Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site - March 19 & 20 2021

For thousands of years, native people have visited these sacred desert mountains and still regard it as a sacred place. Some of the Huecos hold water year round and the rock walls hold thousands of pictographs, as well as historic and present day graffiti. Due to the damage done to the pictographs in the past, the park only allows 70 permits for self guided hiking, 60 of which are reservable, and 10 available first come, first served each morning at 8am. There are only 20 campsites in the park. I was only able to obtain a campsite reservation for Saturday and all of the 60 self-guided permits were already reserved.

My luck as always held out on my visit to Hueco Tanks S.P. last week. I spent Thursday hiking McKittrick Canyon at GUMO, then headed to Sunset Reef Campground, which is a free BLM site and got the last campsite around 4pm. Friday I did some exploring in the area and then headed to Hueco Tanks State Park, about 30 miles northeast of El Paso, Texas. I arrived around noon to discover about 8 vehicles parked outside the main gate to the park, with a ranger. Turns out they were all waiting for a day pass, but 2 campsites were available and the ranger let me pass. I registered for a campsite, had my name added to the day pass waiting list, viewed the mandatory orientation video, settled into my campsite, and at 2pm, the ranger stopped by my site and told me I had a day pass, so I could go hiking.

On Saturday I not only got a day pass but I was able to get a spot on the 3 hour, $2, ranger lead guided hike to view pictographs. The ranger guide was awesome. She had personal knowledge from tribal elders and was able to share some interpretations of the pictographs. I should mention that under the Park’s Management Plan, all tribal members are able to access all areas of the park, and are not counted as part of the limited visitors. For once it seems the government got it right and didn’t discriminate against the rightful owners of this scared land.

The park was a ranch before it was a state park and the ranch house is still in use as the orientation venue. There are also large earthen and stone dams still standing and maintained which were built by the ranch.

The park is also one of the premier bouldering areas in the country. Everyday you will see very fit individuals hiking up North Mountain, with bouldering crash pads strapped to their backs. There are also a few multi-pitch rock climbs in the park. Years ago, Nancy and I came here and did some climbing. My climbing and bouldering days are over, but I did do quite a bit of scrambling on North Mountain. I’m should I could still succeed on some of the easier bouldering problems, but I don’t think my body would handle falls on to the crash pads that well any more.

                          Hunter Ranch Line Cabin, GUMO, about 4 miles up the McKittrick Canyon trail

                     Sunset Reef Campground near Whites City, NM, you can tell its spring break

Mask type pictographs

                                                                   My campsite at sunset

                                                            Native peoples pictographs

Some historic graffiti as well as some of the damage done before the area was protected. In some cases, people have even spray painted their name over 1000 year old pictographs. The park was actually closed for a few years to protect the pictographs while a management plan was developed.

                                                Hueco Tanks Campground from North Mountain.

Roadside Assistance

Because I have a slide-in truck camper mounted on my F-150, if I want Roadside Assistance, it has to be an RV policy. My motorhome has Coach-Net RV Roadside assistance, which is included as part of my motorhome's extended warranty policy and covers the motorhome, but not my F150 with the camper installed. I decided to purchase roadside assistance through the Escapees Club, because it was less expensive than Coach-Net ($109 vs $249) and endorsed by the Escapees club.

I feel obligated to update everyone, because I was somewhat negative about the service I received from my roadside assistance company when my truck broke down in Big Bend National Park. I had spent over an hour on the phone with the customer representative, who was unable to arrange a wrecker for me, so I made my own arrangements to the tune of $1025.00 to have a wrecker take me to the nearest Ford Dealer located in Ft Stockton, TX.

When I arrived home a few weeks later, I contacted SafeRide Motor Club, Inc, which is the actual provider of the policy. That customer service representative was helpful and emailed me forms and instructions to request reimbursement. She informed me that once the paperwork was received, it would be reviewed and I would be contacted within 30 days. I completed the forms and submitted them by email and waited. She wasn't able to provide any other information, nor was I able speak with anyone from the claims department. When I called the claims department, I just got a message instructing me to leave my name, phone number and if it had been more than 30 days since they received the claim, they would return my call. I did however, receive a "do not reply email" after submitting my request, saying the forms were received.

A few days ago I received a check in the amount of $1025.00. Alls well that ends well. My policy is due for renewal in October, and I will definitely stay with this company. They may not be the best communicators, but they pay, which in the end is all that matters.

Tight lines and safe travels

My first online article

Hi everyone,

It's official. My first online article has published, so I guess I am officially a freelance writer. Thank you,Rene for your confidence and introduction to the industry. I still have a lot to learn and will try not to let you down.

Yesterday, it was sunny and in the high 60s, so I enjoyed a long walk and then sitting in the sun and reading, this morning it's snowing, so I guess it's a good day to stay indoors and write. :)

Writing both my own blog, as well as doing the freelance stuff has filled a void.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the link to the article with everyone.

https://www.doityourselfrv.com/portable-tire-inflator/

7 Benefits Of Carrying A Portable Tire Inflator www.doityourselfrv.com

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Tight lines and safe travels