The Riparian Trail at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.
State Park, we headed toward another similar spot: Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. But a little over halfway there, after 90 miles of driving through vast desert landscapes, we saw a brown sign on the highway: "Museum - Missile Park - Next Right." Intrigued, we took the detour and soon found ourselves wandering through a giant pin cushion of long skinny missiles aimed at the sky. Each of the historic relics stood as if ready to launch. Plaques next to each one gave the name and years the missile had been in use. Suddenly we had "faces" for names we had only read about in news stories over the years like Pershing, Patriot, and Howitzer. One bore the stenciled words, "Scud Buster" on the side. There were a few drones and many airplanes from different eras scattered about the park too. Some were painted bright colors and others had been decorated with menacing eyes and teeth. Back on the road after this brief introduction to America's missile history, we arrived at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. It is a small park that lies on the western edge of the Sacramento Mountains and boasts a scenic campground and two wonderful hiking trails. Our favorite trail was the ½-mile-long Riparian Trail that goes into a gorgeous rocky oasis filled with trees. We could hear the sound of trickling water ahead and then the trail opened into a private sanctuary of flat stone slabs and large boulders
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park Campground and mountain views.
ROAD TRIP Story by Emily Fagan Photos by Emily & Mark Fagan
New Mexico is full of hidden jewels, and we took a fabulous RV road trip from one fascinating destination to another while traveling from west to east across the southern portion of the state. Our first stop was rugged Rockhound State Park, which is nestled up against the Little Florida Mountains in the southwestern corner of New Mexico. This small state park has two lovely hiking trails that loop from the campground hub out into the rocky hills. We paused frequently as we hiked to survey the massive views. Dragon Ridge and Florida Peak thrust up out of the flat desert in the distance like islands in a wide sea. Glorious shades of pink and orange filled the heavens at sunrise and sunset, and the tiny homesteads dotting the desert valley sparkled under the vast dome of sky. At night, the full moon rose silently above the peaks and cast a haunting silver light across the land. After enjoying the quiet, scenic beauty of Rockhound
ROAD TRIP
COAST TO COAST SPRING MAGAZINE 2021
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