New Mexico Pt 2

05/09-05/15

Cochiti Lake

Cochiti, NM

COE property

05/09-12

Tetilla Peak

Site 31

The road to the recreation area is moderately long (9+ miles) and moderately pot-holed, some of them are DEEP!

SITE 31 is awesome!  It has a huge shade tree, unlike many of the other sites.  Water and electrical hookups are very far apart ... 20 or more feet.

Many of the driveways in NM parks sites are wide enough for two vehicles abreast.  Nice for our tow vehicle.  We have not had to cram the Jeep in anywhere ... so far.

Our A/C knob keeps falling off.

We have little reception in the area.  Family may worry we fell off the edge of the earthen disc.  (Have you read any of Terry Pratchett's Discworld?  I find them enthralling.)

The wind really kicked up as we were settling into our new home, the dust flew and we worried about the slightly cracked windows.  I said, "Maybe we don't want to get the chairs down."  (They ride on the RV ladder, thoroughly elasticated down with bungee cords ... they are SUBMISSIVE chairs!)  Mr. SMT got them down anyway.  He's been pushing for new chairs.  You think this is his way of ensuring their arrival?  If the old chairs get blown away ... how will we watch the stars at night?

We decide to link up our 3G/4G cellular booster.  It did not help at home, but out here?  My little iPhone5S went from no service to 3 bars of 4G on AT&Ts network.  Hm, me thinks it is working ... as long as you stand on one foot, twist your tongue just right, and flutter your fingers in the right order!

The showers at Tetilla Peak are powerful, warm, and well laid out.  However, the rugs covering the drains certainly slow drainage!  It is another push button shower ... maybe 15-20 seconds long.

Tetilla Peak is suffering from the same neglect we noticed at Bottomless Lakes SP (they are run by different entities).  From what we understand, none of the online reservation monies are returned to the parks.  This is tragic.  It costs so much more time and effort to bring a property back to health than ongoing maintenance requires.  Apparently, the parks' to-do list grows, while the monies continue to deplete.  Disgusting.

We drove to Monument State Park ... no dogs allowed on the site, anywhere.  That is not so obvious by their website (the handout from the Visitor's center is clear).  Not even in your car.  So we drove off.  Cochiti Puebla is a tiny town.  It looks lovely.  Do not get off the road, you are in reservation land.  It would be rude to enter sovereign territory without an invitation or knowing the rules and laws of the area through which you are traveling.  I am very pleased to see all the no alcohol signs.  

The dogs see rabbits, the dogs bark (hysterically) at the rabbits, the rabbits hop off unconcerned.

Exercise to Cathe KickMax - I'm not sure I've ever exercised at 5500' (1676 m) elevation before.  It is tiring!  

We are stuck inside all of one day, thanks to the blowing wind.  I forget how much sand blows along with that wind.  This is not an environment I ever spent much time in, and it is such a system shock.  I'm used to the smell of green things in a temperate, humid environment, the desert smells of earth.  I'm familiar with the sound of wind being accompanied by storms, here the camper rocks and my knuckles get dry, but no rain falls.  Foliage is lush and green underfoot for most of the year at home, but desert plants are dry and tend to be tough ... walking on the ground is not necessarily pleasant (though it is a very tactile experience).

Tetilla Peak is the more out of the way campground of the two recreation areas around Cochiti Lake.

Dump station is useful, but has the older style solid tall flex tubing contraption.  🙄

05/12-15

Cochiti Area 

Site 63, Buffalo Grove

Campground is "mostly" more developed than Tetilla Peak, though the Juniper Loop is still fairly original.  

We hung around the Visitor's center, until our campsite was available.  The attendant was not on duty when we moved in, but someone did come by a couple hours later to see if the campsite had been properly flipped.  😄  She then returned while we were out and about and placed a new reserved sign on our site.

Maintenance is better than Tetilla Peak in some ways, but worse in others.  It "looks" nicer than TP, but the showers are in much worse shape.  The handicapped women's shower stall is totally  broken - table ripped out, lower shower head ripped out, taller shower head leaking and positioning broken.  And it is another push button timed shower ... but I think it is about a minute per push.

