Our Travels for 2018

There are a lot of entries you will need to look at. The last update was about a month ago.



We have finally left Deming and moved on to Hueco Tanks State Park NE of El Paso, TX. Our new philosophy is to stay at as many state parks along(more or less) our route as possible. We have also decided to stay 2 nights so we have an entire day to visit the park.

Driving to Hueco Tanks was very interesting. Outside of El Paso we saw gigantic sand dunes which surprised us since they seemed random and out of place. As we drove across the high desert we could see mountains in the distance but also a group of rock outcroppings. These rocks is where Hueco Tanks is located. 

This park has very strict rules as it is a premier historical site and was heavily vandalized in the 90s. We have never encountered a park with these type of rules before. We had a mandatory 15 minute introduction movie before we could even get to our campsite. Once that was completed and we finished the sign in process we had to go through a closed gate to get to the campground. The park is locked up at 7 PM each night though we were given an access code. There a re 2 campground hosts, one for each loop. Usually we would expect maybe one for this small of a campground.

Hueco Tanks has had people going though for 10,000 years. The Tanks are actually eroded rocks that hold rainwater most of  the year so the Tanks were a popular stop. There are many pictographs around the park showing the history of the passing peoples. Because of the water the park was also part of the Butterfield Overland Mail system from St. Louis to San Francisco. Most of the park is only accessible with an authorized guide. We will do that tomorrow.

This evening we took a walk around the campground, cottontail rabbits abound. While walking we saw on the cliffs above us at least a dozen rams, at least that is what we think they were. We will check with the ranger tomorrow.

We asked the ranger this morning and it is a Babary Sheep. Has great curved horns.

Our campsite beneath the cliffs

The "ram" sighting

Part of the cottontail population