2025-9-27 Yoakum County Park TX

So the big question yesterday was "where to next"? That's one of the perks about not being locked into reservations. We decided against Ruidoso due to predicted rain although we hated missing the chance to see Brenda. Our decision was to head back to Texas but we were not in a hurry. 

Texas has a number of free or low cost campgrounds that are often sponsored by towns hoping you will stop and spend some money there seeing the sites, eating at a restaurant, or buying some groceries. We had a number of options the direction we wanted to go including the Ray and Donna West RV Park in Muleshow TX where we stayed on our way to New Mexico. Or the Coleman RV Park in Brownfield TX. 

But we opted for the Yoakum County Park that our friend Maritha told us about last year. After arriving at the park entrance, you will find 8 RV hookups locate along the left side of the road. Each post has two separate RV hookup boxes on it. If you arrive first, it's just polite to pull up to the very last pole so that others can easily come in behind you. Elaine pulled in ahead of me as far as she could go and still reach the outlet box. And then I pulled up immediately behind her. That put our RVs in the optimum position for hookup since she tows her trailer and I tow a car behind me. There are both 50 and 30 Amp plugs in each box. There are also water hookups.....the kind most of us don't love as they are in the ground. Luckily, I had plenty of water in my tank.

We stayed overnight here last year so we knew what a lovely little park it was. Lots of trees and grass

There is a pond with a fountain and lots of ducks and geese. 

If you continue up the road past the last RV hookup pole, there is a golf course. It is pretty popular but certainly didn't detract from our stay. That fence marks the end of the course closest to the pond. We arrived on Friday and decided to stay two nights. You are allowed three nights.

There is also a community building between the 2d and 3d RV poles. We were sitting out on the backside of our RVs enjoying the shade and beautiful weather when we noticed a small group of people setting up behind the community building towards the pond. They carried out chairs and set them up and then set up two arches. A gentleman walked up towards us to chat. Turns out that he was a minister and there was going to be a wedding. It was a beautiful setting and he had conducted his daughter's wedding there the year before. This photo is a closeup shot as we were quite a distance away. The geese can get a bit excited and noisy so I hoped they weren't planning on recording the ceremony, lol. It was a lovely small wedding. After it was over, a woman came over to chat with us. Turns out she was the mother of the bride and she wanted to share some of the cake with us. They had Italian Creme Cake and Orange Dreamsicle Cake. It was delicious. When she came back with the cake, she was followed by her son and his fiancé from Australia. The son was in the Marines and was going to retire in two years so he was probably mid 30s and their plan was to RV around the country for a few years after he retired so they had lots of questions. He currently has a truck camper but they plan to get a motorhome when he retires. Anyway, it was a most interesting afternoon. The wedding was all packed up by dinner time.

Sunday about noon, we set off for Hords Creek COE near Coleman TX. No need to get on the road early as you cannot check in until 3pm.

 

2025-9-25 Valley of Fires Recreation Area N.M.

Our original plan was to head north to Chama to camp and do the loop around Pagosa Springs and Durango in a daytrip. That would involve crossing the Continental Divide several times and Elaine just doesn't do real well in higher altitudes. So......... We left the Santa Fe and the Rodeo de Santa Fe where we camped and headed south to Valley of Fires Recreation Area near Carrizozo N.M. That's one of the really nice parts of not making advance reservations, it's so easy to just change your mind about "where to next"

 Valley of Fires is a BLM recreational area in New Mexico (not to be confused with the Valley of Fires State Park in Nevada). I stayed there with my friends Birdie and Mary Jane on our way to Arizona quite some time ago and checked it out again on a day trip from Ruidoso. Last time we just paid the camphost. This time was more confusing. Now you can make reservations but some are first come-first served. Elaine's site #6 was first come-first served. My site #7 had to be reserved the first night but was first come-first served the second night. Then to add further confusion, they have a new system called Scan/Pay. Elaine couldn't get that to work so she went online and booked which of course charged her a booking fee. At least that was off set by the America the Beautiful Senior pass which gave her half off. I did manage to figure out the Scan/Pay including the half off.

