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Tag: chihuahuan desert

Valley of Fires and the Salinas Pueblo MissionsValley of Fires and the Salinas Pueblo Missions

Valley of Fires and the Salinas Pueblo Missions

Lost in the Land of Enchantment | Friday – Saturday, November 15-16, 2024

After leaving the Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site, we made a quick stop at Pistachioland for Diane and then headed over to Carrizozo to visit the family of one of her friends who live there. When we were packing for this trip we decided to bring along a tent that we had not used for a while and accidentally forgot to bring the stakes for it. While this wasn’t a problem when we were camped at Gleatherland in Texas because it was a very calm evening, it had been very windy all day while we were searching for petroglyphs at Three Rivers and it was supposed to stay pretty windy all night, so we were a bit concerned. Thankfully, we were able to borrow some tent stakes from Diane’s friends while we were visiting which would help us out quite a bit. After our visit we ate dinner in town and then drove just a few miles northeast to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area where I had reserved a campsite next to the lava flow for the night. We got our tent set up shortly before sunset and then read for a while before going to bed early.

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Written In Stone at the Three Rivers Petroglyph SiteWritten In Stone at the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

Written In Stone at the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

Lost in the Land of Enchantment | Friday, November 15, 2024

After our brief detour into Texas to explore Hueco Tanks State Park, we returned to the Land of Enchantment on Thursday evening and spent the night in Alamogordo, which is a favorite stopping place for us whenever we are in the area. Then we were up early on Friday morning so we could spend the majority of our day wandering through the boulders found on top of the ridge at the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. This would be our third visit to this amazing ancient site and it seems that we find quite a few new petroglyphs every time we are here! Although we couldn’t stay all day this time because we were going to be meeting up with the family of one of Diane’s friends who live in nearby Carrizozo, I think we might have finally begun to scratch the surface of what can be found here and we are already looking forward to our next visit, whenever that might be. Below are just a small selection of all the interesting and unusual petroglyphs we saw on this visit to Three Rivers.

CONTINUE READINGWritten In Stone at the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site
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Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic SiteHueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Wednesday – Thursday, November 13-14, 2024

After leaving Carlsbad Caverns on Wednesday and driving into the state of Texas for the very first time, we made our way west towards El Paso and detoured into the Hueco Mountains later in the day where we made a quick stop at Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site to verify that their campground was actually closed this night like their website had stated, and it was. Since we couldn’t camp in the park and there wasn’t any public lands nearby, we drove a few miles to the east and found a site to setup our tent just before sunset at the Gleatherland Ranch Campground, which was mostly empty this evening. We ate dinner as the temperature dropped rather quickly, read in the tent for a while and then went to bed early. This would be our first bag night in Texas, too!

CONTINUE READINGHueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the GuadalupesCarlsbad Caverns National Park and the Guadalupes

Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the Guadalupes

Lost in the Land of Enchantment | Monday – Wednesday, November 11-13, 2024

After spending a cold and snowy weekend at Bandelier National Monument and elsewhere around the Pajarito Plateau we headed further south into New Mexico until we reached Carlsbad, which is located in the Permian Basin just east of the Guadalupe Mountains. It was quite a bit warmer here which was a pleasant change from the previous couple of days further north. After checking in to our hotel we still had plenty of daylight left, so we drove over to Carlsbad Caverns National Park so we could start getting acquainted with the park and maybe even find a place to catch the sunset. This turned out to be an excellent idea because as we entered the park we noticed a sign that said there was a Bat Flight program this evening at the Bat Flight Amphitheater. According to the park’s website the Bat Flight Program only takes places from Memorial Day weekend through October, so I didn’t think we would be able to go to one on this trip, but since it was still happening we were excited to check it out!

CONTINUE READINGCarlsbad Caverns National Park and the Guadalupes
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The Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan DesertThe Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert

The Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert

Chiricahua National Monument to the Pedregosa Mountains and Dragoon Mountains
Arizona Winter Loop | Monday – Wednesday, January 30 – February 1, 2023

After a brief stopover in Petrified Forest National Park we continued south through Arizona on our way to the Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert in the southeast corner of the state. A Sky Island is a mountain range that is separated from other mountain ranges by distance and by surrounding lowlands of a dramatically different environment. The result is a habitat island- such as a forest surrounded by desert. After leaving Holbrook we would cross the canyon of the Salt River and then follow the Gila Valley until we reached Safford and eventually Willcox later in the evening. Since I knew we would be arriving late I had booked a hotel room in town to stay at before we continued on to Chiricahua National Monument first thing in the morning.

CONTINUE READINGThe Sky Islands of the Chihuahuan Desert
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