My second year -- so far

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MrNoodly

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August 28, 2014 marked my 1 year anniversary vandwelling. Rather than cover that first year, I'll start with the second.

Year 2 started with me camped at the Cowboy Tub hot spring near Convict Lake and Mammoth Lakes, CA. It's BLM land there with the usual 14-day limit. It's on the east side of highway 395, in the flatter sage brush area -- with great views of the Sierras. The space for camping is small, and people come and go as they use the hot spring, but it's a fairly quiet spot. I stayed a week.

A friend in Cottonwood, AZ needed some support, so I went there next, after staying a night at a truckstop in the CA desert and splurging on a hotel room in Yuma after getting meds in Mexico. While in Cottonwood, I spent a couple of nights in the Safeway parking lot and four more south of town on BLM land.

When the friend was ready to roll, we went east, past Payson and up onto the edge of the Mongollon Rim to a free Forest Service camping area. Very nice, up among the pines, right at the edge of the escarpment. Five days there.

Next we headed to Canyon de Chelly where we stayed at the Spider Rock Campground. In the morning we took a guided jeep tour of the canyon. Very cool. We stayed a second night -- $11/night.

Next we stayed at Bluewater Lake State Park, near Grants, NM for six days. I already had a NM annual pass. My friend got one, too. We camped in the "primitive" area on the north shore but still had access to the showers. Not many other people there in September. A heard of a dozen or so wild horses roams about the place. Some cows, too.

From there we went to Fenton Lake State Park at 8,000' in the beautiful Jemez Mountains. Even though the campsites aren't on the lake, they're nice and roomy, tucked in among the pines. We had hail. We stayed four days.

Next was Heron Lake State Park. We splurged on some sites in a campground that had electricity. Clean, roomy, with shelters and easy access to flush toilets. The lake was very low, but we weren't there to use it. At 7,500', it got a little chilly at night. Even though we thought we would stay a week, then move over to adjoining El Vado State Park, we took off for warmer weather after three nights.

That took us to Manzano Mountains State Park, almost in the exact center of NM. It's a small but gorgeous campground. About 15 heavily wooded yards (rather than feet) between campsites -- half of them with electricity, all with shelters. We stayed a week and enjoyed the nice nearby town of Mountainair.

We took a look around Elephant Butte State Park, but couldn't find a primitive site we liked that was also large enough for two vans and a trailer. The developed sites are right by the road, and the electrical sites are crammed next to each other. So we moved on.

As I write this, we're at Caballo Lake State Park, in the campground below the dam, past the big RVs and the group area. When I was at this park last year I stayed in the "primitive" camping area, by the lake. But it's closed for the season. We've been here four nights and might be moving on tomorrow. Or not. There are showers, which will be hard to leave behind.
 
Nice report, thanks. Got a real feel for the journey and is really the kind of stuff I come here for.
 
I should clarify that the New Mexico annual parks pass is good for developed and "primitive" areas in campgrounds, but electrical sites are an extra $4 a night, even if you don't use electricity. Sites that also have sewer hookups are an extra $8/night.
 
Very interesting post about the NM State Parks, MrNoodly. We are thinking of getting the annual pass when we leave CO next month. We've stayed at Elephant Butte and Caballo Lake. We own a piece of land near Deming -- boondockers welcome when we're there later this winter -- and the 3 state parks we've hung out at the most are Rockhound near our land, Poncho Villa in Columbus and good for medical trips into Mexico, and the gorgeous City of Rocks between Deming and Silver City.
 
Nice write-up there MrNoodly! I like your writing style.

sure sounds like you've made a very seemless transition into this lifestyle...you're certaintly putting on the miles!! (I'm a bit jealous) :s


keep 'em coming...I too enjoy reading these road reports! GodSpeed!
 
Lovemy dogs, I've stayed at Pancho Villa, drove around Rockhound, stayed at City of Rocks, as well as Elephant Butte, Caballo Lake, Bottomless Lakes, Villa Nueva, Coyote Creek, and Morphy Lake. I drove past Eagle Nest and through Cimarron Canyon. We're leaving for Leasburg Dam, one of my favorite places -- the FS campground at Aguerrie Springs, Oliver Lee Memorial and Brantley Lake. Then it's back to City of Rocks and onward to AZ.
 
If anyone is interested in my travels last year, you might visit my blog: rollingsteeltent.blogspot.com
 
I left New Mexico yesterday and now I'm in Marfa, TX -- known for the Marfa Mystery Lights, as locations in movies such as "Giant," "No country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood," as well as being a bit of an arts hub. I'll head to Big Bend National Park from here, then to the Terlingua chili cookoff before heading back to NM and AZ.
 
Eh, the Gulf Coast is too humid for me. And hurricane season isn't over yet. ;)
 
Average mid November temps in Corpus Christi are 76 high 56 low just perfect.


MrNoodly said:
Eh, the Gulf Coast is too humid for me. And hurricane season isn't over yet. ;)
 
Yeah, but with humidity around 75 percent.

I get uncomfortable when it's above 35 percent. I'm in heaven when it's around 15 percent. :p

There's a reason I fled the southeast for the arid west.
 
It's been generally cool and dry in the Southeast lately. We have finally come out of our long rainy season. Temps and humidity are very nice! I call it the 'golden period' when I don't have to use AC or heat - so monthly energy costs for the S&B are minimal. Gives me more bucks to devote to the van conversion project. :)
 
I made a big loop yesterday, from Marfa, to Presidio, then along the Rio Grande through Big Bend Ranch State Park where I did some hiking and photography. Then on to Terlingua (too soon for the chili cook-off) and Big Bend National Park for more hiking and photography. Then north to Marathon and west back to Marfa. Too much driving for one day. And now the rain has hit.
 
MrNoodly said:
If anyone is interested in my travels last year, you might visit my blog: rollingsteeltent.blogspot.com

Nice blog with some wonderful photos. You have a good eye for composition and great skills! What kind of photo gear do you use?
 
coolmom42 said:
What kind of photo gear do you use?

A Canon T3i and sometimes just my iPhone.


I left Texas today to return to New Mexico. I'm staying the night at Brantley Lake State Park. Eh, the place isn't working for me, so I'll be moving on in the morning.
 
I moved on to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, near Alamogordo. Very nice location with mountains on one side and the White Sands basin on the other. No rain. Excellent cell reception. Flush toilets and roomy showers with decent water pressure. I've stayed three days. I need to make a run to town to deal with Verizon. Might spend a night at White Sands. Certainly at Aguirre Springs.
 
Thank goodness you survived the Lord of the Flies incident at Brantley Lake.

There shows to be five NF campgrounds on U.S. 82 near Cloudcroft.

Is it too cold up there to camp at this time of year?
 
Cloudcroft is at about 8,300 feet. Right now the nighttime temperatures are in the sub-freezing range. It was nice driving through in the afternoon, though.
 
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