Billy The Kid National Scenic Byway, New Mexico

 Saturday 20th May 2023

We packed up and headed west then south to our next stop in New Mexico. More to follow on our stay in another post but as this was such a great drive I am giving it it's own post.

We drove along highway 380 which has a section called the Billy The Kid National Scenic Byway and oh my was it scenic. We moved from miles of flat desert horizons to green mountains and valleys. I wish we had been able to stop and explore along here and it would be a route we would love to return to in the future. My pictures do not capture the beauty and history of this area. 

https://nsbfoundation.com/nb/billy-the-kid-national-scenic-byway/

Smokey Bear Historical Park was established in 1976 to honor Capitan’s favorite son, Smokey Bear. Nearly three decades earlier, Smokey was an orphaned little bear cub with burned paws, found in the aftermath of the Capitan Gap wildfire. Smokey Bear rose to fame as an icon for forest fire prevention and he lived in Washington, D.C.’s National Zoo for 26 years. When he passed away, the famous black bear was laid to rest in his hometown. His burial site is a special place within the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

As we crested a big hill the terrain turned to black. We thought it was the scene of old wild fires but it was actually lava flow.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/valley-of-fires

Valley of Fires recreation area is located immediately adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow. Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin, filling the basin with molten rock. The resulting lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 125 square miles. The lava flow is considered to be one of the youngest lava flows in the continental United States.

From a distance, Valley of Fires appears as barren rock but when you walk through the nature trail there are many varieties of flowers, cactus, trees and bushes typical of the Chihuahuan desert. Animals include bats, roadrunners, quail, cottontails, mule deer, barberry sheep, and lizards. It's also a virtual birdwatcher's paradise with great horned owls, burrowing owls, turkey vultures, hawks, gnat catchers, cactus wrens, sparrows and golden eagles.

The last time we were in a lava field was in Lanzarote when the kids were very young

Lanzarote October 2000. Nope, we did not enjoy the camel ride!.

                                             

Back to the flat

Roswell, New Mexico

 Saturday 13th May 2023

We visited Roswell.

 I was looking forward to looking for aliens and walking around a new town but found the whole area to be quite disappointing. There was a nice visitors center where we picked up leaflets and a town map. The old part of town is relying on visitors coming to see aliens but it isn't moving forward to give them more of an experience and to keep them in the area spending money. Instead they will be driving a few miles along the road to the out of town areas where there was an alien themed McDonalds and some of the usual big box stores - though the stores were on a smaller scale than bigger towns.

We visited the International UFO Museum but found it was quite an old and sad place with a few museum style boards telling you the history of Roswell UFO sighting. There was nothing I could not have read online. We walked around for about fifteen minutes and left. Glad it did not cost more than  $7 each as it would not have been worth it. 

The museum is set on the Main Street so we had a walk along to look at the stores but there was not really much to see. We had more fun at the Ace Hardware store and a Farmers Market store nearby!

This and the below pictures were the only displays

Apart from a trip to Roswell to do laundry and a run to Walmart for groceries we just hung at the campsite for two weeks.

Cowboys like their pants pressed!

Alien themed laundry of course.

The road to Roswell

Morgan was not enjoying going for walks or even just a quick pee near the rv as the ground was covered in barbs and thorns that were hurting her paws.  A few times they were so long and sharp they even pierced our feet through our chunky Crocs.

"Goat heads" are the ruthless seed of puncturevine, a state listed noxious weed. The seed looks like a goat's head with the spikes representing the horns.

Saw some beautiful damselflies while I was sitting by the lake

Bottomless Lakes New Mexico

 May 6 2023

Time to leave Texas and drive to New Mexico!

The 280 mile drive was quiet, on a mostly single or some parts two lane highway that had us traveling through miles and miles of barren landscape as far as the eye could see. This day marked our six month anniversary of being on the road so it seemed apt when we passed this road sign -

Didn't get a New Mexico State sign picture. We drove through a town (though I use that term very loosely, as it was just a few shacks) then there was a small old rusty sign that as we passed it John said "think that was the border sign."

We did have some excitement on the way. We passed a sign for sand dunes. I knew there were famous sand dunes at White Sands National Park but we wouldn't get there this trip so when I saw the road sign for other dunes I talked John into turning off the road and seeing what they were. Now you are thinking Ros this isn't that big a deal, you turned off a road. It is when you are towing your 40 ft home behind you and you do not know what the road will be like and whether you be able to turn around?

The road quickly turned to loose gravel and sand and I could feel the worry starting to build from John but we had no option but to keep going. After a few minutes the track opened into a big area with some guys hanging around some beach buggies next to a big sand dune, like Lawrence of Arabia sand dune! The guys gave us a funny look pulling up with an rv but after we walked up the dune to take a picture they very nicely helped us get backed up and onto the track again. I think that's maybe the end of unscheduled stops, I want to stay married! I will research what is on our route in more detail and check if there is somewhere we can park.

We  drove along vast areas with the road stretching ahead for miles. 

We arrived at Bottomless Lakes State Park where we stayed for two weeks. The lakes are a chain of eight lakes that are actually sinkholes that range from 17 to 90 feet deep. They were formed when circulating water dissolved salt and gypsum deposits to form subterranean caverns, Eventually the roofs of the caverns collapsed from their own weight. Sinkholes resulted and soon filled with water and formed the lakes.

https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/spd/find-a-park/bottomless-lakes-state-park

Lea Lake was a 15 acre lake with a campsite and a great day use area and beach with a safe swimming area for families. We saw lots of people parking their trucks and unloading numerous coolers, bags and full size BBQ grills! 

Other picnic areas

Beach

The sites had a concrete pad with a picnic table and a big metal roof that provided great shade

I have been watching many people on social media plunging into rivers, lakes and oceans and I wanted to try it but up to then it had been far too cold for this big softy but I decided this stop I would try. I am not the strongest of swimmers and wanted to feel comfortable so we went to Walmart and bought a life jacket. 

Each day I did a beginner workout fitness session in the rv then donned my swimming suit and life jacket and dunked in the freezing lake. It was so much fun! Nope John didn't go in once.

We saw some beautiful sunsets, clouds and storms. 

A storm we saw as we left Roswell, looked other-worldly

This park was in a beautiful area but they could do more with it. The bathrooms had just been updated so looks like they are trying. There was a very different type of traveler staying there. A lot of tent campers, old rvs and quite a few people living in cars. that would stop a night or two. Most people didn't stay long - it seemed to be a convenient and cheap place to spend a night or two to break the journey to the West coast. Despite the different feel the park was overall quiet, the bathrooms clean and the hosts kept a good watch.

We went for a hike to see the other lakes. It was meant to be an early Sunday morning two mile walk before breakfast but it turned into a fun 4.5 miles. The lakes are amazing, from the track you would see some rocks but as you walked up to them you saw it was the side of the "bowl" that held the lake. We saw some beautiful flowers on the Prickly Pear cactus and a Bull Snake.

The approach to one of the lakes

Amazing!

One half salt one half fresh water.

I thought the rocks looked like monster faces in a horror movie

Me, near the top of the cliff

Think these are called Sivinskis Scorpionweed