Searcher: Jan 27th - On The Line

Seldom are we given such a gift as we were in our first Boondocking spot - the sunset to top all sunsets. I wanted to include 2 pictures but.....I couldn't stop! I think you will understand.

Preview of what was to come

Warming up

Getting better and better

Can it get any better?

Yes it can!

Earth Mother & Father Sky......Thank you

After leaving Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus we headed north to Deming, NM to pick up supplies and fill up with gas, knowing that we were going to FINALLY start to do one of my favorite things! - Dry camp or as RV'ers call it - Boondocking! Not sure why I love it so much. Maybe, it is coming from a small town, being able to walk out my back door and head into the woods and be in Nature that makes me appreciate all the wide open spaces here in the Southwest. Instead of feeling alone in all this space, I feel one with the earth; the ancient mountains and all the cacti and hardy trees that fight so hard to live here.
Our first night of boondocking was just south of Lordsburg, NM on BLM land (Bureau of Land Management land). The public is welcome to camp on this land. We are just asked to close any gates that we may have to open to go through. Often this land is open range grazing for cattle. We slipped off I-10 and immediately saw a promising piece of land. We followed the little dirt one track back about one- eighth of a mile and came to a rest near a big rock- strewn hill. There was also a dry river bed known out here as a "wash". One of the important things one must know about boondocking is to never ever park your camper or put your tent in a wash. Flash floods are devastating and are well....flash fast! I have never seen one but I have heard the local people talk about them and the look on their faces when talking speaks loud and clear. However, a wash has opportunities for rock hunting and after setting up camp I immediately headed out with walking stick and rucksack to check it out. We were treated to a sunset that was beyond words and we stayed out way after dark watching every moment.
We headed out the next morning to find a little "quieter" place. It was just about perfect except it was so near to I-10 that we heard the soft roar of the cross country truckers all night long. We found another spot on State Trust Land on the border of Arizona and New Mexico. We didn't have a permit to camp so we kept our fingers crossed that we wouldn't be booted out. No booting took place.

We are now at an RV Park named Rusty's RV Ranch where we stayed last year. Rusty, (the owner's) mom and dad help out with the care of the park and her dad is a stitch! He is a big "John Wayne" sized man with a long white ponytail, cowboy boots, and a holstered long barreled, 6 shooter on his side. He met us again this year with arms opened wide for his welcome hug!

We had an interesting bike ride after setting up camp today. The border patrol was setting up a camp of their own about 2 miles down the road. A portable inspection station was being hastily assembled as we rode by. On our way back we had to stop and be "inspected". We didn't warrant the dog- sniff inspection that each vehicle is subjected to, just the officers to check us out and we were sent on our way. Most of the inspection stations are permanent buildings with lots of man power and dogs. This one had 1 dog and about 7 officers. This is a main corridor for people coming from Mexico, especially drug runners.