Serene and gorgeous Elephant Butte Lake
So, yet again I’ve fallen head-over-heels in love. I’m rather prone to this, being somewhat of a hopeless romantic, and it’s a good thing hubby has a very open view of my fancies or we’d both be in trouble. Usually my fluttering heartstrings strum along the whims of chocolate, wine and other such indulgences, but this time they’re locked on a place. Yup folks I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve been enchanted, bewitched and swept away by New Mexico.
The High Desert at City of Rocks
I have to admit I didn’t expect it. We really didn’t know of anything about New Mexico before we got here, and our original plan was for a short 2-week drive-though (stopping at a few of the better known spots) before rushing headlong into our beloved CO mountains. A sequence of chance events changed all that. First of all the snow’s been hanging around far longer than expected up North, then I started seeing blog posts from other RVers on New Mexico and slowly, but surely we got drawn in and our plans extended.
I’m just so happy they did and it gives me the chance to share a few reasons why this is going down on the list as one of our favorite States ever:
Just another great walk in nature
1/ Variation Abounds: New Mexico has much more variation and beauty than we every originally expected. From glorious mountains to high-desert plains, sand dunes, rocks, forests, lakes, ghost towns and ancient pueblos there’s really no end of interest for anyone and everyone. You could easily spend months here and still not see everything. Also, the variation in elevation and geology allows you every kind of weather. Too hot in the desert? Just drive on over to the mountains. It’s all right there!
A millionaire's view for $4/night
2/ It’s Such a DEAL: I’ve mentioned it before, but darn it I just can’t get over it!! The Annual Camping Permit ($225 for out-of-state) covers almost all your camping fees for a year. Whenever we roll into a State Park (all of which have been lovely, by the way) it’s either free or a mere $4/night for electric hook-up. On top of that there are masses of dispersed camping in the forests and even more open space on the BLM lands (which we have yet to hit).
The views are stunning
3/ The Views are Stunning: This kind of goes back to #1, but I’ve rarely been in so many campgrounds with so many gorgeous views. We are (yet again) overlooking a fabulous and spectacular view here in Elephant Butte and I’m just wondering when our winning streak will end. Are all the campgrounds this pretty? We’ll see!
There's nobody here but us...
4/ There’s Practically No One Here: New Mexico has a grand total of 2 million residents with a lot of open space in between (making it the sixth-most sparsely inhabited State). The RV scene seems to be just as light which makes this place a hidden gem in our eyes. We love the fact that most of the State Parks and forests have masses of first-come-first-serve sites and we love the fact that everything is so accessible. Since we don’t have to reserve ahead of time we’ve been able to take it slow and pace ourselves with our surroundings. Most of the campgrounds are almost completely empty during the week and we’ve not yet had a problem getting in anywhere.
A dog-gone-paradise!
5/ It’s Totally Dog-Friendly: Anywhere that welcomes dogs always gets bonus points from us and New Mexico has definitely delivered on the paw front. Everywhere we’ve been has been very dog-relaxed and friendly allowing pooch on all the trails and in all the lakes. A lot of the places we’ve visited have open and empty spots where pooch can run free without hindrance and some even allow “voice control” rather than leash. It’s a dog-gone-loving paradise!
So far our time in New Mexico is looking like it’s stretching to 6 weeks and it’s still rather open on the other end. We just extended our stay here in Elephant Butte and delayed another week for the next spot. After all, why not? As the French would say “Il n’est rien de réel que le rêve et l’amour” (nothing is real but dreams and love), so if you’re given the chance for both take it for all it’s worth.
Great post! We love NM too and think the NM Tourism Board should hire you!
Cheers for the compliment {blushing} Nina
As NM residents, we are glad you love this state. Take a look at one of our favorite camping places, Abiquiu Lake, just north of Espanola. The campground is run by the Army Corp of Engineers. It is in Georgia O’Keefe country and there’s lots to see and do.
Thank you for the tip! I’d seen that campground mentioned somewhere else and will add it to the list for our Northern route.
Nina
Yup, New Mexico rocks!
We, too, love NM. It’s just so darn windy in the spring time. We spent a month at Elephant Butte and were just enchanted with the place. Have you soaked in the hot springs in TorC yet? Just a wonderful experience. And nice, friendly people. Now if the wind would just give it up for awhile.
Sandie,
Totally agree! Elephant Butte is just lovely. You know we’ve been pretty lucky w/ the winds.
We had a couple of blow-ups in April (including one with ZERO visibility down by Deming), but
with the start of March everything seems to have calmed down. Our stay here in EB has been
totally windless. We’ll see if it lasts!
Nina
WOW — You’ve sold me on New Mexico! We can’t wait to get out to the southwest!
Marci,
It’s WELL worth the trip! Can’t wait for you to get out here!
Nina
We LOVE that area. Paul and I spent the entire month of October seeing NM. There is so much to see. Enjoy every minute of your visit.
Marsha,
Oh, Oct must be a FABULOUS month to come visit here. I think if we come back
that’s probably the timeframe we’d chose. Lovin’ every minute!
Nina
I love New Mexico too!
So much to see, a feast for the eyes. We’ll be at Bottomless Lakes State Park tomorrow! Everyone tells us it is wonderful …..
Kay
Oh excellent! We stayed at Bottomless Lakes just a little while back. It’s a nice, relaxing park.
If you haven’t already done it, take a trip to the UFO Museum in Roswell. It’s a great little day-trip!
Nina
It seems every time we’ve passed through New Mexico we’ve been in a hurry to get to a meet-up somewhere else. One of these years we need to slow down and see that state.
Linda,
It’s a total fluke that we’re gonna ended up staying so long, but I definitely recommend it.
So well worth the time to see.
Nina
New Mexico has been calling my name – I’ve never been but hope to get there this fall, thanks for a great post!
DO come! I can’t imagine you won’t love it!
Nina
We spend lots of time in NM also. It is very easy to use up a couple of months there. If you make the higher elevations in northern NM in a few weeks the temperatures will still be nice, especially at night. Our favorite states are CO, Utah, and NM.
That’s exactly when we’re planning to be in the Northern elevations…just about a few weeks from now. Can’t wait!!
Nina
Thank you for a wonderful post! I have fallen in love with NM, too, even though I only drove through it once and now look at photos online. Great pics!
Thanks! It’s been a blast taking ‘em. More to come!
Nina
Yum. On our way.
I LOVE reading your posts about New Mexico. It is one of the top destinations on our list once we start full-timing. I’ve always wanted to go to the balloon festival so our trip there will likely be in the fall.
Barb,
The balloon festival should be a blast! And Fall should be a lovely time to visit.
I have to admit we’re loving every minute here….and we’re not done yet!
Might have to come back again in the fall
Nina
Never been to New Mexico. I guess one reason is we always pass right by it on our way to Old Mexico! But we’ve read about the boondocking possibilities and the great state park camping , and your write up makes it sound all the better. Thanks for sharing.
I definitely recommend a good, long stop. Lots to see and do here! Nina
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