July 2015: A Quick Stop in New Mexico Before Exploring Utah in Depth (page 2 of 15)

Hi Peggy,

We also had the sunscreen tube confiscated, but on the way back. And, on the other hand, my husband's little Swiss Army knife, which was still in his belt bag, got through without any issues! My husband was happy he could keep it, but it doesn’t make sense that the sunscreen tube was confiscated.

I’m really looking forward to reading your travel journal because there are parts of your itinerary that we’ve planned for our next road trip.

Plus, you found some cheap hotels. I’ve already started noting down the first one.

And I love the photos.

Can’t wait to read more.

Hi Brigitte,

What does Road Safe with Dollar refer to, please?

Found on their website under "General policies": RoadSafe: RoadSafe is a service we offer at some locations for a daily charge. It provides you with towing in case of an accident, lock-out, flat tire, and fuel and battery service during your rental.

Hi Frédérique,

I’m following you again with pleasure

Thanks! 🙂

Now that our teens have reached post-high-school age, I’m traveling vicariously for the moment

That’ll happen to us too eventually... Let’s enjoy it while we can! 😉

Hi Christine,

My husband was happy he could keep it, but it doesn’t make sense that it was the sunscreen tube that got confiscated.

Yeah, that’s true, it doesn’t make sense...

Plus, you found some cheap hotels. I’ve already started noting the first one.

I think you can unfortunately forget about that one already... Apparently, they’re renovating it, and as a result, the prices are skyrocketing...

I really like the photos.

Thanks! But I think they’re pretty degraded on VoyageForum...

J3 Thursday, July 9



Thanks to the time difference, we're still up early and are almost at the breakfast opening at 6:10 AM. A sign on the door announces a Super-breakfast, but it's only in name… Oh well, no big deal—there are waffles, so that’ll fill us up! After packing up our suitcases, we need to do some shopping again for lunch, but at 7:00 AM, not much is open… and we’d rather not stop at a gas station since they’re not exactly well-stocked! Don’t feel like ending up with beef jerky, sliced bread, and chips! Luckily, Kt’s Market is open.

After this little resupply, we head to Chiricahua NM. We don’t use the GPS since Chiricahua is signposted in Willcox. But… at an intersection where we should’ve turned left, we go straight because there was no sign in our direction. The sign was only visible from the other side! Another good ten minutes wasted. Lesson learned: always use the GPS, even when the route seems simple!

Quick photo stop at the park entrance. There’s still no one in the booth, but three deer cross the road, leaping gracefully. Too bad… we weren’t quick enough to take photos. But we were charmed by the sight!

We arrive at the Visitor Center at 8:15 AM, but it doesn’t open until 8:30. No problem—we don’t need to wait since I printed the map of our loop, and there’s also a small box outside the VC with park maps available. So we head to the Echo Canyon parking lot. The views from the road are already stunning; we feel tiny among these towering rocks.

Our car is the only one in the parking lot. By the time we get our backpacks ready, it’s 8:45 AM when we start the hike. We planned to do the big loop (Echo Canyon trail – Upper Rhyolite Canyon trail – Sarah Deming trail – Heart of Rocks loop – Big Balanced Rock trail – Mushroom Rock trail and finally Ed Riggs trail, but without the round trip to Inspiration Point). That’s 13.8 km in total. The temperature is around 25 °C—perfect for hiking, and we’re in great shape!

At the start of the hike, we look everywhere, stopping constantly for photos, so we’re not making much progress!

It’s when we reach the intersection between Echo Canyon trail and Upper Rhyolite Canyon trail that I realize we’ve only covered 2.6 km in an hour! Yet the trail is either downhill or flat… We’ll have to walk a bit faster if we want to finish before nightfall! It’s during this first hour of hiking that we have our first encounter with a rattlesnake. Yannick and Hugo are walking ahead and don’t hear anything. I’m in third position and hear a characteristic sound that makes my heart jump: my gaze is immediately drawn to the right, and I see a snake hidden under a rock, less than a meter away from me. I hurry past, but my legs feel like jelly… Yannick turns back to look for Calista, who doesn’t dare move forward…

The second hour of hiking enchants us with the landscapes we cross, but we’re also much more alert to the sounds around us, and our eyes constantly scan the edges of the trail. My legs feel like jelly for a long time, and Calista isn’t very reassured either.

End of Day 3 – Thursday, July 9

It wasn’t by the side of the trail, but right in the middle of it that we came across our second rattlesnake. Finally! I should say our second and third, since there were two snakes sleeping entwined right in the middle of the path. Hugo was leading the way and stumbled upon them face to face! We had plenty of time to take photos, but they eventually woke up, so we didn’t linger and carefully walked around them to continue our hike.

During the third hour of our walk, we had our third encounter—this one could’ve gone badly since Yannick only spotted the tail of a snake crossing the trail at the last second. He almost stepped on it! Luckily, the snake was already moving down the side of the trail, its head pointed downward! Well, that’s enough scares for today—though we didn’t know it yet, we wouldn’t see any other specimens!

At 12:25 PM, we finished Heart of Rocks: we’d covered 8.8 km in 3 hours and 40 minutes. The picnic was well deserved! Aside from the snakes giving us quite a fright, we were thrilled with this first part of the hike. The landscapes were stunning. Pinnacle balanced rock Punch and Judy Duck on a rock Big balanced rock We set off again around 1:00 PM, and the sky was now completely overcast.

We got caught in our first shower just five minutes after packing up the picnic, and that’s all it did for the last few kilometers: rain, a bit of sun, more rain. The camera stayed safely tucked away in the backpack, and not stopping helped us cover the last 5 km in 1 hour and 30 minutes. In total, we hiked 13.8 km in 5 hours and 45 minutes, including breaks. We’re so proud of the kids! It was only 22°C when we arrived at the Echo Canyon parking lot.

On the way down, we stopped at the Visitor Center, which we’d missed that morning. We warmed up a bit—it was nearly 29°C now. We chatted with a young ranger about the snakes we’d seen on the trail. She told us they’re out a lot right now because of the humid weather, but there’s never been a fatal accident involving them at Chiricahua. She showed us photos of the species you can encounter in the park. We weren’t entirely sure which ones we’d seen, so we pulled out the camera to show her. The snakes we encountered were a less common variety of rattlesnake in the park. It was funny—we saw three of the rare ones but none of the more common species!

At 3:30 PM, it was high time to leave since we still had a long drive to Deming. We’d promised the kids a swim, and it would do us good too—the hotel pool looked super nice right in the middle of the buildings. But on the road, it rained and rained and rained… We arrived in Deming at 6:00 PM, in the middle of a storm, with temperatures barely reaching 19°C. The pool was closed until the next morning—even padlocked! They weren’t taking any chances, even though the storm eventually moved on. We were really disappointed.

We grabbed some takeout from a fast-food place and ate under a gazebo near the pool. Lights out at 9:30 PM.

Hotel: Quality Inn in Deming – 52.45 € with breakfast Day’s summary: For those of us who love discovering beautiful things through hikes but aren’t exactly seasoned hikers, this day at Chiricahua was a bit of a challenge. Nearly 14 km of ups and downs with a 9-year-old—it’s why we’d planned for this park to be early in our trip. Challenge met, and the park lived up to our expectations!

Next part here!

Hi Fanny, Sorry, I just realized I never got back to you...

Looks like we took advantage of the same flight deals... And we could’ve ended up on the same plane if our dates had been just a few days apart (we landed in Phoenix on Saturday, 7/4)...😉

When did you leave France to arrive on Saturday, 7/4? Since school ended Friday evening, it would’ve been too tight for me to leave first thing Saturday morning... We would’ve loved to leave on Sunday or Monday, but the great fares we found on AA at the end of September had us leaving on Tuesday (so we ended up killing time on our last day!). On the other hand, the even cheaper fares in early October would’ve let us leave on Monday! Their pricing grids make no sense at all!

Hi Peggy

You post a lot of similar photos without captions. Too many, in my opinion. But your daily summaries and hotel reviews are interesting!Bern

Hi Peggy,

Your photos are gorgeous!

We’ve heard so much about it but haven’t seen a single one yet! My wife is thrilled!

Great loop at the start of the vacation, and kudos to the kids.

Hi Peggy,

Sorry, I just realized I never got back to you...😊

No worries, there’s no rush😉

When did you leave France to arrive on Saturday, July 4th? Since school ended Friday evening, it would’ve been a bit too early for us to leave first thing Saturday morning... We would’ve loved to leave on Sunday or Monday, but the great fares we found for late September on AA had us leaving on Tuesday (so we ended up going in circles on our last day!)

We left Saturday morning... I also finished school Friday evening, but I’d prepped everything the weekend before! I was a little worried about feeling tired after the always-hectic end of the school year, especially since I had to drive the whole time on our road trip, but in the end, we left right away without time to decompress, and I didn’t feel any fatigue at all during the trip... as long as you’re in the action and excitement😉! That said, the exhaustion really hit me when we got back to France! It took me a while to recover. Thankfully, we had all of August to rest!

Snakes... always such a big scare. Kudos for the photos—we didn’t even think to take any, too busy running away every time (not very brave, I admit)! Honestly, they’re the only creatures we just can’t bring ourselves to admire... fear takes over!

My legs were still shaky for a while, and Calista wasn’t too reassured either.

Yeah, I had that too on the Kodachrome hike... it takes a while to shake off those emotions!

Hi Peggy,

Bummer about the hotel in Phoenix. I’ll look for another one.

Chiricahua NM doesn’t look like any other park I’ve visited. It’s a perfect 77°F for walking, but the snakes aren’t exactly reassuring.

Wow, you really didn’t want to disturb those two lovebirds! The snake photos turned out great, even though you had to frame and focus quickly.

It looks like the highest parts of some rocks are barely holding on. And in one photo, they form arches one behind the other.

I see the kids are still hiking just as well as they did on the last trip.

I read that until the late 19th century, the Chiricahua Mountains served as a refuge for the Chiricahua Apaches, led by figures like Cochise and later Geronimo. Didn’t they mention that at the Visitor Center?

See you soon!

Hi Peggy, Always love reading your travel journals. We actually passed through part of your itinerary this summer too, but in August and it was scorching hot. See you soon! Chris

Hi Peggy!

Every year, I seem to miss the start of your travel journal!!!! This time, I’m heading off for just a few days to the Bardenas Reales (we missed the desert this summer 🤪), and now I’ve got 4 days lined up!

Like you, we stayed in Mesa the night we arrived, around the same time, by the way, at the Best Western Mezona Inn, which wasn’t bad (info for Christine).

The agents at Dollar are pretty sneaky! Unless it was the same guy we had—he really pushed for extra insurance without hiding anything 😠.

Chiricahua looks nice and very different from the other parks in the American West. But I’m really looking forward to your account of your time in New Mexico to plan a future trip...

So you’re heading back (again!) in 2016??? Are you going to make it a bit farther northwest this time? 😉

See you soon

Three-day Harley ride through Bardenas Reales—it’s a nice way to get a little "Southwest" vibe back (with the charming nearby town of Tudela). But okay, I’ll let Peggy take it from here.

Hi Bernard, I added the names of a few rocks I came across on the Heart of Rocks loop.

Thanks for your comment, Gilles. You really whetted my appetite with your travel journal, and we weren’t disappointed by Chiricahua! 🙂

Hi Fanny,

we left right away without having time to unwind, and I didn’t feel any travel fatigue at all...

You’re really lucky... You’ll see as I go through my travel journal that we got tired several times. It made us skip some hikes, but hey, it just means we’ll come back even better...😉

But the exhaustion really hit me when I got back to France! And it took me a while to recover!

For us, it was the post-trip blues that hit hard!

See you soon! !

Hi Christine,

I see the kids are still walking just as well as they did on the last trip.

Yes, and it’s really great!

I read that until the end of the 19th century, the Chiricahua Mountains served as a refuge for the Chiricahua Apaches, led notably by Cochise and then Geronimo. Don’t they mention that at the Visitor Center?

I’m sure they do... but to be completely honest, I don’t remember... We were more focused on the exhibit about the animals, and then we chatted with the Ranger. There’s a History & Culture section on the Chiricahua NM website, but it seems to be under construction at the moment. Otherwise, Cendryon posted an explanation on their blog: http://www.frontiereland.be/photos/ouest3/ouest3j4.htm Happy reading!

Day 4 Friday, July 10

I still struggle with jet lag—I wake up at 4:15 AM, but Yannick and Hugo get up a bit later, at 6:00 AM. Calista, on the other hand, can’t seem to wake up this morning. Probably the aftermath of yesterday’s hike! We head to breakfast as a trio. It’s really great: there’s plenty of choice, the waitresses bring drinks to the table, and we eat off real dishes! Aside from the pool disappointment last night, this hotel is spot-on, and its value for money is unbeatable!

Back in the room, we have the bright idea to check the weather forecast for today: storms are expected in Alamogordo starting at 2:00 PM. Darn! Our original plan was to stop by downtown Las Cruces, visit the White Sands Missile Range Museum, then relax by the pool before heading to White Sands NM to tackle part of the Alkali Flat trail later in the day. All of that is now up in the air because of the storms…

So we decide to change our plans and head straight to White Sands NM, skipping everything else.

We’re in the car by 8:00 AM and arrive at White Sands around 10:00 AM. We couldn’t have gotten there much earlier anyway since the park was exceptionally closed this morning and only opened at 9:30 AM.

It feels scorching hot when we step out of the car, even though it’s only 29°C (84°F). It must be the sun reflecting off the white sand. The scenery is surreal—all that white makes it feel like snow! You almost expect to slide where the sand covers the road!



After a few stops, we park at the Alkali Flat trailhead. Of course, we don’t plan to do the full loop—it’s not the right time for that. Just far enough to feel like we’re at the edge of the world before turning back.

I head to the register to sign us in. I want to note 11:20 AM as our start time, but then I see that the people who left just before us wrote 11:45 AM. How’s that possible? They must’ve mixed up the time—they probably left at 10:45 AM. Then it clicks: we changed states yesterday when we left Chiricahua! We’re no longer in Arizona but in New Mexico, and there’s a one-hour time difference! Ugh, I must be a little slow because I didn’t even think of that! But at least I’m not the only one—Yannick is just as clueless as I am! So, it’s actually 12:20 PM! And the storms are supposed to hit at 2:00 PM… we might miss the pool *again* if we’re not careful.

Anyway, even if the lighting isn’t ideal in the middle of the day, the sky is blue, and we’re enjoying the moment. It’s amazing!

But we’re hot, even though it’s a few degrees cooler now—25°C (77°F). After an hour, we leave Alkali Flat and head toward Alamogordo, arriving around 2:00 PM. No sign of storms yet…

We quickly grab a bite at Taco Bell, then check into the Magnuson Hotel. We chat with the receptionist, who’s from Canada but has lived in Alamogordo for six years. She says the storms are a hassle for tourists, but the area really needs the rain—it hasn’t poured like this every night since she’s been here! Must be thanks to us! We *did* get rain in Las Vegas and Valley of Fire in 2014!!😉

We don’t linger and hit the pool by 2:30 PM. We’re back in the room by 4:00 PM, still no storm. We’ve got laundry to do, but we could also return to White Sands… Nah, the sky is pitch black now—it’s not worth it. We leave the kids in the room (a little reading and a lot of gaming!) while we head to Walmart for groceries. Ahhh… it’s nice to shop in a big store with actual choices for once!

When we get back, the kids want to go back to the pool. I keep an eye on them while Dad checks out the hotel gym. The storm finally rolls in around 7:00 PM—it starts pouring. Hugo makes the most of it, waiting until a hotel employee kindly asks him to get out so they can close the pool. It ends up raining all night.

We eat in the room and wind down in front of the TV before crashing around 10:00 PM.

Hotel: Magnuson Hotel & Suites in Alamogordo 75.85 € with breakfast Day’s summary: Too bad we had to skip the White Sands Missile Range Museum, but with storms forecast for early afternoon, we didn’t have a choice. Still, we don’t regret prioritizing White Sands National Park at all—it was magical! The rest of the afternoon was mostly downtime and errands, but that’s nice sometimes too! And honestly, there’s not much to do when it’s pouring rain anyway.

Next up here!