Booking our travels months in advance can be a definite struggle, especially if we have to coordinate with an event or a meet-up with friends. By the time we got confirmation Steve would be working at an RV rally in Tucson, the only RV site available at Rockhound State Park just outside Deming, New Mexico was a boondocking site. But I wanted to go to Deming!!! We would just have to make do!
Normally, boondocking isn’t an issue since we have a generator plus our fridge and furnace run on propane, as well as electricity. With forecast lows in the 40’s, we knew we’d have to run the furnace. Do you think we remembered to check the propane level before heading to New Mexico? Of course not. We were about 17 miles from the campground when Steve realized we needed propane. Shouldn’t be a problem, most Love’s truck stops dispense propane and so do a lot of Tractor Supply companies. The was a Love’s in Las Cruces AND a Tractor Supply! Wouldn’t you know it, that Love’s didn’t and Tractor Supply was out. Yep, I’m still inserting choice words! Several phone calls later, I finally found an RV park in Deming who sold propane IF we could get there by 4:30. Phew! Shouldn’t be a problem. At 4:29 we rolled in and thankfully their clocks weren’t fast. Finally we could head to our site.
We spent our first day in Deming picking up the remaining Jeep parts (yep, it still wasn’t completely back together) and checking the visitor’s center for interesting things to do in the area. We discovered Deming has a Historic Landmark Walking Tour and an app to tell you about the buildings. Our first stop was the Deming Luna County Mimbres Museum, built as an armory in 1917…
Unfortunately, the museum was under repair so we couldn’t go in. The app would give us relative information about each building and often an interesting story as well. Like at the J.A. Mahoney building (no relation)…
Apparently, in 1906, the superintendent of the Deming public school and the principal of the high school, both married men, got into a shootout over the “rights of favors” of a school teacher. The shootout left the principal dead, shot in the middle of the forehead. A grand jury declared the shooting was in self defense and no charges were filed.
While I enjoyed hearing about all of the buildings, I was intrigued by the murals and sculptures…
We thought we would wrap up our first day with a stop at the Luna Rossa Winery…
But, as it turned out, we met some of the locals who convinced us to go with them to the Happy Camper Clubhouse for dinner and “mix tape bingo”.
While we didn’t win at bingo, we definitely won with new friends!
The plan for the next day was for Steve to button up the Jeep and I would go in search of some of the famous thunder eggs, geodes and jasper found in the region. It didn’t take me long to get distracted by the wildflowers…
There are marked trails, but you are free to explore everywhere on the mountain and surrounding hills. One of the things which makes Rockhound SP unique is its “finders keepers” instead of “take only photos” policy. I had picked up quite a few “pretty rocks” when I looked back towards Waldo to see if Steve was done working on the Jeep. That was when I realized how high up I had climbed.
In hindsight, I should have stopped, but then it became about reaching the top, not about “pretty rocks.” When I had climbed as far as I felt I could, I took a picture of the campground…
I had to zoom to 10 on my phone before Waldo was clear…
I texted Steve and asked him to take a picture from Waldo, but, try as he might, he couldn’t quite find me…
Upon my return to Waldo, I found Steve still slaving away. Come to find out, trying to work without a bench or all the proper tools can be a challenge. At long last, he was ready to re-install the front drive shaft, my off-roading plans would be saved! But wait!!!!! The new to us front drive shafts took different bolts than my old driveshaft. Special bolts, the kind you can’t buy in a parts store or hardware store. (I’m running out of choice words and beginning to recycle them now.) Since there was nothing more he could do until said special bolts were ordered, we called it a night…
Coming up…Spring Canyon and the Florida mountains
Just so you know, in New Mexico they pronounce it Floor -ee- da! Thanks for coming along.
The Wandering RVer 