Rockhound State Park

There are not many public places to stay along the Interstate 10 corridor through New Mexico, but we found a delightful state park to the south of the interstate near Deming, NM. Rockhound State Park campground sits above the plain right at the base of the hills where we could, if we had time, go hunting for “thunder eggs” (geodes). The camp ranger stated that in your “grandmothers day” geodes could be found by just looking on the ground; today, you have to use a rock hammer and work your way into the hillside.

The campground is small: 29 electric sites, 4 group sites that have electric and can be used for a one-night stay, and 5 non-electric. We selected a non-electric site high on the hill — probably the best view of any sites in the park.

After parking we went for a walk around the Thunder Egg Trail that loops above the campground. A nice trail with beautiful cacti . At the end of the trail is a small botanical garden (i.e., the plants are named). The camp host suggested that we might see ibex, but we did not.

No cooking outside as the temperature was quite cold. It is supposed to freeze overnight.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)