theboondork's RV blog

datil wells

11/13/2022

Not much pic clicking going on today.

On the road to Datil Wells. Datil is located at the foot of those mountains just ahead

According to plan, I swooped into the Walmart in Socorro, New Mexico, grabbed a few much-needed groceries and headed west on Highway 60 towards a boondocking area near Datil Wells, New Mexico, about 70 miles away. Mucho thanks to Larry for recommending Datil to me, I had to drive past Datil on the way to Pie Town anyway so this will give me a new view for a few days. I paid for three days, and I may extend beyond that depending on how those three days go.

As you might imagine, I still have some bird pictures from the Bosque, which I will sneak into my blog when least expected, especially if I don't have any fresh images to show. Even though I've spent almost every day at the Bosque Del Apache with the Sandhill Cranes, I still kind of miss them, and I'm already looking forward to visiting Whitewater Draw in Arizona, which always has more Sandhill Cranes than any place I've ever seen, and that includes the Bosque.

I'm in what the Air Force calls a holding pattern, which means slowly circling, waiting for permission to land, or in my case, slowly hanging around waiting for the balloon rally in December. I don't have any place I need to be until then, so I'll probably kill some time in the New Mexico mountains boondocking at Datil and Pie Town until I've eaten my legal limit of pies, and my corpulent carcass has to be rolled back to the Lance in a wheelbarrow. At least, that's my plan, but since I don't make plans, I wouldn't put much stock in anything I've just said.

Theboondork

I passed the VLA... Very Large Array, on the way to Datil, I didn't stop because I've been there before, I just took this picture out the window at 65 miles an hour and kept on truckin.

This is a brief history of Datil Wells. And Datil Wells is nothing more, or less, than a well for watering livestock along a cattle drive.

My Internet is soooo sloooow it has taken me over an hour to put these three photos on my blog. Datil Wells is out in the middle of nowhere, so its not surprising my Internet is so pitiful. Maybe it will get better a different time of the day, but if it doesn't my picture posting is going to be extremely limited.

6 Comments

OFM

11/13/2022 06:00:30 pm

Back before 2017 when I had the 4x4 diesel truck I spent several months in an area of NM bounded by the roads from Deming to Hatch to Socorro to Pie Town to Silver City back to Deming. It was fabulous boondocking and scenes and great adventures by bike where the truck couldn't go. One of them there happenings of a life time to experience. It was a good thing I was a lot younger then. I still day dream of those days if boondocking amongst all the beautiful mountains in that area. Lots of historical places out in that area. The Datil restaurant had good food back then. The Datil Wells campground has been refurbished since I was last there. The big American Indian ruins north of hwy 60 at Datil, gran quivera, were really interesting, Lots to see and photograph out in that area. I am envious of your location.

Tom

11/14/2022 08:30:34 am

Thank you for all that information Barney, I have to agree on every count, it is a beautiful area, its historically significant, and there's plenty of boondocking... And yes its definitely easier to enjoy places like this when you're younger.

But since I haven't had any success in getting younger, the best I can do is pretend I am, and talk myself into doing things, and going places that I would've enjoyed more 20 years ago, but now I have to put up with a little more discomfort, a bit more of a challenge, and trying to get up and go when nature is telling me to sit down and shut up.

But when I wake up in the morning at daybreak and see some snow outside, like I did this morning, every brain cell I have left is telling me to crawl back into bed and cover up, but there's still something inside me that says "get out there and take a picture." It makes me feel like I've got things I want to do, and places I want to see again, so I'm not ready to park my truck and hang up my keys.

Tom

JUDITH

11/13/2022 07:26:00 pm

Thanks for your patience in posting. I do love the Plains of Saint Augustine. Read a good memoir once of a woman who grew up there in the first half of the 20th century. (That makes me feel so OLD. I was alive then! Ha.) Her family had a ranch there, and she actually roamed this area on a horse tending to cows.
There's some kind of art work out there....never went to see it. Very modern...a grid of metal stakes. maybe it does something when there's lightning? I can't remember. Ah well, enjoy. You have wonderful scenery around you. Will be interested to see photos from your campsite.

11/14/2022 08:43:38 am

I planned on seeing a lot of things around here, since I've got some time to kill. But so far the cold weather is keeping me from doing much sightseeing, and my extremely slow Internet is keeping me from posting many pictures. But I will persevere.

I like to read biographies of folks that lived back in the old days, if nothing else it shows us how easy we have it now, and how tough people can be when they have no choice.

I haven't heard of the metal stakes artwork in New Mexico, I even looked it up and couldn't find anything. But I've never been a fan of modern art anyway. Except oddly enough I kind of like Jackson Pollock's work, I don't know why, all he does is drips paint all over everything, which is the same thing I do whenever I paint anything.

Tom

Larry S Worsham

11/14/2022 04:34:58 am

Our last visit to Datil was in 2015. We usually lay over there for a couple of days. Cell service was pretty spotty back then. I have attached notes from our blog ( https://runningk-r.blogspot.com/ ) on our last visit there.

After touring the ruins of the missions at Quarai and Abo we moved on to Datil Well Campground,http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/socorro/datil_well_campground.html just outside the town of Datil. We've stayed here before and have always enjoyed the quiet.

The campground is never very full, and it's well maintained. The signs displaying the historic information for the area, and the little visitors center, are nice touches that one doesn't usually find in a BLM campground. The best part is, the camping fee is only $5, which is cut in half with a Golden Age Pass. Now, you can't beat that! From the BLM website: "Datil Well Recreation Area Campground includes one of 15 water wells along the old Magdalena Livestock Driveway. The old cattle trail was established in the 1800s and stretched 120 miles from Springerville, Arizona, to Magdalena, New Mexico. The area includes 3 miles of hiking trails in piñon-juniper and ponderosa pine woodlands, with scenic views of the San Augustin Plains."

I had never noticed the sign leading to the trail before, but when we saw it on our loop around the campground this time I decided to give it a try. In the morning Steve was occupied with trying to resolve some electronic gremlins (I think your gremlins hitched a ride with us Grayce!) so Shiner and I explored part of the trail.

It's beautifully maintained, and probably not heavily used. There wasn't a spec of litter anywhere!

The trail starts at space 6, then crosses a gravel road where you hit the trail head sign and a log book box. A few yards from the trail head there is a nice little gazebo with benches. This time we took the loop to the Crosby Canyon overlook. At the overlook there is another shelter with a bench, clearly marked so you know you've arrived at your destination. Next time we visit we'll try out some of the other branches of the trail.

Unfortunately we never stopped for pie at Pie Town so no recommendations there.

Safe Travels!

11/14/2022 08:56:02 am

Thank you for all that information Larry. I think one of the reasons for the excellent condition of the Datil Well Campground is the full-time hosts that are here, they seem like really nice folks, and they're here all winter, so you have to admire their tenacity.

I plan to do some walking on the trails but so far it's been pretty chilly and breezy so my first inclination is to hole up in the camper until things improve.

I was fortunate enough to buy my lifetime federal geezer pass back when they were still $10, and it turns out to be one best things I've ever spent $10 on.

Too bad you didn't get to stop at Pie Town, but I plan on eating enough pies for both of us, and hopefully taking some pictures if my Internet is a lot better than it is here.

Tom

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