Simple Living and Simple Travel

I broke up the drive to City of Rocks by stopping at Leasburg Dam state park. If you come at it from Las Cruces, definitely drive up rt.185. Really nice drive through farm country with very little traffic (it’s all out on I-25 off to the east a bit). Since Leasburg Dam is so close to an interstate I was expecting it to be pretty full of large RVs—and it was. Worth a try though, since it was so close to my route. I really need to stay away from this type of place. Got in on a Friday and stayed till Monday morning since I don’t like to move along the asphalt on weekends. We took a primitive site along the edge and M/O flew out the door when I gave them the okay. They were SO ready to get outside after our little stay behind Jerry’s. The trails here probably only add up to a mile but they are well designed and have a few informative kiosks along the way. It’s not a bad stop for an overnight but not a place I would like to spend time. Geez, City of Rocks sure had a lot more RVs and campe...

Not exactly my favorite dry camping spot. This is the year of the ox, my year, and it is not getting off to a stellar start. So far two chances to meet up with friends have both fallen through, the Cherokee’s transmission died, and my campground manager position for this summer will have my hours cut down from 40 to 20 a week. Maybe the gods are just playing around for a bit and the rest of the year will be fabulous. On the way from Brantley to City of Rocks, the Jeep broke down in El Paso. All in all, not too bad since it could have died miles down one of the dirt road we frequent and quite a ways from a decent size town. Good Sam Roadside Assistance once again proved a worthwhile investment and had a tow truck pick us up and take us to a mechanic, without any charge. I missed out on a good photo of the Cherokee sitting up on the truck’s flatbed with the casita hitched to the back of the truck. Hope I never have another opportunity to take the shot. Just down the road from Jerry’s ...