RIDING AWAY FROM THE STORM.
Day 164 – I woke up at 2 a.m. The awning over the bedroom slide was banging and it felt like we were on a boat, the RV was rocking. The winds had returned. I got up & checked on everything, then put in the ear plugs and went back to sleep. We were up by 7 a.m. and it was 33 degrees (not the 20’s they’d predicted), windy, cloudy. An hour and a half later, we were getting ready to bundle up in warm gear and go out to the Petroglyph Site when we saw a dense layer of what looked like fog approaching us. It was a mixture of snow and rain – sleet. Right now we’re deciding whether to just pack up and head southeast to Roswell today, or stay and wait for the weather to do its thing. We can always come back here again to do the lava hike and the petroglyphs. Okay, decision made – we’re outta here.
112 miles
Valley of Fires Recreation Area BLM Campground, Highway 380 east to 4 miles before the small city of Carrizozo, NM turning south at Valley of Fires Recreation Area sign, contact info: Bureau of Land Management, Valley of Fires Recreation Area, P. O. Box 871, Carrizozo, NM 88301, (575) 648-2242, www.blm.gov/nm. Incredibly scenic area of ancient flowing lava surrounded by mountains and hills. Campsites are on a hill overlooking lava field with 360 degree views from each site. There are 19 RV sites and 4 tent sites, a visitor’s center & book store, a day use area, and public restrooms. 14 of the RV sites offer water & electric hook-ups ($18 per night), 5 have no hook-ups but water spigots nearby ($14 per night), 4 tent sites ($7 per night). With the America-the-Beautiful senior pass, it was 50% off these prices. There was a dump station, and each RV campsite had a picnic table under a cabana, a fire pit & grill, and a trash can. The roads were paved. There was also a separate group camping area. There was a 3/4-mile trail over the lava bed; it was all very scenic with the blackened landscape in the middle of a beautiful valley. Nearby was the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. We had site #17, a pull-through, non-electric site. All but two of the non-electric sites were not level. All campsites were a distance from their neighboring site. Due to weather conditions, we only stayed two nights and were unable to do the outdoor activities we wanted to do. We will return to this campground again to explore the area. It was an excellent place!
We departed at 11 a.m., 42 degrees with blowing rain/sleet, cloudy. We took the 380 east and for most of the trip, the temperature varied, getting as low as 31 degrees at one point. It was sometimes flat as a pancake, sometimes mountainous, and often it felt like we were on location at a western movie. Several old-west tiny towns, almost ghost towns, along with signs for the place where Billy the Kid had his last stand or the Smoky-the-Bear Park where this icon had originated, etc., all kept us interested and wondering what we’d encounter next. Roswell was the only large city we drove through. We stopped there for gas, some groceries, and a lunch break, but by-passed the U.F.O. Museum, Roswell UFO Tours, and the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge (we’ll do this one tomorrow).
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
About ten miles beyond Roswell, we turned south at the signs for the Bottomless Lakes State Park. About five miles in on this paved road we reached our destination, Lake Lea Recreation Area Campground. This State Park has three small, primitive campgrounds, each containing 2 or 3 tent campsites. As you continue on the road, there are small lakes and ponds, some partially dried up, but they are really water-filled sink holes. At a larger sink hole is Lake Lea and the RV campground. The area is surrounded by red rock cliffs and is scenic.
We arrived at 2:30 p.m., 44 degrees, sunny, and NOT windy. The campground was ¾ occupied; we drove through and looked at the remaining campsites, picking site #16. The full hook-up sites were already taken; we got a site with electric & water hook-ups. There is a dump station at the campground. Our site was $14 per night and we paid for two nights. The campsites are nicely spaced from each other. There are 32 sites total. The camp host told us to remember to turn off the water at night because it would be below freezing.
We unpacked and set up camp, plugging in the girl’s heating pads right away. No problem here, they like this campground & there was lots of sun on the dashboard. We took a walk throughout the campground, by the lake, and over to the fee station to pay for our two nights. A few sites away from us, a couple hollered out that they were from New York, too. (We’ve noticed that everywhere we go, people are looking at your license plates to see where you’re from. Seems like a favorite past-time.) We stopped to talk to them – they were from Long Island and were on their way to Amarillo, TX for the quarter horse show and to see Cadillac Ranch, then heading back to NY for three weeks before going to Alaska. Ah, the traveling life, grin. Tomorrow is another day……