Leaving Van Horn, TX, it was finally time to return to Rockhound State Park in New Mexico.  We had planned on stopping there on our way east, but hadn't had the time.  We got up reasonably early in the morning (for us ;-) and since the trailer was left hitched overnight, figured we could get out at a good time, before the 11am checkout time.  After Kelly fixed yet another fine breakfast, we were eating outside at the picnic bench when her Omnipod (insulin pump) started acting up and died shortly afterward.  (This has been happening a lot early on the last of its 3 day lifespan, so we were almost expecting it.)  Richard went to the office to tell them we would be another 15-30 minutes while Kelly went to replace the pump.  When Richard got to the office, he found a note saying it was closed on June 1 and would reopen on June 2.  Well, I guess that explains why the camp WiFi still hadn't been fixed!  Oh well, no big deal then.  We'll leave when we can!

We actually got on the road just before 11:30.

We made a stop in El Paso for (1) more kitty food, (2) more tonic water, gin, and limes (most important!), (3) lactose-free creamer, and (4) chisels and a small sledge hammer for Kelly's rockhounding.  (While at the grocery store, Kelly found glutie-free waffles and picked up some blueberries.  Guess what's for breakfast at Rockhound Park!)  With all of those stops, you would think we would arrive at the park rather late, but this last leg of the trip there was actually a little short, so it was the perfect time to run some extra errands.

As we got close to the park, we saw what looked like small tornados or large dust devils far off to the north.  As we got closer, we encountered some rain and lots of wind!  Driving into the park, the wind was really high and we could see what looked like a possible dust storm headed our way.  We were following signs to our site when the camp host came driving along the road in the opposite direction and motioned for us to stop.  We told him our name and site reservation and after confirming it, he drove his golf cart ahead, leading us to the site.  All of the sites in this area of the park are on a hill, so we have a great view of the countryside.

We backed into the site, hooked up water & electricity, and put down the 3 stabilizer jacks we have.  Really, it wasn't enough.  The wind was rather strong and the trailer would rock every time a big gust came by.  Kelly suddenly had an idea, "There are lots of rocks around!  Why not put a stack where the last jack would be!"  "Sounds great!", replied Richard, and we both got busy looking for appropriate rocks.  Actually, we had some extra leveling pads, so we used them, then jacked up the trailer a little, stuffed a good solid rock under the trailer on top, then lowered the trailer down again.

It worked amazingly well!  The winds weren't blowing the trailer around anymore!  Having our sushi supper (which we picked up at one of the grocery stores earlier in the day), we went on our customary walk while Farid took a nap.

The campground has a 1 mile trail going up into the neighboring hills and then circling back to the campground.  It started right across the road from our site!  From higher in the hills, we could see the storm which had passed by.

While we were on the final part of our walk, we saw an amazing sunset and since we were up in the hills still, we had a great view!

Returning from the walk, we watched the news (gotta keep up with what's happening in the world, you know) and went to bed.  Around 4am, the wind picked up again and since we had the windows open, we had a wind storm blowing through the trailer, however the trailer stood firm!  The winds only lasted about 30 minutes and then everything once again settled down to absolute quiet.  (This is by far the most quiet campground where we've camped.  The sites are quite far apart and when we went to bed, there wasn't a sound anywhere!)

Day Two at Rockhound Park:

We got up, had breakfast outside at the picnic table (even though it was already rather warm, but not too bad if you stayed in the shade - fortunately, the picnic table had a roof), and decided to visit the neighboring park (Spring Canyon Park), which is associated with Rockhound Park and basically just another part of what acts as the same park.

On the way, we visited the Rockhound State Park Visitors Center, took a selfie to send to RIchard's Dad,

and then walked through the small botanical garden there while we waited for the center to re-open (Open hours stopped at noon and restarted at 1pm - we arrived at 12:30.  Oh well, no biggie, there were things outside to do.)  They also had a small labyrinth:

so, of course, Kelly & Richard each had to walk it in and back out again!  (Labyrinths are great.  You have to do labyrinths!)

By that time, the employees had arrived and the doors were opened.  We spent a while inside, reading the history of the area, buying souvenirs (one should support state and federal parks), and talking with the nice lady about the rocks of the area.

We then proceeded to Spring Canyon Park.  The road into the park was rather exciting.

(pic)

Driving to the end of the road, we found "Lovers Leap Trail", but decided it was much too great of a climb in the rather extreme heat of mid-afternoon.  Going back out a little way, we found "Spring Canyon Trail".  The "All Trails" App said it was "easy".  It wasn't.  The trail started going up an asphalt road which had been abandoned and was in bad shape (they had a barrier stopping cars from coming up the road).  Interestingly, there were many picnic tables quite a ways up the road, making it look as though they had originally intended this to be a normal road in the park, but for some reason had decided to abandon the idea.

After a while, we found the beginning of the actual "Spring Canyon Trail".  The sign said the spring was 0.42 miles up the trail, but we pretty much figured there wasn't any actual spring at this time of the year.  The hike up the canyon, through loose rock, avoiding cacti, etc., wasn't by any means "Easy".  It wasn't "difficult" either.  Maybe "Moderate" would have been better.  Of course, the hot sun didn't help either and there was no wind or shade.  None-the-less, we persevered and made it to the end of the trail.

(We look a bit tired)

And here's our view:

The views of the canyon coming back down the trail were actually really nice!

Returning to the trailer, we had some refreshments and then headed out to the local Rockhound Park place where the nice lady at the visitors center had mentioned to look for rocks.

(Kelly doing what she loves!)

This rock was really nice, but far too big!

Being in the best place to watch the sunset, we stayed until then and took some more pictures.  They have the best sunsets here!

As the sun descended below the clouds, the hills behind us were colored with a wonderful golden glow which you only get during "The Golden hour"

The dust, which seems to always be in the air around here, gives beautiful cloud coloration.

On the way back "home" we almost ran over what appeared at first to be a twig in the road, but Kelly correctly identified it as a rattle snake!  We immediately stopped and took pictures!

Finally, returning "home", we said "Hello" to the Kitty, gave him some of the new kitty food (which we purchased the day before and which wasn't exactly what he would normally have, but was close).  He absolutely enjoyed it and couldn't stop licking the plate!  I think it was a Win!

Thus ends day two at Rockhound State Park.  We have one more day here before we head out to other adventures!

(Come back to this same page tomorrow for the continuing saga!)

Good night everyone!