New Mexico to Arizona
Rock City State Park of New Mexico
On this cross-country trip, east to west, the state parks have turned out to be where we have found interesting, distinctive, but lesser recognized places. Today is no exception. En route from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona we turn off reliable I-10 for a 24-mile side trip to a park called Rock City State Park. It turns out to be worth every mile. We are still in New Mexico.
Rock City is a natural geologic feature that emerges from the flat seemingly endless desert landscape like a fortress. It is the remnant of a volcano that exploded 36 million years ago. At the self-serve entrance gate, we find a paper pad glued on a shelf. We pull off a form and fill it out in triplicate. One layer sticks on the car, another on the camper and a 3rd copy goes in an envelope with a $5 bill in a lock box. Then, we continue up a hill another 100 yards, to a small visitor center with a cheerful woman smiling to welcome us. “Just wander around wherever you want to go” she gleams, directing us gently to a curtained corner with a short video to watch as an orientation. “Please don’t park in a campsite,” she says quietly as she turns off to somewhere.
We spend a couple of hours wandering around on pathways through the maze of enormous stone shapes that look like cartoon characters. About 40 feet high, the rocks are like gentle giants, beautiful with soft weathered surfaces reflecting the strong sun. We see people at a distance. There’s a young couple romping over and around laughing and hopping about. Others are sitting outside their camper rigs. A few sites have full hookups; how do they get water here, I wonder? And there are other sites tucked among the rocks, really out of sight, for tents or rigs, natural niches for a sense of quiet in retreat. I wish we were staying longer. We keep lunch simple, chewing on a couple of peanut butter sandwiches as we meander, savoring the time exploring. It’s fun.
Without clearly marked trails, it’s all about wandering here, just because that’s the way ya do it…..over, around, up, and across these beauties….yes, just wander.
Back on the road, we turn away from the interstate to explore the “long way” along state road NM180 through Solver City and the Gila National Forest at which point the road crosses over the peak of the Continental Divide at 6,850 ft. still in NM. A perfect exit from Rock City.
We roll into Tucson just before 5, a little late from our diversion. The cool December sun is setting. For once, it doesn’t matter that it is dark. We are gratefully staying with friends for the next couple of nights. The camper fits in their spacious driveway adjacent to a magnificent cactus garden. Michael and I and poodle spread out in their luxurious guest house. Bear is the most thrilled to be in a house. Before meeting up with our hosts, I dive right into the shower, prepping for the south western hospitality. We will spend the next day off the road, visit the Desert Museum – when I am compelled to post all the animals I see there on Facebook! I’ll spare you the bad tourist pix, but I did catch the condors in profile.
When you are next in Tucson, do look to spend time at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. (Desertmuseum.org) We have a wonderful time. We see a sleeping mountain lion/puma up close through a glass window, a cheetah striding across its “natural” landscape of rocks and grasses, the two female big horned sheep hopping up and around their little mountain watching the wild squirrels who were roughhousing in this caged place they could visit as their a sanctuary, too. Not to miss is a room full of all different kinds of desert snakes in aquariums, a huge open-air house for hummingbirds, another for other types of birds, another enclosure for a couple of small condors and the cutest burrowing owls unafraid of us viewing them. All these in the midst of every type of cactus you can imagine. The botanical side of the exhibit is the strongest, I think, as it looks wild, but everything is planted. Docents are helpfully stationed around to make conversation. Museum lives up to its mission – to foster love and appreciation and understanding of the Sonoran desert. Grateful!
Ojai or bust!
It is an early departure from Tucson at 8:30 am. We have rested up in the guest house. The hospitality has restored our energies: a home cooked breakfast, a cheerful dinner out and another one at a beautifully set dining room table. Christmas decor in abundance is so cheerful. A full tree covered in ornaments reaches to the ceiling. The holiday season is in full swing here.
Our exit seems abrupt. We are enormously grateful for the new friendship and care of the Frelinghausens.
As we pack up, Bear is well aware of the agenda. He takes only a quick walk in the morning. The bag packing warns him that it is the time for him to go. Like some people we know, he is a nervous Nelly before a departure. The minute he can find that the car door is open, he hops in the front or the back seat!
On the road, it is not long until a first gas and rest stop. Now is the time, I say firmly to Bear, pulling his 55 pounds to nudge him out, then again nudge him along to find a couple of rocks among all the cactus that might work to pee. He is back to the car in a flash. As the day unfolds, we will stop again for gas in Arizona, stop to find our lunch in the camper to eat in the car, and at every chance, offer him a chance to stretch. He is clear. He is not interested in getting out. He holds on all the way til Ojai, then leaps remembering right where he is.
I note the time at 6:30 pm as we drive in our own driveway, too late for the sunset. No worries at all. It is Saturday, December 9, 2023. Trip #5 cross country is done. We are safe, sound, and delighted we have had such a great time.
Thanks for reading about the journey. Your comments are always most welcome.
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