city of rocks State Park, New Mexico.

Click the pics.

Safely and happily ensconced in a nice boondocking spot at the City of Rocks.

I've got my own trash-can... I think you need to be a boondocker to appreciate the small things in life, like having your own trash-can to throw away your trash anytime you want.

I made it safely to the City of Rocks State Park near Silver City, New Mexico, but not before stopping at Walmart for a few groceries and a brief stop at a gas station in Deming, where I paid the very low price of $3.60 a gallon for diesel fuel, I can't remember when I've seen diesel that low before, and that can only mean one thing... There's a presidential election coming up soon.

Since I'm boondocking, I paid zero for my lovely spot. The spot I found gives me a great picture-taking opportunity at sunrise, but I'll have to walk around some rocks to get to the sunset.

It was hot today while I was walking around; I hope it stays this way the whole time I'm here, even though I don't know how long that will be. I'm sitting in the Lance with the windows open for the first time since I left Denver. I had almost forgotten how good it feels to have some warm, dry, southern New Mexico breezes wafting through the camper.

With Christmas falling on a Monday this year, I've only got about 15 or 16 days from today to find a suitable place to hunker down till New Year's is over.

I spent last Christmas at Lake Havasu, a nice warm place to be, so, depending on the weather, I'm considering hunkering down there again.

 I want to go somewhere that doesn't cost me anything and can last as long as I want without worrying about it. So far, the places I'm considering are Ajo Arizona; Yuma Arizona, Laughlin Nevada; Wickenburg Arizona; Congress Arizona; and of course, Quartzite.

Yes, some of those places have stay limits, but I've visited them all before, and my experience is as long as you don't look like you're going to live there, you don't cause anyone any problems, Then The powers that be, leave you alone. And in most of those places, I've never even seen anyone there to enforce the rules.

Another thing I need to consider is I want to spend part of January at the Pima County fairgrounds in Tucson to watch some rodeo and horse events. So, I don't want to get too far from Tucson before January... But I need to figure out how far is too far. And there again a lot depends on the weather

So that's my current situation; I've got a little over two weeks to determine where to hunker down for the holidays, and have enough time to get wherever that may be.

theboondork

The desert is a harsh environment, and whether it's a boondocker, or the lowliest bug crawling around on the ground, to survive in these conditions you have to be tough, and be able to protect yourself.

So the indigenous plants have developed ways to make boondocker's and other lowly critters beware... Watch where you walk, and keep your hands to yourself.

Spines the size of toothpicks, hard as nails, and sharp as needles.

The insidious Fishhook Cactus, you can reach in, but getting your hand back out again is a painful problem.

But, whether it's your hand, or a coyotes nose, pain will teach any critter a lesson quicker than just about anything else.

Everything Stings, sticks, or pokes in the desert. Maybe that's why I enjoy it so much, the desert Is a challenge, and I feel that having small challenges to face keeps the rut I get in from living my mundane life from getting so deep I can't crawl out of it every now and then.