Alamogordo, New Mexico
October 10, 2022
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.
After visiting White Sands National Park (with Phil), we continued on into the town of Alamogordo and stayed at an atypically scenic Walmart that night. This provided a convenient stop to do some grocery shopping and get some laundry done the next morning before heading out to Oliver Lee State Park.
Not a bad setting for a Walmart parking lot!
Oliver Lee State Park is nestled right up against the Sacramento mountains (but not in them - so there was good cell service), and our campsite had a view of both the mountains and the surprisingly "lush" desert. In the evenings, we could see the city lights of Alamogordo twinkling in the distance.
There was an amazing amount of plant life for being a desert--lots of yucca, ocotillo, prickly pear, and many others.
Our own personal desert garden in our campsite :)
The next day we walked to the visitor center and took a couple of short trails. The weather report promised rain, so we didn't want to venture out too far.
A short trail into Dog Canyon
There was a cute little arboretum trail that conveniently had posted signs for the different plants.
A view from one of the campground loops
After lunch, we headed back into town to check out the Shroud of Turin Museum. We had a delightful chat with the person who started the museum and got a very nice personal tour. Turns out, he worked for the company that produced the image analyzer used by some of the scientists in the 1978 analysis of the shroud, so he was able to answer technical questions pretty well.
The "Rockabilly Alamogordo" street fair was going on that weekend, so we wandered around the different vendors and enjoyed some live music. We also explored the very unusual Roadrunner Emporium which is a consignment shop for various artists and crafters. Tucked into a former bank building, the Emporium reminded us a bit of our experience at Meow Wolf back in Santa Fe (except for free), with all of the nooks and crannies and tiny rooms to explore.
Historic downtown Alamogordo
These seniors were actually quite good at performing the music they grew up with.
The Roadrunner Consignment Shop
There was so much stuff packed in everywhere you looked--and it was all for sale.
The original bank vaults from 1900
After browsing for a while, it was time to go down the street to church where we were surprised to hear an actual live bell ringing. Just inside the church door was a white rope hanging from the ceiling and a guy was standing there ringing it! After so much time hearing electronic bells or electronically actuated bells, it was refreshing to hear a real bell with all the natural variation that comes from a human pulling on a bell rope.
On Sunday morning we had a hearty omelet for breakfast and took a stroll around the campground just to get out before the forecasted rains came through. When we got back, Julie noticed that one of the camper tires was flat. So, Rick quickly jacked up Phil and removed the tire, as thunder threatened in the distance. Off to Alamogordo we went to get the tire fixed, and Rick got the repaired tire replaced in no time. Fortunately, it didn't end up storming on us after all, and that afternoon ended up being mostly sunny and quite pleasant.
Fortunately, we discovered the flat tire before we had to leave the next morning.
We had filled the crock pot with chili fixings that morning, so we had the smell of cooking chili to keep us company as we hung out on the deck the rest of the afternoon.
Some parting sunset shots:
Next up - Texas!
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