Thursday, March 12, 2009 - Rockhound State Park, Deming NM
< previous day | archives | next day >
Big cat, City of Rocks State Park, Faywood NM, February 19, 2009
Time to hit the road, with a stop in Deming for a quick tour of the 44th annual Rockhound Roundup.
To quote an article in the Deming Headlight:
Rockhound Roundup kicks off today
By Kevin Buey/Headlight Staff
Posted: 03/12/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
Rockhounders were arranging their booths and display areas Wednesday at the Southwestern New Mexico State Fairgrounds.
They expect a crowd of people today through Sunday for the 44th annual Rockhound Roundup.
A short line was at a booth in front of Building 1, Wednesday, as folks registered for field trips that are part of the roundup.
Richard Jones, from Lajoya, Texas, is here with his wife, Donna. They are first-time visitors to the roundup. "Love the area," he said of Deming. "We're thinking of moving here.
"We bought a claim the other side of Hachita. I didn't realize there was this event. I'm interested in learning. I'll be new at rockhounding."
The first field trips are at 8:30 a.m., today, to Big Diggins, with John Ewert leading people looking for good Agate samples, and Joe Morone talking a group to Hatch to find Rhyolite and Fossils. Other field trips are Friday and Saturday, to Big Diggins, to Kilborne Hole, east of Columbus off Highway 9, and Black Dam, to the southwest in the Coronado National Forest. The registration line will be longer today.
Night camp
Site 5 - Rockhound State Park, Deming NM
- Verizon cell phone service - good signal
- Verizon EVDO service - good signal
- Find other references to Rockhound on this website
- List the nights I've camped here
- Go to the Rockhound State Park website
- Get a Google map of this area
- Check the weather here
Absolute Silence
I remembered hearing of a backcountry Park Service ranger who was cleaning up after dinner one evening when he heard a chilling scream. He ran out of his cabin in time to see a mountain lion standing with a dead deer next to her. The lion saw the ranger and bounded off. The ranger realized this might be a rare opportunity to closely observe a mountain lion, so he stationed himself a short distance away from the deer carcase. He sat in absolute silence, and listened closely as night deepened. After sitting in darkness for well over an hour, he gave up hope of the lion's returning and stood up. In the powerful beam of his flashlight, he could clearly see that the dead deer was no longer there. ...
Caught in Fading Light: Mountain Lions, Zen Masters, and Wild Nature by Gary Thorp