Elephant Butte, NM

We left Rusty's(reluctantly) on the 7th of April and headed north on RT 80  for about 45 miles where we hooked up with I 10 heading east. In Deming, we exited and got on RT 26 heading to Hatch, NM. Hatch is advertised as the chile capitol of the world. Good place to stop, stretch, and get some lunch....

Sparky's is a must stop when traveling through Hatch

Any place that is good for the bikers is good for the rest of us....

From Hatch it was a short trip to get on I25 North. Our destination was Elephant Butte State Park.

We were really quite surprised at the Lake, and the Park, and the camping areas. Ours was in an area called Desert Cove which had about 17 RV spots- most with electricity, and water. For us, we had 50 Amp service, water, and a shared Pavilion. It was really quite nice. It was also interesting watching the people come and go.  We got there on a Friday, so we got to see the area fill up and then empty on monday. And it wasn't just our camping area, it was the whole park.

This was our spot for 10 days

The lake is the main attraction down here and you can tell just by riding around the town of Elephant Butte- Boat Dealers, Boat Storage places, boat repair places. They are everywhere. I was told that a lot of people from the Albuquerque area come here for the summer, which explains all the rv parks too.  Elephant Butte Lake State Park is a very popular place which is evidenced each weekend as the shoreline fills up with vehicles, camper trailers, tents, you name it. The fishing is supposedly good and boating is, as mentioned, quite popular.....check out some of these pics...

Now this is what you call a boat launch- 8 lanes and parking for 200+ rigs. 

A view of the boat launch area and some of the rig parking from the road heading to the camping areas. Marina del Sur in the distance

Right from our campsite, there was a trail that was a 1.7 mile loop. I took advantage of this trail and walked it each day and each day I was rewarded with some interesting views of the wildlife of the area. Along the way I learned the difference between a rabbit and a hare.......Saw at least a few of each every day, along with ground squirrels, lizards, and of course, the birds. Mary and I always had the binoculars and Sibley Birds West out and ready and were rewarded with some interesting finds.

Part of the 1.7 mile loop around the camping area

An interesting cactus observed along the way, probably compliments of a wandering bird, as it was the ONLY one

We called this bird the mayor. He was always around our area, surveying the situation and keeping an eye on things. He was a Curved Bill Thrasher.

One of my goals in coming to this area was to do some fishing and get to use my one man, inflatable pontoon boat. Well, I did get to use it one day.

The drive down to the lake shore

View from the Pontoon boat to where I launched

Unfortunately, I had to cut my fishing short. A severe case of shoulder tendonitis limited my activities and forced me to end my day and week of fishing. What a disappointment. Almost(but not quite) as bad as the upstate NY fishing disappointment.

The tendonitis got so bad that I could not sleep  laying down in bed at night and was forced to move to one of our recliners for the night. Mary got involved and made an appointment for me at Ben Archer Health Center in Truth or Consequences. I saw a CNP on monday and on tuesday afternoon had an appointment with a PA-C for a shot of cortisone to help relieve some of the pain- which was excruciating.

I've since gone back to see the PA-C to discuss options, physical therapy, and a strategy 4-6 weeks down the road if the exercising doesn't help. Going to be interesting. At least I am getting a full nights sleep now and not in a chair. I was impressed with Ben Archer Health Center.

Truth or Consequences is a small town with not much going on- at least that we saw. We did go out to eat a few times and one of the places that we really liked was a place called Latitude 33. Another regular stop for us was Walmart. This Walmart is different and by different, I mean the parking lot. Check out these pics.....

Almost the entire lot is sheltered from the sun and the shelter are solar panels!

Solar Panels

It is really an attention getter for someone new to this area. When I questioned one of the store employees, I was told that this was a new experiment and as far as she knew, this was the only location in the system with this solar setup.

On the 17th we packed up and left Elephant Butte State Park and headed to Elephant Butte RV Park. This journey took us all of about 5 minutes, as it is just a little over a mile down the road from the entrance to the state park.

We were told that they are just getting to their busy season- the place fills up for the summer months with people traveling down from Albuquerque to take advantage of the Lake.

We were going to stay here for a total of 2 weeks, but have cut that short to 1 week. Made arrangements with our next stop - Santa Fe Skies RV Park to come in a week early. So, on monday 4/24 we'll be back on the road again.

Until then, we kept busy doing things. Like birding. A trip down to Cabello Lake State Park and Percha Recreation Area allowed us to do some birding AND some fishing. The birding was definitely better than the fishing.

We followed trail down the river for about 1/3 mile and then returned to base camp.

