Heading Down New Mexico

Another day began with blue skies and a drive along I-40, a combination that was sure to put us in a happy mood.

As we planned the next leg of our journey farther west, we had initially considered staying on I-40 and heading toward Gallup. However, after looking more closely at the elevation differences between Albuquerque and Gallup, and comparing them with the route through Las Cruces and Deming, we realized that the climb toward Deming would be much easier than heading straight west to Gallup.

Armed with that information, we plotted a new route. We knew that many of New Mexico’s secondary highways had been closed because of recent flooding. Fortunately, one route had just reopened: Highway 60, running from Vaughn to I-25.

We headed south on Highway 54 from Santa Rosa and then picked up Highway 60 in Vaughn. It’s a two-lane road with pavement quality that varies along the way, but overall, it was in pretty good shape.

There is a whole lot of nothing here

Do you see the train in the picture?

Besides saving us some highway miles, the biggest advantage of taking Highway 60 instead of staying on I-40 was the much gentler change in elevation.

The Clouds today were providing us with stunning views.

Rather than dealing with steep grades and dramatic climbs and descents, Highway 60 gradually brought us down from the high plateau to the lower elevation of the I-25 corridor.

Shortly before getting onto I-25 we crossed the Rio Grande - today a muddy river

From there, we followed I-25 south to Caballo Lake State Park.

Part of the campground sits along the Rio Grande, just south of the lake dam where the river continues its journey downstream. The setting is beautiful, with mature cottonwood trees providing shade and creating a peaceful atmosphere along the river. It was a lovely place to settle in for the night.

Beautiful Park Road

Yes,there are cows in the campground. They got interested in greeting Dixie

Rio Grande beyond the Caballo Lake Dam