Triple digit heat was forecasted for south central NM. That meant I had to get up before sunrise and walk around The Box Recreation Area, a popular rock-climbing area nine miles west of Socorro on US60. There were already several women getting ready for a trail run, and a few rock climbers camping in their trucks off the road. I stayed close to the highway and walked the dry wash just long enough to see the sun rise. I didn't drive eight miles on a dirt road to the official trailhead; there were too many unmarked roads that looked to be going nowhere. The geology here is quite interesting and I can see why rock climbers like this place. The rocky cliffs flank either side of the wash. Rhyolite is prone to caves that are enticing, but I didn't explore any of them. Managed by the BLM, this place isn't as crowded as other federal lands are.
My next destination was the Very Large Array 60 miles west of Socorro on US60. This is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, of which there are several this size around the world. I've always wanted to see that place. Ice on Mercury was discovered here, massive Black Holes, and several other ground-breaking astronomical discoveries came from this place. I'm in awe of the scientists who do work here. But when people say it's in the middle of nowhere, they aren't joking. I had to pull over at least once to rest; highway hypnosis was hitting me. Traffic was light.
The complex is in the San Agustin Plain, a 7000' high sagebrush plain covered former ocean floor close to no civilization. The white structures are visible ten miles away. It was 9:30am when I got there and only two people were ahead of me. Dogs are allowed on the self-guided walking trail, but Sadie was already hurting from the heat. I didn't stay long, but I must say seeing those 90'-tall radars up close is rather impressive. I should have stayed in the visitor's center longer and read all the informational plaques while the dogs rested in the truck in the shade. I would have gotten more out of this visit, and the dogs wouldn't have had to walk on warm pavement.
I'm just curious where the 100 employees of the Very Large Array live. The towns near this place are rundown and amenities are few.
Once I left the VLA, the drive on US60 became hotter and more tiresome. I turned south on NM12 and was at least nearing the Gila Mountains, but previous visits to the towns here revealed a hostility toward government, wildlife conservation, President Obama, and I still found residue of that here by the billboards along the way. This area contrasts sharply with the area around Taos. Reserve and Old Horse Springs were especially anti-government.
I stopped in Reserve for another break from driving. It was now in the upper 90s. The San Francisco River was dry and I couldn't take the dogs down for a water break, soI had to make do with the water in the truck. At least the home owners didn't demand that I leave.
Reserve is a town popular with hunters, who stop in to eat at Ella's or who frequent the bar or store in town. It's not a bad town, but not a town I feel comfortable in. At least the anti-wolf posters have been removed from posts and trees in the area, making the town appear less hostile to more environmental/conservational-minded people like me.
This part of New Mexico still looked very drought-stricken. The grasses were dry, creek beds empty. The heat and dryness make hiking very uncomfortable. The San Francisco hotsprings, located on a 2.5-mile hike off US180, are springs that have been on my bucket list. I would have tried the trail today, but it was simply too hot for the dogs and me. I didn't see the landscape green up until I was south of NM78 and 30 miles from Silver City.
What a relief to finally be back in civilization! That 210-mile drive from Socorro to Silver City was exhausting! I will never do that drive again in the summer. I ate a mediocre bean and cheese burrito via a small drive-through Mexican place, then stopped in at the Toad Creek Brewery where Veronica recognized me. She really makes this place light up with her constant positivity and I like that about any place I visit. I stayed long enough to try the Pendejo Porter and the Pilsner, played around on my smartphone, and just before leaving a local turned to me and asked "So, what you think about our place?" to which I replied in a long narrative how much I enjoy coming to Silver City and hiking the Gila. I really should come more often.
I have only one more thing to do before I make that final stretch home: hike the Jordan Hot Springs. I haven't done that since 2013. It's time I see how the trail has been cleared from debris after floodings late that fall wiped it out.
The drive to the Jordan Hot Springs on NM15 takes 90 minutes, along a narrow, winding, unmarked two-lane road. Getting behind an RV can slow you down. The road stops at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The hot springs trail is just a mile before the cliff houses at the TJ Corral. I made it to the river just after sunset, but long enough to let the dogs out and finally get a cool walk by some water. Even at dusk the Gila is an inspiring place. I camped out at the Lower Scorpion campsite and was the only one there.
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