Nestled up in a mountain overlooking Deming New Mexico, Rockhound State Park is a quiet peaceful park. Seeing Deming from the park during the day isn’t nearly as interesting as the view after sunset. The lights are spectacular.
The park seems to be landscaped into the side of the mountain. Our site, level from side to side and front to back, seemed cut into the rock.
The campsites don’t have water or sewer. Only electricity is provided. We spent two nights here relying on the bathhouse to extend the time before our black/grey tanks filled up. Lucky for us, this park had one of the best (perhaps the best) bathhouse ever found in any state park.
The bathhouse was clean, modern and exceedingly well designed.
This park has a dump station where we expected to be able to take on potable water and dump our tanks. The dump station was closed and access to it was blocked. A park host told me that there was some sort of contract problem with the service that pumped the poo from underground tanks and took the poo water somewhere safe to dump (a real sewer system). The park’s 15,000 gallon poo tanks were full.
Linda did some Internet surfing and discovered reviews of other New Mexico State Park mentioning closed dump stations. This might be a widespread problem.
Fortunately we showed up with full fresh water tanks and empty black and grey tanks.
I’ve been seeing ocotillos in Texas for over 20 years but never saw them bloom. Ocotillo is a desert plant that looks fire blackened dead when water is scarce turning yellow-green and lush immediately after life giving rains. The transition from dead to live and lively looking is amazing to watch (over a period of days).
A first impression driving into this park was some of the ocotillos appeared to have flames burning at their tips.
On closer examination, these flames were really blooms. Apparently not your ordinary garden variety blooms.
Such unexpected beauty. But wait, there is more. I found another desert plant, one I’m not familiar with, that has equally amazing blooms. What is it with desert plant flowers? Even the lowly prickly pear cactus blooms are amazing.
I really wanted to get out onto the park’s trails. Unfortunately, Linda overhead some other campers talking about all the rattlesnakes they had seen while hiking that afternoon. I couldn’t get Linda to go hiking with me and I don’t like hiking alone.
This is a park I’ll come back to. Perhaps earlier in the season when the rattlesnakes are inactive.
From this park, we went on to Picacho Peak State Park in Arizona which is also off I-10. On the way we passed through Tuscon early midweek without drama.
Hope to see you on the road ahead.