Dry Camping at the City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico

I knew I would be leaving New Mexico for some time, so I decided to visit the hot springs at Truth or Consequences and the City of Rocks State Park near Deming, New Mexico. Both areas are in the southern part of the state, so I knew it would be much warmer than Albuquerque.

In Truth or Consequences, I stayed at the RV park at Riverbend Hot Springs. By renting an RV spot at the resort, I had access to the community hot spring pools that look out over the Rio Grande. It was heavenly to soak in the warm waters with the warm sun on my face. I highly recommend the resort if you are ever in that part of New Mexico. You can get regular rooms all the way up to a private home with a private hot spring pool.

After enjoying a few days soaking in the hot springs, I drove further south to the City of Rocks State Park. The rock formations at the park are so unique that they are only known to exist in six other places in the world. Formed of volcanic ash 30 million years ago and sculpted by wind and water into rows of monolithic blocks, City of Rocks State Park takes its name from these incredible rock formations.

You can reserve a camping spot within the park, but most only come a place to park and a picnic table. There are a handful of sites with full hookups, but they cost more and you are right next to your neighbor. I liked the spot I chose because I was all by myself and it only cost $10 a night. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to cover the windows every night. Instead I could enjoy seeing the stars at night and watching the sunrise and sunset from my bed.

This outing was to be my second attempt at dry camping and living on just the resources I had in my RV. And I can say I made a 100% improvement from the last post! I didn’t make one mistake! It definitely made for a much more enjoyable outing.

The state park is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It was so quiet and peaceful. The few campers that were there were very respectful of each other.

I arrived at the park not long before sunset. I took the time to set up my RV and then Maddie and I took a quick walk around the park. I had forgotten how fun it is to walk all among the giant boulders. It soon became dark. I liked the rock formations right by my campsite, so I set up and took a night shot. I think it turned out pretty good for no pre-planning. I even managed to get several meteors coming down.

I have found since I’ve been living in my RV, my sleep schedule has changed significantly. Now that I don’t have appointments to keep or chores to do around the house or TV to watch, I tend to go to bed not long after dark and I get up around sunrise. I am also sleeping much better overall. My stress levels have dropped dramatically! What makes sleep even better is having sweet loving Maddie snuggle next to me all night. She really loves to always be touching me.

Maddie is growing up fast! And turning into a beautiful lady!

She has taken to RV life like a champ! I think because we are together all the time, she is very relaxed and confident. On this trip she was 4 months old. She’s definitely deep into teething. But she is so good to only chew on her toys and chews that I provide her, even when I leave her alone for several hours in the RV. She’s such a good girl!

The first morning we were there, we got up early and walked among the rocks. There are no specific trails. You just wander among the rocks and explore to your heart’s content.

The clouds this morning were really nice!

After exploring all morning, we kicked back and had some lunch and then took a nice long nap. My plan was to go back out in the early evening to scout out a location to take another nightscape photograph. The process I use to create my night shots takes me about 2-3 hours per photograph in the field. So I usually only get one shot per night – especially when it’s cold outside!

I found a great location to get my second night shot. I got there early to get set up and compose my shot. The setting sun was beautiful!

While I was waiting for total darkness to start shooting, I heard a Great Horned Owl hoot right next to me. I looked up onto a boulder by my side and there he was sitting not 6 feet away from me. They fly so silently I never heard him fly in and land. If he hadn’t hooted, I might never have known he was there.

I am very pleased with my nightscape from this second night of shooting. You can really see the quality difference when you take the time to scout a location for your scene. I love the gaps in the rocks. They really give the skyline a unique look. Also, my foreground is much more interesting as well.

We woke up with the sunrise again the next morning. It was another beautiful day! Maddie and I took another long walk around the park. I also took the time to ride my electric scooter. They even have a bike trail that I rode on. The weather was warm and sunny so I had a blast.

That wraps up my trip to southern New Mexico. Stay tuned for my next post! Lots of fun adventures to come!