Category: By State
Salvation Mountain
I arrived in the Slab City area just before noon, after jumping my van over some odd part of the road that acted as a launching pad. I figured, in that split second, that the van was a goner when it touched ground again. Though everything flew around the back...
Salton Sea
Holy cow, this body of water is huge! I don’t know what I was expecting, but not a real sea in the middle of the desert… you could not see the other side unless it was the mountains to the north. To all other sides, it appeared as if it...
Coronado Ntnl Forest, Cochise Stronghold
“Born in present-day Arizona, Cochise led the Chiricahua band of the Apache tribe during a period of violent social upheaval. In 1850, the United States took control over the territory that today comprises Arizona and New Mexico. Not hostile to the whites at first, he kept peace with the Anglo-Americans...
White Sands Ntnl Monument
As I pulled out of the Hollowman AFB area, I was only a few minutes drive away from White Sands Ntnl Monument so I popped in for a quick look before the weather chased me into Las Cruces for the night. As it turns out, you can rent snow-sleds (or...
Holloman AFB and Lakes
Just south of Holloman Air Force Base (between the base and White Sands Ntnl Monument), are a few small lagoons which the AFB allow the public to come and bird-watch and/or camp. This is where I happened to pull into last night about an hour before the sun set, and...
The oldest zoo in the West
I rolled into Alamogordo, NM late this morning looking for access the the Lincoln National Forest so I could setup camp. The first road that I thought would allow me access was fenced and locked. Though I could hike or bike in I could not drive. I then accessed the...
Guadalupe Mountains Ntnl Park
The Guadalupe Mountains is actually part of an ancient under-sea reef which just happened to be in the way as the mountains were being formed millions of year ago. As the mountains pushed up parts of this reef was exposed and is now the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. One sense...
Carlsbad Caverns Ntnl Park
Finally, I can check the box that I visited Carlsbad Caverns. This trip was planned two years ago but I did not make it, then again last year but a vehicle breakdown prevented me from making it. This year I only just made it and with only hours to spare....
Capulin Volcano Ntnl Monument
Not long after entering New Mexico this morning I spotted the brown sign which lead me 30 miles off the Interstate to Capulin Volcano. Normally this would not have slowed me much, but after getting the chance to climb a volcano near Mono Lake, CA a few months earlier, I...