New Mexico Camping trip
We went to Elephant Butte, New Mexico and camped for a few days. Elephant Butte is in the southwest part of New Mexico near the town of TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, NM. Very cool name for a town, but very small and desolate. A simple grocery store and a few of the chain fast food stores.
The state park was formed by a dam built in the 1940's. It is now a huge boating and swimming destination. There were great little shelters that were vital for shade in the midday.
Freida, Chris, and I spent time swimming, napping, and cooking over a fire. We also had our new dog, Nello with us. He is a Basenji and Chihuahua mix and only weighs about 15lbs. He had an awesome time eating scraps, chasing waves, and riding in the SUV. When we first brought him down by the water, he immediately went into attack mode. Wherever there was a wave breaking, he would meet it with barks and bites. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.
His approach to swimming was not aggressive. He was absolutely terrified to be put in the water. We put him in and he frantically swam back to shore. The water was warm but when he got out, he was shivering and digging in the hot sand.
We saw a few cool animals. Their were fish and ducks in the water. Near our campsite we saw a few roadrunners and one strange looking rodent. It was about the size of a gerbil. One night we were sitting around the camp fire relaxing when Nello started barking non-stop(very unusual for him b/c he is a quiet dog) at the surrounding darkness. Chris said he had seen a bunch of mule deer run near our campsite. Apparently Nello was more alert than us. The next night he started barking at the darkness again. No dear this time. We used the flashlights and spotted the intruder. The small rodent was approaching our shelter. Everytime we spotted him with the lights or threw something at him, he would dart into the bushes. Fortunately he did not enter our shelter(as far as I know) and Nello was calm throughout the night.
Overall, the trip was very relaxing. The cooking, napping, and swimming is perfect antidote to the daily noise and hustle of Denver. Sleeping at night in the fresh air with crickets chirping is very peaceful.
The drive back to Denver takes 9 hours, but it went pretty quickly. Between stops for gas, making lunch, walking Nello, and switching drivers, it took about 9.5 hours.
The state park was formed by a dam built in the 1940's. It is now a huge boating and swimming destination. There were great little shelters that were vital for shade in the midday.
Freida, Chris, and I spent time swimming, napping, and cooking over a fire. We also had our new dog, Nello with us. He is a Basenji and Chihuahua mix and only weighs about 15lbs. He had an awesome time eating scraps, chasing waves, and riding in the SUV. When we first brought him down by the water, he immediately went into attack mode. Wherever there was a wave breaking, he would meet it with barks and bites. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.
His approach to swimming was not aggressive. He was absolutely terrified to be put in the water. We put him in and he frantically swam back to shore. The water was warm but when he got out, he was shivering and digging in the hot sand.
We saw a few cool animals. Their were fish and ducks in the water. Near our campsite we saw a few roadrunners and one strange looking rodent. It was about the size of a gerbil. One night we were sitting around the camp fire relaxing when Nello started barking non-stop(very unusual for him b/c he is a quiet dog) at the surrounding darkness. Chris said he had seen a bunch of mule deer run near our campsite. Apparently Nello was more alert than us. The next night he started barking at the darkness again. No dear this time. We used the flashlights and spotted the intruder. The small rodent was approaching our shelter. Everytime we spotted him with the lights or threw something at him, he would dart into the bushes. Fortunately he did not enter our shelter(as far as I know) and Nello was calm throughout the night.
Overall, the trip was very relaxing. The cooking, napping, and swimming is perfect antidote to the daily noise and hustle of Denver. Sleeping at night in the fresh air with crickets chirping is very peaceful.
The drive back to Denver takes 9 hours, but it went pretty quickly. Between stops for gas, making lunch, walking Nello, and switching drivers, it took about 9.5 hours.
posted by mark at 11:15 PM
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