October 27, 2014: Oliver
Lee Memorial State Park, NM.
Sunrise at Brantley Lake State Park.
Today we are leaving the gnats, spiders, that ever-increasing population of
rabbits, and this absolutely gorgeous sunrise behind. We’re on our way over the Sacramento
Mountains to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.
Back
on the road north to Artesia, we turn west onto US82. As we enter Lincoln National Forest the
elevation begins to increase more rapidly.
We drive along the Rio Penasco and through James Canyon. We reach our highest elevation at Cloudcroft
(elevation 8,650 feet) where we begin our descent toward Alamogordo.
Steep Grade Next 9 Miles.
Runaway Truck Ramp – CLOSED! Oh,
great!!! I hope we don’t need that.
The speed limit for trucks and RVs is 35 MPH down this grade. As we creep down the west side of the Sacramento Mountains in 2nd
gear we take a little break – and a few pictures – at a turnout.
We skirt around Alamogorado and continue south 10 miles or so to the turn off
for Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. It
sits at the base of the Sacramento Mountains at the mouth of Dog Canyon. We settle in for a few days stay. After several hours at camp we’re both
thinking the same thing, but don’t want to speak the words out loud for fear of
jinxing our oh-so-good luck, “No bugs.”
The sun retreats behind the mountains . . . and still no bugs. I
love this place!
October 28, 2014: Dog Canyon riparian hike.
We take a hike from the visitor center dropping down into the mouth of Dog
Canyon where it fans out into the valley.
Cottonwoods are still holding onto their fall color.
Waterbugs create shadows and ripples in the isolated pools of water.
TV or window? Back at camp as
I sit working on the blog, I glance up through the window above the
driver and passenger seats to this beautiful view.
October 29, 2014: Snow in
southern New Mexico? In October?
What’s your guess? Snow or sand?
We
drive the 25 or 30 miles to White Sands National Monument. The Tularosa Basin
surrounded by mountain ranges is the home of the largest gypsum dune field in
the world. The dunes are always advancing.
The easterly dunes, anchored in place by the few species of plants that have
adapted to the environment, move only a few inches each year.
Dunes on the western side of the field can advance over 30 feet per year.
A young couple from Denver – school teachers on fall break – has fun dune sledding.
Shoes and the Jeep full of
white sand we journey back to O. Lee State Park.
As we watch the sun slowly slip behind the San Andres Mountains . . .
. . . behind us pink and lavender hues light up the Sacramento Mountains.
October 30, 2014: Snakes! But, no bugs!
We’re in snake country. Mainly,
Rattlesnake country. This is a Bullsnake, about 3-1/2 feet long
– harmless, but very feisty. We find him
outside the door to the visitor center.
The ranger talks about how Bullsnakes put on a good show. They shake the tips of their tails like a
Rattler. They puff up their bodies with
air and make quite a hissing sound when they release it. The ranger gives his tail a little tug to get
a reaction.
The snake slithers only a couple of feet away, turns toward us, coils and
hisses, holding his position.
Several
people we have talked to here at O. Lee have seen Rattlesnakes, mostly during evening
walks around the campground. Folks are
rightly concerned about Rattlesnake bites, but interestingly, only 1 in 1,000
bites are fatal. Good odds unless you
happen to be #1,000!
October 31, 2014: A quiet
Halloween at O. Lee.
October comes to a quiet end as the sun once again bids us farewell at the end of the day. Until next time – be safe.
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