New Mexico and Arizona stops

Our first two days on the road went well, but the skies started to darken with heavy clouds and the wind picked up, and we started keeping a close eye on the weather. Our next planned stop - Silver City, New Mexico. 

By Sunday afternoon we were settling ourselves in to a spacious pull-through site at the Rose Valley RV Ranch, in Silver City. Now, this place has character! and very few stickers for the dogs to get tangled up with! Spacious sites and rustic but effective farm/ranch themed landscaping provide a reasonable amount of privacy, and windbreaks, and considering the weather they were appreciated. 

There are also a well maintained dog/hiking trail and a couple of small dog parks. 

The trail has great views of the surrounding terraine and the vegitation is very attractive. Even though it's still winter the evergreed cactus and junipers provide a nice contrast to all the golden grasses. 

Our main purpose for being in Silver City is to take a close look at some RV models that we don't have access to at home, so that's first on the agenda in the morning.  Entertainment for the evening is the Superbowl! We're keeping an eye on the weather, as it's cold and windy now, but forcasts are calling for increasingly high winds and some snow. 

We had intended to stay in Silver City for two nights but Monday morning we reviewed the updated forcasts and decided an early departure was a good idea. We made a quick trip to Lowry's RV sales and toured several models we were interested in then headed back to camp, packed up quickly and headed down the hill. We were attempting to get to I-10, but when we arrived at the intersection at Lordsburg we learned that a large section of I-10 had been closed all the way to Willcox in AZ due to high winds, blowing sand and multiple accidents. We had passed two ambulances on our way to Lordsburg, so apparently there were several injuries. Traffic was being redirected to hwy. 70, which took us back through Lordsburg, through narrow streets in the older town. 

Cutting around on the narrow roads took us on an interesting trek along with more long-haul trucks than you can imagine. We don't realize how many there are on the roads until they all get gathered up, waiting for the roads to open. Since we left Silver City a day early we didn't have reservations anywhere else, but the Trail Master always has a backup planned,"just in case".  We were running pretty late, but tried for a last minute spot in Roper Lake State Park, where we had reservations for the following night. No such luck, the car right in front of us grabbed the last vacancy. So, we turned around, went back to town and managed to get a night at the Graham County fairgrounds in Safford, AZ. We had the very last space in their RV area. Most fairgrounds rent facilities for RVs as the people who show horses and other livestock usually like to stay overnight so they can care for the animals. There wasn't a lot of livestock in residence at the time, just a few horses being boarded, but the dogs enjoyed sniffing out previous occupants and walking along the stalls and race track.

The surrounding hills and storm clouds were beautiful, and they were dusted with snow by morning. We were grateful to have survived the wind with no accidents. The fairgrounds was only a few miles away from our next reservation, Roper Lake State Park. 

Tuesday - We arrived at Roper Lake State Park mid-day. The sites are fairly large with natural vegetation between spaces to help privacy and to encourage wild life.

The weather was cold, but setting is so pretty we were sorry to have to close the door, as it blocked our view of the snowy mountains in the distance.  Wait! didn't we make a storm window for the screen door? There is was, the large sheets of plexiglass were safely stored behind the sofa. We hadn't used it for so long we'd almost forgotten it, and how to install it, but it only took a screwdriver and a few minutes. Now, no cold wind and lots of light along with a great view! After getting settled in we headed back into Safford for our Valentine's Day dinner at Casa Mañana, highly recommended by the park staff. 

The park is centered on a nice little lake and is noted for fishing and birdwatching, but the many hiking trails are an outstanding feature too. There are short trails in and around the rv area, and other more challenging trails that take hikers to the mesa top and out into open desert. 

The chilly temperatures and high winds continued, but the area is beautiul, so we made the decission to cancel the reservations we made at another park for two following nights and stay at Roper Lake. The decision did require us to move to another site, but that's not a problem. Once that was done the dogs and I took off to explore one of the longer trails, up Mariah Mesa. The views are amazing, and so was the wind blowing down from the snowy peaks in the distance. By the halfway point my eyes were watering so much from the wind I could hardly see where I was going. It was worth it though, and the trails are beautifully maintained and lined with small boulders of a variety of native stone. 

There are also signs along the way identifying several of the more common shrubs and trees, and information sign at the top of the mesa with information about the views.  We tried out another branch of the trail the next day, and thankfully the wind had settled down, and the temperature warmed up. For those who are interested in the native desert vegitation, the attention given to the plantings in the camping areas and along the trails is to be appreciated. The cactus and native trees are all carefully groomed and the grounds are immaculate. 

This is a beautiful park, offering fishing, birding, hiking, great photography opportunities, and swimming during most seasons. The sites are generous and many connect to the hiking trails, the restrooms are very nice, and there are covered shelters for picnicking near the water for day use groups to enjoy. 

View from the top of Mariah Mesa

You can view the rest of the photos in the The Arizona and New Mexico album. here