Rocks 'n' Rocks

Hi all,
  We are in Deming, a small city in southwest New Mexico. It is about 35 miles from the Mexican border and 80 from AZ. We were surprised having to go through two different border checks. One was coming down the freeway and all they asked was if we were US citizens. The second one today after a hike out on a small highway. There they checked licence, registration, and insurance. Whew, makes you panic finding the paperwork, luckily we had all.
  Wednesday we rode a short distance to Rockhound State Park. It is in the foothills of Little Florida Mountains. Who knew there were Florida Mountains? It is a small park with only about 1-1/2 miles of hiking. The big thing here is that you are allowed to take 15 lb. of rock for your personal collection. Well we don't know rocks and after hearing of five rattlesnake sightings we opted to stay on the wide trail and just hike. No, we still can't cross a sighting off the list, but we did see a tarantula crossing the road.

 Thursday we took drive to Silver City. It has been touted as one of the best small towns in America. It lies in the foothills of the Pinos Altos Range. The area reminded us of Texas hill country. The city looked to have many old buildings housing some antique and art stores. As that is not our thing we decided to head to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. These are located about 45 miles north of Silver City. The drive into the Gila National Forest on the Trail of the Mountain Spirits a national scenic byway. It was a stunning ride and we actually got to see some fall colors. It was a slow drive with a good mountain climb and descents.

 The Dwellings built by the Mogollon in 1276-1289 and were used only until 1300. Unknown as to why they were left. The dwellings have only had some minor repair, what you see is probably 85 percent original.  We finally got back to the RV at 7:30 and boy we were beat.

  Friday I took the truck to get an oil change and 50k service check. I had spotted the Chevy dealer just 1/2 block away. As the truck was getting cared for we thought it was a good time to wash the RV. This is one nice part of the escapee parks being able to wash your rigs.
  Today we drove up to City of Rocks State Park. A neat maze of boulders out in the middle of nowhere. They have some unique campsites in the rocks. We took a good 3-1/2 mile hike around the perimeter and then played in the rocks some. This is one place the grandkids would love, playing hide and seek for hours.

          Tuesday we head to our winter gig maybe we can settle down and relax.)