Next challenge was trying to get level. Be prepared for that. Elaine has a trailer so front to back leveling is no big issue but side to side was a real challenge which took both of us. The driver's side was considerably lower so we had to keep adding the lego blocks but we got it. I would have preferred to park going the other direction but I have jacks and I won't lift the back end off the ground. Front is no bigger. After several moves forward and back as well as closer and further front the edge. I got it leveled okay. I got my water connected and running. Elaine's water just gushed out of a valve on the bottom rather than coming out the spigot. We tried everything. Finally, we tracked down the camphost who told us that both 5 and 6 valves were broken. Would have been nice to have a sign posted so we could have put her in a different site. Whoo! Time to take a break. She doesn't travel with water in her tank as trailer tanks are notorious for not being strongly attached. She had some bottles of water and used the shower house so we crossed that hurdle too.

This is not the best place to camp when it's hot because it gets very hot but the weather was great while we were there. The views are very unique.

The view over the volcanic rock is very unique.

Restrooms/showers across the road. There is also a Visitor Center open during the day.

Elaine does not like spiders so wasn't thrilled with this nice big sign.

This is the real reason people come here.......the trail across the volcano. Elaine said it was too hot but I said it won't be too hot tomorrow morning!

And so, the next morning we set out to do the Malpais Nature Trail.

The scenery is just so unique here. There was not a huge volcano erupting and shooting lava into the air. This was a much slower process of lava oozing up along a huge length of land.

It's amazing how the vegetation managed to either survive or ....

grow on the volcanic rock after it cooled.

This was a crack that formed. I should have mentioned that there is a trail of either concrete sidewalk or raised boards that you must stay on. Volcanic rock is very sharp.

There were several benches along the way and the trail is well worth your time for this very unique land perspective.

I could see my RV from along one of the pathways.

Looking down from above to a covered bench area. 

In spite of the challenges of our arrival, we had a very enjoyable relaxing time here. We also walked around the whole campground the next morning. It's a very unique place. Be sure you check out the tent areas at the back of the campground if you have this place on your bucket list.

Okay, so the next decision was "where next"? We were definitely thinking about Ruidoso which was about a hour and a half away. We have a good friend there camphosting at the place we stayed last year. We even called about an RV park we knew would have room. And then we checked the weather....rain in Ruidoso. Much as we hated to miss a chance to see Brenda, we decided to pass on Ruidoso this time.

Another issue came up while we were here. My slide went out fine but when I happened to walk around that way later on, I discovered that the back lower track was missing a bunch of screws and had moved a bit. Yikes! I carefully brought it back in and decided then and there that it was not going back out until I got it repaired. Fortunately, my RV is completely usable with the slide in. Okay, you can't turn the recliners into a bed but I very rarely ever need to do that. 

So where did we go next??? Stay tuned for the next post.

2025-9-24 Rio Grande Gorge Campground

 On our way back to Santa Fe, we stopped at the BLM campgrounds that were full on our first drive up to Taos. They are located in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area which is part of the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument.

This lovely mural was right after the entrance to this area on highway 570 right off highway 68 abut 10 miles from Taos.

The first campground was Pilar Campground. It is located right against the canyon wall and has a small number of RV sites with 30 amp electric and water and tent sites with water. Sites are small. $15 for RV sites and $7 for tent sites. No reservations.

Next up was Rio Bravo campground which was our favorite. It is flatter and located right along the river with lots of shade trees. Info on the sites is the same as above. Very nice bathroom with showers

Each tent site had a covered picnic area and a pull in area for your vehicle as well as a tent pad.

There were several pull-through RV sites.

Both of these campgrounds had camp hosts but you actually put your site payment in an iron ranger. That is one reason I carry checks and don't leave cash.

Arroyo Hondo Campground and Juniper Campground were just down the road right on the river and scenic. RVs would fit but no electric at either but you really can't beat $7 for a site. Oh wait, you can! If you have the America the Beautiful Senior or Access (disability) pass, sites at all of the these are half price. No reservations at any of these so weekends are iffy in getting a spot but such a beautiful tranquil area to camp in. We had a picnic there just to get the feel.

