City of Rocks State Park (Deming, New Mexico)

October 15, 2017, departure day. Our whirlwind stop in Sacramento was soon done; over the next two weeks we had appointments in Chanute, Kansas and Anthony, New Mexico for scheduled maintenance on the 5th wheel. Travel was uneventful, the work successfully completed, and we ended up with a few extra days before we were due to arrive in Tucson for our winter stay. We decided to spend four nights in Deming, New Mexico at the Dream Catcher RV Park, part of the Escapees network of RV Parks, which put us in close proximity to The City of Rocks State Park.

Located about halfway between Silver City and Deming, and seemingly arising out of nowhere in a patch of the Chihuahuan Desert, is a patch of rocks resembling a city. With your first glimpse it becomes obvious where the name comes from, with this description from the New Mexico State Parks website explaining it best:

“City of Rocks gets its name from the incredible volcanic rock formations found here. The park encompasses a one square mile area in the scenic Chihuahuan desert region of southwestern New Mexico at an elevation of 5,200 feet. The “city” is a geologic formation made up of large, sculptured rock columns, or pinnacles, rising as high as 40 feet and separated by paths or lanes resembling city streets. These rocks were formed about 34.9 million years ago when a very large volcano erupted. Then, erosion over millions of years slowly formed the sculptured columns seen today, creating a stunning, otherworldly landscape.”

We had fun winding through the paths, and “seeing” the faces of people, animals, and imagined creatures in the enchanted formations. 

Hidden Falls

We arrived home from our UK trip on October 4^th, 2017 and only had 11 days in Sacramento before we would be back on the road. Not a lot of time to do much, other than squeeze in final visits with family, get ourselves organized, and of course, get in a hike! We decided to visit Hidden Falls Regional Park in Auburn, about 35 miles northeast of Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Although not the most impressive time of year for waterfalls, we decided to check it out anyway, reserving the right to come back in the spring sometime when the falls are at peak flow. Hidden Falls has around 30 miles of nature trials for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, as well as picnic areas and swimming spots. There are observation decks for viewing the waterfalls and taking in sweeping views of the Sacramento Valley and the Sutter Buttes.

October in this part of California is the driest it will be all year, with natural landscapes leaning towards earthen tones of yellow and brown, and most all plant life looking thirsty and brittle. But somehow, when I am in this setting, it feels like home to me. I lived in this part of California for over 50 years, and there is something very familiar and comforting about this environment, a sense of home. We enjoyed our hike here, and found beauty in the unadorned rolling hills, with the spattering of green and the cool blue water all the more enjoyable for its scarcity.