Doug is still collecting rocks. And today, I helped him. We found one of New Mexico's neatest state parks, Rockhound State Park. It is probably the only state park that allows you to pick up treasures and take them home. They do limit it to 15 pounds but trust me, when you are carrying 15 pounds of rocks down the steep mountainside, you are glad that it's only 15 pounds.
We arrived in the early afternoon and paid our $5 day use fee. The visitor center was closed so we just drove in and parked in the day use lot. We grabbed our bags and headed out onto the Jasper Trail.
Very quickly, we wandered off the trail into gullies and up the slopes. There were interesting rocks everywhere! Since we didn't really know what we were supposed to be looking for, we just picked up anything that caught our fancy. I guess Doug's fancy was caught more than mine, because after two hours in the hot sun, he was carrying the full 15 pounds and I had a mere 5 pounds.
We decided to call it a day when the tarantula wasps (ugly looking, huge golden wasps) wanted a ride in the car. They were evicted and we drove to the other side of the park where the campground is located. Oh my gosh! What a fantastic campground. It sits on the hillside overlooking the valley and every site is huge with it's own covered patio and picnic table. They include water and electricity for just $14 a night. But, most of the sites are first come first serve, so the chances of getting in are not great.
It's so beautiful, we would love to spend a few nights there. We just haven't decided yet. We stopped at the visitor center on our way out of the park and it was open. The volunteer was delighted to tell us all about the park and what we should have been looking for. Thunder eggs, geodes, agates and several other stones are on our list for the next visit.
Doug recycled some cans on the way home to our crockpot that was full of chicken and rice. Nice dinner, nice day.
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