White Gap Pass

We knew we needed to get out. It had been a long semester and a lot of man-hours at work. We made a few calls, stopped at the grocery store on the way out, then we were on our way.

We arrived after dark, the sky was crystal clear, the temperature crisp. We started a campfire, made some food, and enjoyed the Geminid meteor shower.

The temperature began dropping and clouds began moving in from the Northwest. We took notice, but I didn't expect it to rain, it was southern New Mexico after all. It did rain. We scrambled to get the tents and shelters up, keep our sleeping bags dry and get the cameras put away. The rain turned to ice, the wind was relentless. We got to bed and were able to stay (kinda) warm and dry.

The morning came, the sun came out, and things warmed up. We drank some delicious coffee. I wonder if the coffee was actually better tasting or if being with friends, the cold weather, the beautiful surroundings and the sense of adventure made it taste so good. 

We left camp and began ascending White gap pass. The road was extremely rocky, but not terribly technical. 

We reached the pass, the view over the valley was stunning.

The wind in the pass was intense. It whistled through the barb wire and stole the words out of our mouths.

Everyone was eager to get off the pass. 

We found a homestead. I imagine the first rancher in this area lived in this house. It was a very remote location.

The house had indoor plumbing. Pretty civilized given the time of construction and the distance from any other settlement or structure. 

It's a bit of a fixer-upper these days, but we could imagine having lived here in the high desert.

After we came back to pavement, we ate lunch at Sparkies in Hatch. Glad to have good food and to sit in the sunshine.