We slept well overnight and got up about 8:00. We were anxious to get out of Parkview Rv Park in Stockton, Tx. Today we planned to travel to Carlsbad, NM
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We were not impressed with what little we saw of Fort Stockton and Pecos Tx. We had to drive through both towns on Hwy 285 as we headed north and west towards New Mexico. The landscape in this part of Texas is rather flat and sparsely vegetated. Hwy 285 N. is a two lane well worn road with sparse traffic. Ironically we were passed twice by a Ford truck pulling a Carriage Carri-Lite at about 70 mph.
The road seemed to be smoother once we crossed into New Mexico. We were now at an elevation of over 3100 ft. known as the Chihuahuan Desert.This high desert, the largest desert in North America covering more than 200,000 square miles -- lies south of the international border. In the U.S. it extends into parts of New Mexico, Texas and sections of southeastern Arizona. Its minimum elevation is above 1,000 feet, but the vast majority of this desert lies at elevations between 3,500 and 5,000 feet.
After about 168 miles and a stop at Walmart in Carlsbad, we made it to Brantley Lake State Park. On the route, I cruised in overdrive at 1700 rpms @ 61 mph and got over 10 mpg.
Brantley Lake State Park is located in the Chihuahuan Desert region of southeastern New Mexico. It's about 15 miles north of the city of Carlsbad, NM. It's also the closest state park to Carlsbad Caverns and we plan to visit the caverns during our stay. The Caverns are about 47 miles away.
We checked into the visitor center and registered for a campsite. Our 30 amp and water campsite is $14 per night plus $10 for Joyce's car. However, the ranger agreed to charge us just $8 per day for Joyce's car, the price of a primitive campsite. We paid for 3 nights.
The weather was beautiful on our arrival, and I was very impressed with our site high on a ridge overlooking the desert and Lake Brantley.
We are in site 38 in the South loop which is first come first serve non-reserveable. The larger North loop has reservation sites. You all know how I feel about reservations! Throughout the park, I noted that there are only a few sites that would support large rigs. We were lucky to get one of them.
There is a lot of space between the sites. Also a nice sheltered metal picnic table. Our site from below the ridge.
Our view out the rear window or our fifth wheel travel home.
Out the front of our rig and across our camp ground loop, you can see the dam on Lake Brantley.
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