January 16, 2017. Hueco Tanks State Park

CAMPGROUND:  Hueco Tanks State Park.  Small with 15 sites.  Electricity and water at sites.  Nice picnic shelters called ramadas. Decent bathrooms with hot showers.  $16/night plus $7 day use fees. 

LOCATION:  Outside of El Paso, Texas

WEATHER:  Cold and windy.  Highs in 40s  

We left Naco, Arizona and drove about 5 hours to El Paso, crossing the entire state of New Mexico.  Most of it was desolate grasslands with sage brush and an occasional cow.  George got tired of driving, so I took over.  Of course, immediately the previously monotonous road turned exciting.  Lots of sharp curves.  Then, we could see a big city approaching.  We had asked OnStar to take us on non-highway routes.  That was ok until we reached this city.  We first saw the Mexican side, then realized we were in the suburbs of El Paso.  Instead of a nice route circling the city, we went right through. First, we drove through the outskirts, then western El Paso, then downtown historic district, then eastern El Paso.  I had to negotiate several roundabouts and busy traffic.  I was so tense!  

 

Finally, we made it to Hueco Tanks.  We had been here two years ago and had great memories of it.  It is a boulder climber's dream.  We had to go through an orientation, before they let us camp, as it is a very fragile environment.  

   We settled in for the evening.  A beautiful sunset on the mountain in front of our campsite. 

We listened to the coyotes giving us an evening serenade.     DINNER:  Quite gourmet.  Pappardelle pasta with a wine cream sauce, with smoked salmon.  Side dish was some sautéed mushrooms, a very unusual type we picked up at the market.