Tripometer – 13,187 mi
Gas Gauge – 1002.257 gal
Location – Rock Hound State Park, Deming, NM
Lodging – $14
Cans of OFF – 4
After a lazy Sunday morning of coffee and breakfast at the Deming Denny’s, we set off up the mountainside in search of gemstones. The wind has not diminished much since yesterday, but we also decided it isn’t going to kill us, so off we went in search of our fortune. The temperature today was a perfect 60 something degrees and the strong New Mexico sun made it feel like a warm summer day. We were ecstatic to be outside enjoying the weather.
The mountainside most easily accessible from the campground has obviously been worked over very well. Evidence of other rock hounds bashing at rocks is everywhere. Piles of broken rock, chipped boulders, and even a couple of smashed thunder eggs littered the washes where rain water cascades off the mountainside. We immediately started finding agate in a variety of different colors, but most of it was either too small to work with or firmly embedded in rocks too large to move or even break up. No surprise. We were able to find a few really nice specimens and were really excited by the sheer quantity of gemstone quality material that we were finding. Above is a picture of some of the nicer agate samples that we pulled off of the mountain.
We have been trying to take Ranger along whenever we do outdoor activities. He has no problem staying in the trailer for a few hours when we can’t bring him along, but if we’re going to be hiking up a mountainside we naturally default to bringing him with us. Today we brought him along for our climb up the mountain but the quantity and variety of cacti on the mountainside above our campground made this a huge mistake. Ranger still has gained no respect for ‘plants that bite back’. He blunders along paths and between cacti with reckless abandon. During the three or so hours that we spent on the mountainside today, we probably pulled thorns from him every 15 minutes or so. Naturally this made us feel awful about bringing him along and we cut our time short to get him back to the safety of the paved roads and sidewalks of the campground. We will definitely leave him at home next time.
Excited by our limited success today and looking forward to a busy work week for Kelly, we decided to book a couple more nights at this lovely park. Another factor that weighed heavily in our decision to stay here a few more days are the shower facilities located about 50 feet from our trailer. For the first time in many weeks, we’ve found a heated bathroom with truly hot showers. Thankfully the New Mexico State Park authority is less worried about scalding people than they are about providing lovely hot showers for their guests.
Special Note: Although Ranger has yet to start avoiding cacti, he has developed a response to thorns. Whether he steps on the tremendously painful small ground stickers or runs headlong into a larger cactus, his response lately has been to come to one of us with the injured appendage for thorn removal. He has melted our hearts more than once when he stops walking, turns around, and lifts his paw with a worried expression. Please take this out?