Friday, February 8, 2008 - Alamogordo NM

Walking up-canyon on the Second Bench at Milepost 2.75, Dog Canyon Trail, Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Alamogordo NM, February 2, 2008

Walking up-canyon on the Second Bench at Milepost 2.75, Dog Canyon Trail, Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Alamogordo, New Mexico, February 2, 2008:)

The Dog Canyon line cabin is just ahead

The remains of the stone line cabin in Dog Canyon is less than 1/4 mile ahead of where I took this picture but is well hidden down in the canyon. In tomorrow's journal I'll post a picture of what is left of the cabin down near the stream. I'm not sure of this and I might have it wrong but I think the cleft you see in the rocks a bit left of center in this picture is the route of the trail as it heads up and out of the canyon above the line cabin. The brochure I so conveniently misplaced describes the section of trail above the cabin as rather difficult and if that's the route I would tend to agree with that assessment.

Today I broke camp to head off toward Deming New Mexico

My three weeks at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park are up and I need to move on. The rules at New Mexico State Parks limit the length of time one can stay to three weeks on and one week off. My plan is to meet up with my new friends Andy and Kate & Terry at Rockhound State Park when they move over there in a couple of weeks. Today I went into Alamogordo to run some errands and do laundry and tomorrow I'll wander the 125 miles or so over to Rockhound.

Night camp

Wal-Mart Parking Lot in Alamogordo NM

Wal-Mart Supercenter in Alamogordo NM

Wal-Mart Supercenter Store #1306, 233 S New York Ave, Alamogordo, NM 88310 - (575) 434-5870

Good level parking
Verizon cell phone service- I don't recall
Verizon EVDO Broadband service - I don't recall
Find other Wal-Marts in the area
Check the weather here

Crayfish Chimney

Late one afternoon I sat upon my camera case beside the path where it wound through the darkest part of the woods, down near the pond, and watched a crayfish building his "chimney," the land entrance to his underwater tunnel. He had just started to work above the ground when I first arrived. He came up through the moist black earth, carrying a ball of it between his two enormous fighting claws. Using the claws as hands, he spread the soil around the hole to form the base of the chimney. He then backed down the hole and after several minutes came up with another armful.

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