On tuesday, old friends from Benson and Butterfield RV Park, Jay and Linda showed up. They were just planning on an overnight here before continuing on to hook up with I 40 and a trip east to North Carolina and a visit to Jay's daughter. We enjoyed visiting with them and especially enjoyed the Marguerita's and fried onion rings we had at the Ivory Tusk Tavern at Elephant Butte Inn,

On thursday the 20th we traveled across the street to the Elephant Butte Inn and sat in on a talk given by a local biologist. He did a great slide presentation on birds and other creatures of the area. It lasted about 1.5 hr and was highly informative and very interesting. He even explained a phenomenon that had us puzzled. On our return trip from Cabello Lake we noticed a collection of birds  high up in the air. There was probably 30-50 of them and they almost looked like they were doing acrobatics or a choreographed dance routine, as they were not flying anywhere, but rather seemed to be just staying in the one place. These birds were so high up, that even with binoculars, we couldn't make them out for purposes of identification.  Our talk host told us they were Pelicans and that they are noted for doing this. Interesting. Who would have thought......And, he told us where we could go to see them- North Monticello Point- way up on the northern tip of the lake.

On Saturday, the 22nd, we decided to follow up on our talk host recommendations for seeing those Pelicans and traveled to North Monticello Point. This involved a journey up the west side of the lake for about 15 miles or so and then getting on a dirt road to travel out on to the point.

The Pelicans were in an area in the upper left corner of this pic.

We were not disappointed. We did see a collection of the Pelicans, about 50 of them and actually saw a small group of them take off and hover, doing the same acrobatic routine that we had witnessed a few days before. We also saw a number of ducks and geese. And all told, recorded 10 different species during our short visit.

Long billed Curlew's

We decided to continue along the road to see where it ended. And when it did, were we surprised....

The Rio Grande River flowing in to Elephant Butte Lake

The Rio Grande River flowing in to Elephant Butte Lake

After seeing this, we returned to our original spot for a hike down to the waters edge and hopefully to see some more interesting birds....

Another view of what we were observing- wetlands- ideal bird habitat

It wasn't all birds- as we captured this lizard sunning itself

When we left, we made a stop by Rock Canyon Boat Launch and Marina.

Boats, boats, boats. This area is full of them.

And then Sunday the 23rd rolled around. Time to start thinking about packing up and hitting the road again. Weather change is going to be interesting: from highs in the upper 80's and lows in the 50's at night here in Elephant Butte, to highs in the mid 70's and lows in the 30's at night in Santa Fe. Not to mention the elevation change- going from around 4200' above sea level here in Elephant Butte to over 7000' in Santa Fe. Wind is going to be a big factor come the afternoon, so an early start will be in order to miss the wind extremes in  the afternoon.

We've enjoyed the Elephant Butte/Truth or Consequences area and would like to return again next year. Already know what we want to do while here: take advantage of the local Biologist and the guided lake wildlife tours that he offers on his 22' pontoon boat, and also to get my boat in the water and this time do some fishing! Until then......

Benson, AZ & Rodeo, NM

We left Tucson and the Escapade on 3/24/17 and headed to an old familiar place - Butterfield RV Park in Benson, AZ. This is the place that started our adventure and where we spent our first winter in AZ in our new Airstream trailer. How things have changed for us.

The Dragoon Mtns just to the east

Our primary reason for scheduling a stop here was an eye appointment for Mary down in Sierra Vista, however, while we were here, we had a number of other things that we needed to do. Top of the list was the Horseshoe Cafe.

The Breakfast here is how we grade all other restaurants that we eat in along our travels

You will always see a motorcycle parked out front, as the place is pretty well known to travelers....

An interesting passenger......

Next on the list was Mi Casa Restaurant.

A family owns and operates this restaurant. It seats less than 30 people, but the Mexican food is outstanding. And it is always full. Tells you something about the food.

I mentioned Sierra Vista above. We like traveling to and spending time in Sierra Vista. It is about 40 miles south of Benson and the ride there takes us past Kartchner Caverns, a US Border Patrol checkpoint, and Fort Huachuca. In addition to the eye exam, we did dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and shopping at Fry's(one of our favorite Super Markets), for groceries.

We also made another trip to Chiracahua National Monument. We drove east on I10 to Willcox and then headed south and east to the Monument. One way was about 75 miles. But worth it. The last time we were here 2 years ago, flooding had closed off the road to the upper points in the park. This time they were open and we did the loop....

When we got to the top, we actually experienced SNOW - in the middle of the desert!

The trip to get to Massai Point was to say the east scenic.....

This time we got to see everything. It was awesome.

The day we were supposed to leave Benson, some pretty severe weather blew in, starting with rain, which created this neat rainbow over the park Observatory....and ended with some pretty severe winds. These winds lasted most of the day and forced us to postpone departure by a day- in the interest of safety. Glad we did as they reached gusts of 50+ MPH and caused sections of I10 to be closed because of blowing sand.