Cell service is poor, even though there is a tower within the grounds. 

I did kickboxing one morning, which seems to have thoroughly entertained neighbors.  Exercising, beyond walking the grounds or to your tow vehicle, seems to be the extent of most RVers exercise routine.

Mr. SMT and I hiked Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument (the Ks are pronounced with a G sound) on alternating days, he went first.  He was gone from 7:30 until after 11.  I was gone from 7:35 until 10:15.  

Tent Rocks is hard to describe ... it is at times a sandy path (that slows you with every slipping step), a bouldery climb (where your have your hands on the close mountain sidewalls to help you navigate drops and rises), and a steep hike (with your breath audibly whooshing with each inhale).  Oh, and watch the slopes, they are close-by ... and maybe not recommended for anyone super afraid of heights.  The path is moderately well marked, but time and stupid people, have created gaps in the signage and you will spend some time on a steep walkway near the turnaround point of the "Slot Canyon Trail" going "which way is it?"  Look for the wooden steps!  

I texted Mr. SMT at a point and said, "I have lost the trail, am backtracking."  Turns out, that was the end point of the trail, and time to turnaround.  There are NO markings/signage to indicate trail termination.  I guess you are supposed to wander around until you realize there is no other way down except back.  (I should have guessed, where else could you get cell service, except at the peak?)

My walk was a total 3.84 miles (6 km), the elevation change plays havoc with your actual distance (the park service labels it 2.7 miles), with that elevation starting at ~5600' (1.7 km) and rising to ~6400' (1.9 km).

The geological features in the area are stunning.  You do have to crawl under a hanging rock, and visions of disaster play in your head each moment.  I recommend good, grippy shoes; long pants; a huge sunhat; and possibly gloves for tender hands.  I did not wear gloves, and did well during the bouldering portion.  

If you arrive before/at opening time, you have a hour of blissful shade in which to wander.  Once the sun peaks over the structure, it is hot and blinding.  I spent my second hour racing to shade.  And I ran most of the downhill portion.  I got enough sun in that hour to last me a week!  This is probably my hardest adjustment, NO shade.  And I hate the smell and feel of sunscreen.    So, I've been gobbling natural sunscreen like it is going out of style ... strawberries, almonds, citrus, leafy greens, tomatoes (especially sauces), and watermelon!  Man, what a horrible Rx for a Vegetarian, right?  😉

Mr. SMT produces far more melanin than myself, and he is turning into a little brown boy ... with both a sock line AND a flipflop line.  

We met a local volunteer, H, and her dog J, they were fun to chat with regarding the park and other camping spots.  We also met a photographer couple, E and D, they are full-timers that seem to travel back and forth in the desert SW, inc Colorado.  Mr.  SMT was asking about their class A, their 3rd Winnebago, hmmmmm.

We saw two other truck campers in this location!

Dump station is well laid out.  No problems.  We were surprised that there is only one lower dump station for the size of this campground.  I'll bet there can be quite the backup on Sundays.  😆

05/15-05/18

Coal Mine Campground

Grants, NM

Site 13

Boondocking!  High desert, at 7400' elevation.

No hookups, but Coal Mine does have a dumpster and pit toilets.  Our site is a pull-through site (as is 6, 7, 8, and 15) but it is not level front to back nor side to side.

We are the only occupants at the time of arrival, though the forest service has prepared for us by posting a reserved sign on our site.  

Cell service with AT&T is nonexistent.

The temperature drops 3 degrees in the hour after we arrive.  The lows are expected to drop into the 40s.  We will all be snuggling in the evenings!!!

Even with all our cooking, we haven't even made a minor dip in our propane stores.  Not that we have a foolproof way to check (except, no firing of: stove, oven, or fridge = we are out of fuel).  But our appliances are such sippers, this is what simplicity gets you.  The real interesting bit is to see how quickly we run through propane by using it to fuel our fridge.  We have not done this much.

NM Mining Museum

This place is awesome, they mostly cover the Uranium mining that occurred in the area before the price fell out and most of the US mines shut down.  Volunteers that worked in the mine man the desk and are a font of information.

The self-guided tour downstairs is well worth $5/person, it gives a slight touch of the nitty gritty that working in the mines involved.  I was impressed with how well the underground was built.

