2012/06 Western USA trip - Oliver Lee |
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From there it was a short drive to the outskirts of Alamogordo and down the El Paso road to Dog Canyon and up that road to Oliver Lee state park, where we
were going to be camping. Alamogordo is a military town, with White Sands and Holloman AFB close by, but it’s most often associated with the detonation of the first atom bomb.
The entrance to Dog Canyon is quite scenic in the setting sun, but the shanty town that’s grown up around it is not.
We managed to find a comfortable spot inside the park, a long distance from the high tech solar bathrooms. We found that our attempted 
short cuts to the bathrooms ended up being long cuts. It was a hot night with a strong breeze.
Wednesday June 20th
While the others wandered around the visitor centre I walked along a part of the canyon trail and climbed down to the riverbed.
The park is named after Oliver Lee, who was the farmer who built a dam and irrigation system in the canyon. On this hot morning there was just a small flow of water which disappeared into the riverbed as I walked downstream. But even this little water has a magical effect in the desert and
the area was teeming with bugs and lizards and birds. Even the plants looked healthier, with the ocotillos actually having leaves as well as thorns. I also found these cute rainbow cacti.