywhere near natural state.

From there it was through Sierra Vista And Fort Huachuca, the Army's intelligence and communications commands headquarters, and off to Tombstone, the site of the OK Corral. Of course the entire town is a tourist trap but people have to make a living.

Almost two hundred movies have been filmed here, many of the existing structures have been in many of the films and are recognizable. The legend of the fight at the OK Corral involves the Janes' family as the McClaury's and the Janes' families date back to Scotland until the Protestant Reformation and subsequent persecutions that forced them to move to Ireland. The families have intermarried a number of times.

The story goes according to McClaury lore that the Earp brothers and Hickok were thugs and bullies and the McClaury were divinity students who just wouldn't give in to the Earps and were gunned down for this reason. Their father was an ordained minister as was most of the family of the Janes family of that era. This tradition dates back to the 14^th Century and very much held true until my father's generation. My father broke the mold when he became an engineer and made the military his career. The elder McClaury spent the rest of his life attempting to clear the name of his sons. This was a case in which the tabloid media sold the Hickok/Earp side of the story and the sensationalism that went along with that.

I found an RV park that had reasonable rates considering the location and set up. Parking RVs anyplace other than a RV park seems to be illegal and I just didn't feel like driving anymore. That last hike at Bisbee left me with a great headache and a little dizziness so I think I need the rest.

If anybody is headed toward Tombstone with a RV,the Stampede RV Park is a nice place to stay, reasonable and within easy walking distance to downtown.

I did walk downtown to eat and see the town, the steak, the first of the trip, was very good and I did go inside the corral. One cannot take pictures of the inside of the corral and put them on the Internet without the owners permission so the pictures will be left out until later.

The young lady running the park was nice enough to let me use her telephone line to download e-mail and I was able to get caught up with the world. It is simply amazing how much the Internet has impacted life and has increased the communication abilities. I was delighted I was able to help the camp owner with a very minor problem.

03-03 - Tucson, Arizona - Mileage 73 - Cumulative 3988

I did the volksmarch in Tombstone before leaving the area, the walk was actually a repeat of the walking I did last night except for the dogleg that went out to the memorial for the towns' founder. Tombstone is over 5500 feet in elevation so it takes a bit of getting used to.

I downloaded/uploaded files using the camp's telephone and was on my way up here before 0900. I opted to take a smaller road up to Benson where I had to get onto I10 for forty miles. It was a beautiful day with towering high cotton ball clouds and just a little wind. Of course I had to head directly into the wind so I suspect gas mileage went down a little. Tucson is only at 2500 feet so maybe that will help the adjustment.

I registered for the three hikes in the Tucson area but will walk them during the week. This weekend will be little other than taking it easy and maybe some computer work. Monday I will have to do laundry, and sorting things back out in Tiny. That will be a full day in itself.