Night 3 in NM - Apache National Forest

We camped for a night just south of Quemado, NM. On the plus side, we had researched and found a no fee campsite, we had those campgrounds to ourselves, and having the bathroom on site was a perk after our backcountry experience the night before. Since nothing is ever simple, Juliet backed up her stomach complaints by vomitting. Ick. Cleanup at a campsite without running water was not ideal. It could have been worse - she perked right back up and seems no worse for wear today (as evidenced by her face as she enjoyed Joshua's demonstration of the ins and outs of mummy sacks on a cool morning). The girls really enjoyed having the place to themselves so they tested the range of their walkie talkies and saw hummingbirds (who loved our bright swim clothes that were hanging up to dry), geckos, woodpeckers, a rabbit, beetles, tarantula hawk wasps (look them up- they are intense), and cool caterpillars. At night we could hear coyotes and I heard something rummaging around the campsite (most likely a deer...but I was too chicken to peak). One other funny noticing is that it's a good thing we got a big tent so we can fit the girls and their camping pads separately (see photo of Sydney). Part of the learning curve is learning how to stay on the pad!

En route to NM destinations

On our way to White Sands we drove through Roswell which is clearly embracing the alien/UFO theme. Notice the light post in front of the flying saucer McD's. We also could not resist mailing some notes from the R2D2 mailbox. Near Alamargordo the pistachio industry is marked by a giant roadside pistachio.

Officially hardcore

We went to White Sands National Monument and our girls earned hardcore status. How do you do back country camping with pretty young kids? Easy enough, you need a pack mule (in our case Joshua who packed in our not light tent and 4 sleeping bags) and you promise them sledding, sunset, stars and sunrise. We took nice photos with our camera we'll try to add after the trip but here's a taste with photos I took with my phone this morning. Simply amazing place.

First impressions of New Mexico

We arrived in New Mexico late this afternoon but in enough time to enjoy dinner at Leal's based on a recommendation from friends who used to live here. The restaurant was great (yum, freshly made sopaipillas) and we could walk there from where we were staying. We hit up the hotel pool and are calling it a night.

Bandaid approach to OK and TX

When planning this trip, we decided to brace ourselves for a rough driving day and get from western Arkansas to eastern New Mexico. We managed to squeeze in a few very random stops to mix things up. The girls wanted to do a silly photo with the horse at the tourist info center in Midwest, OK and enjoyed the ego boost from the bathroom mirror. Midwest is home to Tinker Air Force Base. We also stopped for a photo op with Rex Randall, a 47-foot, 7 ton statue in Canyon, TX. Seemed apropo on a "go big" kind of a day.

Catching winks

With some long days, late nights, and early mornings, the girls are needing to get rest when they can. Of course, that doesn't mean they are all resting at the same time (see Evelyn!)

Arkansas

Our travels in Arkansas brought us to Lake Fort Smith State Park for our first camping night of the trip. The park is in the Ozark National Forest. After a bit of driving we arrived in time for a short hike (about 1.5 miles to a "waterfall" that sadly had no water after a dry spell) and swimming in the campground pool. Not quite a seamless first night car camping but lots more camping nights to improve the experience for all campers involved!