Magnus in New Mexico, Day 2

Tuesday 19 Mar 2024

The sunrise was nice. It was 45 degrees or so, but no wind so it didn't feel all that cold.  We got a late start--10:21 a.m.--unusual for an RV park where we could hook up the Jeep the night before. I don't remember why it took so long.

There were lots of nimbus clouds overhead and I was worried that there might be rain later from the looks of them.  But no, all they did was keep us cool for the drive.

But eventually (four hours later) we arrived at Davis Mountains State Park. Our campsite was a little cramped with a tree overhead and a sharp turn to get out of (worry about that later).  The host driving around warned us that the water would be turned off for a few hours in the morning, and while he was there, he expressed surprise that we'd booked such a tight spot.  I didn't explain that, but I could have told him that all I looked at was the site length which was long enough for the 35' RV with about eight foot left over.  And since we could back into the site and overhang at the backstop, there was room to park the Jeep in front. Plenty big enough.

 

Another good thing about the site is that it was very close to both of the two bird blinds.  So I'd choose it again. But that evening, I needed to take Molly for a walk and so I couldn't do the bird blind, so I started up the Skyline Trail and hiked for a good twenty minutes or so, only to realized that I hadn't made the skewers and it was getting up to 4:30. By the time I got back and fixed them, Ed was ready to do supper.

After doing the skewers, I checked out the nearest bird blind. Just the usual, but still nice. It's awfully Very birdy. Awfully dry--the park guy said they'd gotten a whole 1/4 of an inch the day before. The agarita is blooming, and quite a few other plants as well. Not spring-ish yet, but close.

There aren't a lot of people in the campground. Very nice. Still there are enough dogs that I have to be alert on our walks.  I found that if I cut across the dry wash behind the campsite, I could get to the dump station and the start of the trails without going by anyone's campsite. So that's what we did.

Views from the skyline trail: