Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site, Again

We came to this state park on our first journey west as full-timers. We liked the campsites then and we like them now.

The state is very protective of this area, the hills of rock here are impermeable to water so collect water in their depressions, making this a place that has been visited by humans for millennia. Pets are only allowed in areas outside the rocks and without a guide visitors can only visit the North Mountain. A permit is required for that.

That works fine for us. There are plenty of trails around the mountains.

They afford nice walks…

and beautiful views.

The campsite is a lovely place to sit.

Our cabana is tucked up under the rocks.

It too gives nice views.

On Tuesday Bud and I got a permit to hike the North Mountain. We wanted to climb to Kiva Cave, but the wind was so strong that Bud thought we might be blown off the rock ramp that was our first ascent. Instead we walked the Laguna Trail to the interior of the “mountain”.

That led to an area that almost always holds water…

and to a rock alcove next to it. Notice the water lines on the rock walls.

There were also pictographs here, though fairly faded.

We found a protected ravine and decided to climb up there.

This appears to be a water sculpted boulder. Bud is pointing to what we thought might be a faint pictograph of an animal.

It was a bit of a scramble,

but we managed to get high enough for some great views.

These rocks rise pretty abruptly from the flat desert around them.

We had a fun hike, even though we didn’t get up to the Cave Kiva.

The scenery is beautiful…

and the rocks make for a dramatic setting for picnics as well as camping.

That wind kicked up the dust and later in the day we lost our clear blue sky to the grey-orange dust. Luckily we had already had our fun.