And, they allow very well behaved dogs!  Please ask at the desk.

We return to the campground following a short trip to the Aviation Museum (only open Saturdays), Propane store, and Taco Village for Mr SMT to get a taste of real New Mexican food (fried with sour cream).

I capture a "horny toad" in photographs, actually a "Horned lizard" (Phrynosoma).  The boy was very interested in this scurrying creature.  "Leave it!" had little appreciable impact.  🙄

We wander the local trails and head back for dinner.  We alternatively read and capture photos until the sun begins to set, the temp dropping quickly.  And, suddenly, the campground becomes VERY busy!  It is practically a party with the number of cars that roll through.  We feel sorry for the person setting up tent in the chill by car headlights.  (I only needed one of those experiences before deciding NEVER again.)

There's a lot of flashlight and motion activity as we fall asleep this second night, I am serenaded by our female canine growling and grumbling under her breath, and the occasional sound of spinning tires (which Mr SMT cannot hear).  Upon awakening, we find out why.  One of our fellow campers, the one setting up his tent in the dark, high centered his small two door passenger car on a parking barrier.  He does not have cell service up here and asked for help via note, which Mr SMT found upon awakening and venturing to the pit toilets.  I guessed that the guy was probably a kid.  (During said pit toilet visit, a cat wandered across his path.  He described it as gray.  I wonder if it was a Bobcat?)

Mr SMT and the boy wandered over to check it out, and decided we could probably winch the car off, but we would likely destroy the thing along the way.  So he and the camper have headed down the mountain to cell phone range.  They left at 6:30 in the morning.  (Upon his stop back by to tell me plans, Mr SMT said the guy is probably not even 20.  I hope this experience does not put him off camping!). Mr SMT returned at 7.  Another camper has cell service and was able to call out to a service.

I told Mr SMT that his assistance is an awesome way to "pass it on" and excellent for his karma.  😃

The tow truck driver arrived and lifted the car over the concrete barricade.  Pretty fascinating to see a car hanging half off a tow bed!  We hope the car did not sustain too much damage.  We talked to the camper, CO, while he waited for service.  He was nice and easy going, and liked the dogs.  All points in his favor.

CO is from Tulsa OK, and has been through several tornadoes in his life.  We share stories of hurricanes versus tornadoes.  I entertained him with stories of beekeeper stings, and ants.  We wish him well.

At 9 am in the morning, he was packed and drove off.  We are ready for our morning to begin.

But first, we had to deal with a check light on the fridge as it was not running propane.  Mr SMT opened the fridge compartment up, checked some things, cleaned out fuzz, opened the propane compartment (we refilled yesterday), closed the valves, opened the valves, etc.  The restart sounds successful, and the temperature has not risen appreciably in the time the fridge was off.

Mr SMT sets up another fan ... we have three that came built in (main compartment, oven/stove exhaust, and bathroom), he bought two more (at least).  He has two military surplus portable solar panels, and wouldn't you know, he just HAPPENED to have his soldering iron in order to attach the 12 volt fan to the appropriate female plug!  🤣  What a coinkidink!

The fan runs all afternoon after we deploy the rear awning to shade the back of the camper.  Temperatures rise to 85 degrees inside the camper, but the fans and breeze keep the camper comfortable.

We ALSO have a USB fan, it plugs in next to the sink and sounds like a small airplane.

I bake rice mochi in the oven ... since Mr SMT bought it at the Asian store over a year ago and NEVER touches the stuff.  Honestly, he thinks everything in plastic will last a lifetime.

We have a neighbor move in for our last night.  He is heralded by the dogs.  They should settle soon.  Nothing like attempting to find peace and quiet and your jerky neighbors won't keep their dogs under control!

I do a full body band routine.

Upon awakening and heading down the mountain, cell phone service kicks back on and the Forest Service has left me a message - the campground is closed, your reservation has been cancelled, and your money refunded.  Huh?  There were no signs on the campground when we left.

The Forest Service is closing many campgrounds because fires are not allowed.  Not a problem for us, we are self contained.  Our fires happen in our living space, just a couple feet from our bed!