City of Rocks

This year we decided to take advantage of New Mexico's annual state park pass.  At $225, it's a chunk of money, but it covers free camping in all of their state parks for a year.  For an extra $4 a night you can upgrade to hook-ups, but dry camping suits us just fine.

We began our adventure with the interesting City of Rocks State Park.  Being a girl who loves rocks, this is just my cup of tea.

After changing our minds a couple of times, we settled in campsite 14 which is named Gemini.  Although it was probably named for the giant twin rocks, there are also two rocks that have settled between the twins.

I have to admire the pretty blooms on the bird-of-paradise bushes in the area, although the landscape committee at Saguaro Park hates them because they sprout everywhere.

We've had quite a bit of strong wind during our stay, but I understand it's the same in the whole southwest.  We did manage to get in a couple of morning hikes.  One day we walked around the two-mile loop and checked out all the other campsites, which is a hobby of ours.  But today we hiked in among the rocks.  So cool.

This was one of many that looked rather unstable.  I guess they don't have earthquakes around here.

It wasn't long before Ron was seeing figures in the rocks.  He must have more imagination than I do, but even I agreed with his opinion on this Yoda rock.

I'm glad that the park officials allow visitors to wander instead of staying on a trail.  I think it enhances the experience.

From atop a nearby hill, you can really appreciate the unusual landscape.

This was certainly a great start to our NM state parks adventure.