Before I end the Benson part, I need to thank Jay & his wife Linda for including me in some Pickleball. It was fun and much appreciated.

When the winds let up and we were off to Rodeo, NM, a trip on RT 80 through Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas, AZ.

Rest Stop in Bisbee. Bisbee has been referred to as Copper Mining Capitol.

After a journey of 123 miles we crossed the border and entered New Mexico and soon found Rusty's RV Ranch, (you need to click on this link to get the whole picture of Rusty's RV Ranch)which would become our home for the next week.

200' Pull throughs. Incredible

A view of the park with the Chiracahua Mtns in the background.

We were now on the other side of the mountains we visited when at Chiracahua National Monument. This whole area is pretty special to us, and is where we began our new hobby of birding. This area is famous for it. As you will see.

One of our first stops on both trips here.

We were in Rodeo, NM, but spent much of our time here in the village of Portal, AZ- About an 8-10 mile drive from our spot at Rusty's. Among the places in Portal that I should mention are: The Portal Store, Cave Creek Canyon, and the Research Center in Cave Creek Canyon.

Had a couple of lunches and a breakfast here while birding in the area

The famous Cave Creek Research Center, where scientists from all over the world come to study the Chiracahua Mtns Sky Islands.

Bob Rodriguez's Place is a spot not to be missed if you are a birder. He has an area that starts with a parking area with a unique sign at the gate....

A friendly welcome

And after a short walk along a path, you are on the other side of his property and in an area devoted to bird watching. Trees are loaded with bird feeders and sliced oranges, the ground has feed scattered on it. And there is fresh water for the birds. We spent many interesting hours sitting there with our binoculars, notepad, and Sibley Birds of the West. Bob even sat with us one day and helped us with our bird ID's.

As you can see, he has a picnic table and chairs scattered around for all of his people"visitors"

Our first day there, Mary and I identified 15 different birds which included: Tohees, Cardinals, Quails, Thrashers, Sparrows, Finches, Orioles, Wrens, Hummingbirds, Kinglets, Pyrrhuloxia, Hawks

This is a Streaked-Back Oriole. Rare for this area, and a life bird for many. We got to see it on 3 different occasions.

It is not very expensive to take advantage of all this. There is a donation box there where you can leave some money to help pay for the bird seed and feed. We GLADLY donated.

I mentioned Portal. One day after a morning spent at Bob Rodriguez Place and a nice lunch at the Portal Store, we left and headed towards Cave Creek Canyon and a trip of about 10-12 miles through the canyon to the village of Paradise - and another famous bird watching place- The George Walker House. Some pics of our trip....

Just after leaving the village, we had to stop for a family of Javelinas crossing the road

After they had crossed the road and we were done with our pics, it was off to the Canyon.

Heading in to Cave Creek Canyon

And then we arrived at The George Walker House. And had to wait to get a parking place. It was really quite busy there. We later discovered that this group was all staying at the Motel associated with the Portal Store. There was at least 10-12 people traveling in 5 vehicles. Fortunately for us, they were all getting ready to leave, so eventually we found our parking place and proceeded out to do what birders do. The last time that we were here, we actually sat on the porch with the owner, Jackie L, and she helped us to identify birds at her feeders. This time she was off on an errand, so we were on our own. Still, we didn't do too bad. Among the birds that we saw were a Bridled Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker, House Finches, Scotts Oriole, Pine Siskins, Hooded Oriole, Magnificent Hummingbird, Broad Tailed Hummingbird

The Birding Yard- to the right is the porch where you can sit and watch

This is really kind of a special place.

And then we were leaving Paradise for the 5.5 mile journey down the mountain(and about 1000' in elevation)

On April 7, it was time to say goodby to Rusty's RV Park and friends Larry & Cathy from Benson/Butterfield RV Park who just happened to show up at Rusty's and camp right next to us. Small World. Speaking of small world, the ones who camped on the other side of us, really broke the mold when you start talking about small world. When they pulled in, I recognized them from Benson and Butterfield RV Park and went over and said hello. During the course of the conversation I asked them where they had been before Benson. They said Tucson. I said so were we. And before that? They replied Yuma. I said so were we. Where abouts in Yuma? They said Fortuna de Oro. I said so were we. And when we first stopped at the Portal Store for lunch, you'll never guess who was there. We were evidently using the same booking agent or scheduler. When they were leaving the park, I asked them where they were headed so that I would know whether to expect to see them. They said Silver City followed by Carlsbad and I said Elephant Butte followed by Santa Fe. The chance meetings are over.

And then we were off to Elephant Butte, New Mexico for a stay of about 3 weeks.