City of Rocks

City of Rocks State Park - New Mexico

327 NM-61, Faywood, NM 88034

(Not to be confused with City of Rocks National Reserve in Cassia County, Idaho)

Following our long slow trek across Texas, we stopped for a night in New Mexico at the City of Rocks State Park.

Who could have ever thought that a huge pile of rocks and a desolate dessert basin could be so breathtaking and serene?

Coming into the park we drove down off the flat desert, looking down into what felt like a shallow depression or valley where all the sand had eroded away to a flat dry basin and left an odd mess of rocks spilled in the middle of the valley floor.

Driving into the City or Rocks campgrounds.

The sun was still high in the sky and the lack of shadows disguised the scale of the stones.

As we made it to the bottom of the slope and had to look up at the rocky slabs lining the drive to our campsite, the monumental size of the rocks became apparent and the contrast to the flatness of the surrounding dessert floor now obvious. Some of the stones were as much as 3 or 4 stories high.

 We pulled into our reserved campsite close to the end of the campground, our rig too large to fit in one of the cozy campsites nestled in the rocks. Like all of the campsites in the desert, the views in every direction are pretty much fully exposed to the sun and wind.

Looking down onto an occupied campsite nestled in the towering rocks.

And it is hot outside. Really hot. So hot that sweat evaporates from your skin as soon as it forms. 106 degrees was the last report at about 3pm. In the shade with a 12mph breeze, it is tolerable if you don’t move too much. But we still have to set up camp.

Walking by an empty campsite.

Unfortunately for Tyson, as seems to be the case almost everywhere we have been so far, all the hook ups are sunny side on the camper. Of course, my hero braves the inferno without complaint to get the air conditioners going in the RV. 

Once we were set up, we geared up for a short scouting trip of the campgrounds. The roads and campsites are very well maintained.

Climbing one of the many rock trails.

Dispersed among the sand and gravel, nestled in the wind break of the rocks is a tree, gnarled and old, but no taller than a shrub at 6 or 7 feet. Occasional tufts of grass and a cactus or two are peppered in the open spaces between the roadway and the boulders.

That anything, plant or animal, could live in this harsh environment is mind blowing. Yet, the kids managed to find plaques with information about the local plant life.

Educational plaques outside of the visitor center.

They also managed to find a rattlesnake on the way back to the camper. Shutter – yeah no picture to remember that!

As we made our way back to the campsite, the sun began to set. The array of reds, oranges, and pinks colored the sky like the azaleas of a southern botanical garden in full April bloom. The rocks suddenly come alive as fiery pillars. And in less than 20 minutes, the sky seems to almost instantly turn that deep purple that precedes total darkness.

I am amazed at the briefness of the show. During the heat of the day, the sun seems to creep insufferably slowly across the enormity of the sky. In contrast, darkness is a shutter that falls quickly.

Even as the temperature drops with the disappearance of the sun, it is too hot to cook outside. And yet, as I wonder at the quiet stillness of the shadowy view from my seat on top of the covered picnic table, I consider braving the heat.

Instead, we move inside so as not to disturb the peace. Later in the evening will be more comfortable, when Tyson will inevitably want to stargaze.

Heart shaped rock in City of Rocks State Park.

You can find out more about the City of Rocks New Mexico State Park campground here: Campground Details - City of Rocks, NM

Happy Trails!

The Towering Bluffs of Utah

 Two Hidden Gems Great for Camping With Kids

 Bluff Fort in Bluff, Utah

Traveling with kids is a great way to introduce them to different ways to explore the world, immersing them in history and science in an up close and personal way.

My kids are budding rock hounds. I still haven't figured out how to discretely discard the pile of rocks that is growing on their bunkhouse bookshelves, much of it strangely patterned gravel collected from the parking pads of the may campgrounds we have visited.

My daughter also likes to play with bugs. As in she likes to pick them up and put them in a not so secure bug cage and try to bring them into the camper. She actually managed to sneak in a pair of crickets before I got wise to them.

Rocks, bugs, leaves and flowers. These are things that come easy to kids.

Trying to instill that level of fascination in them about past civilizations and the geology of the Grand Canyon - not so easy. They would rather play with Legos than go on another hike on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Even a scavenger hunt isn't always enough to bestir them unless there is an ice cream or some cookies at the end of the hunt. 

But then we stopped at a little town called Bluff, Utah.

There is a little gem of history in the middle of town that is run by volunteers and operates on donations called simply, Bluff Fort.

Bluff Fort has a visitor center and is full of interactive toys and exhibits that give the kids a feel of what life was like for the Mormon settlers that helped populate Utah. There is a great little gift shop and snack shop where you can get baked goods and soft serve ICE CREAM.

There are also a dozen cabins decorated by descendants of those settlers with artifacts from their family that they have donated or loaned to the museum. Along with the exhibit, each of the tiny homes has a recorded reading from a journal of one of the home's inhabitants by one of the recent descendants. It is all very touching and insightful.

I don't know if the sun and stars were aligned just right or if there was some magical energy or magnetic rays shooting out from the displays but my 6 and 7 year old children visited each of those houses and listened to the recordings at each one. And they actually listened to what was said because they were able to tie together what we heard at previous houses to the activities being described at the one they were listening to.

I was dumbfounded. And excited at their new passion for history. I imagined whipping out text books and biographies for class time and savoring the ease of future history lessons.

Sand Island and the Petroglygph Wall

We went straight to the petroglyph wall at Sand Island the next morning. I just knew they would have all sorts of amazing things to say about what was depicted and questions about how they got there.

Wrong. All I got was "Meh".

We still have a couple months of museums, monuments, and parks to go. Maybe that interest will show itself again. Hopefully sooner than later.

A mother can dream.

Sand Island is a great little beach spot on the San Juan River. We saw several kayakers in the water as we hiked through the short trails along the shoreline.

We were there in June and there was a lot of prickly brush you would have to push through to get to the water if you go off the trails. But like the name implies, there were little sand islands in the middle of the river that you can swim over to and explore. Just be sure to keep a hold of the kids, the currents can be a little fast in the deeper water.

Up next: Valley of the Gods and Goosenecks State Park

While staying at Coral Sand RV Park in Bluff, we ventured out for a day of scenic driving and settled on Valley of the Gods and Goosenecks State Park since they were right next to each other. I will be posting about each of those separately.

Until then, travel safely!