2025-9-23 Taos Pueblo

 This morning we were off to the Taos Pueblo. We drove about 2 miles to the pueblo entrance and were able to park pretty close to the entrance.

The Taos Pueblo people are a Tiwa-speaking Native American tribe of Puebloan people who have lived in the Taos Valley, New Mexico, for over 1,000 years, residing in a community of multi-storied adobe buildings that serve as both a sacred home and a cultural center. These indigenous people practice nature-based traditions and maintain their sovereign nation status, living in a living, continuously inhabited community that is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a National Historic Landmark.  

There is a charge to visit the Pueblo: Adult $25 - $ Free 

During some festivals/celebrations entrance may be free but no pictures are allowed during those times.

The church is right near the entrance to the Pueblo. This is where the guides will meet you. You are not required to go with a guide but they provide a lot of insight for your visit as long as the group doesn't get so large that you can't hear them. 

Entrances to upper stories are from the outside.

The original church was built in 1619, destroyed during the Spanish revolt of 1680, rebuilt, and then destroyed by the U.S. Army during the War with Mexico in 1847. It is surrounded by a graveyard.

The Pueblo is made entirely of adobe which is earth mixed with water and straw and then either poured into forms or sundried into bricks. 

This is a horno or oven where baking and cooking is done outside.

Tribal members have tables set up to sell various goods or some have opened their home to sell goods inside.

This might have been the original condominium. There are about 40 families that actually live in the Pueblo full time while others occupy their Pueblo homes during ceremonies. Originally all entrances were through the roofs but that changed over the years. The walls are very thick which makes for good insulation. The roofs are even thicker. This is actually many homes with their own separate entrances. There is no electricity, plumbing, or running water in any of the homes. Many families live in homes surrounding the Pueblo but they also do not have plumbing.

This was our guide. She was very knowledgeable and willing to answer most questions. Guides work for donations only. This tribal woman has a college degree and likes to travel so donations must pay well. She can trace her family back to the original families. Since the Pueblo families are all related over time, she said she doesn't date other Pueblo members.

Those are not carports you see in front of the homes. They are structures used for drying animal skins.

These are community hornos that families share. Our guide said that you will often see bread or other things being baked when you visit but we were not that lucky.

This is an example of where someone was selling goods inside their home. That is the only time you can go inside. I noticed that many homes that were not occupied full time had padlocks on their doors.

These visitors were coming out of a shop in a home.

Our guide was explaining that this is the source of water for the whole community. It is considered very pure and safe to drink because it comes from the mountains and is within tribal land all the way. We were asked to please stay away from it. There were 3 narrow walking bridges we could use to get to the other side of the Pueblo.

The adobe is of course all the same but families can use whatever color they want for their doors...red and blue were the most popular. Inside walls are coated with white earth to make them lighter.

These are the bridges.

This horno has firewood already in it for the next baking session. You can see the straw in the adobe.

Maintaining the adobe is an ongoing process due to weather. One homeowner came over and sat with us for a few minutes away from her sale table. She lives in the Pueblo full time and told us she was waiting for her son to come and put another coat of adobe on her home. She was wishing he would hurry up as the rains would be coming before long.

The sun was pretty hot by the time we finished our tour.

As we worked our way back around to the church after the tour, we could see that some of the tribal members were hard at work applying a new coat of adobe. They got water from the stream in clean buckets and mixed the adobe in the wheel barrows.

We enjoyed our visit and learned a lot about the Pueblo and how the tribal members live. Some children go to a tribal school right outside the Pueblo while others attend school in Taos where some tribal members also work. 

The Pueblo is governed by a tribal governor and war chief, who are appointed yearly by the Tribal Council of about 50 male tribal elders, along with their staffs. The tribal governor is concerned with civil and business issues within the village and relations with the non-Indian world. The war chief deals with the protection of the mountains and Indian lands outside the Pueblo walls. The tribal land consists of 99,000 acres with the village at 7200 feet elevation.

The Taos Pueblo considers itself a sovereign nation within the United States with preserving their ancient traditions in the face of advancement of "modernization" as their prime concern.