Southwest Boondocking east of Albuquerque

[xbr443]

We are going to be near Albuquerque tomorrow heading east and we're wondering if anyone knows of a nice spot to stay?

[Ray Eklund]

Well... where did YOU stop?

East of Albuquerque has been off of our radar as we are heading west or south. We boondock at the Sandia Indian Casino east lot. Directions can be found on an earlier thread on this part of the Forum. Great buffets, 24 hour access and if you are a golfer, you can chase balls on their nice looking course.

[InsideOut]

Just slightly west of Albuquerque is a nice little campground called Enchanted Trails. It's along Route 66 and is where the 4CU holds the Resto Rally each year. We've stayed there several times - not fancy, but nice folks!

Shari

[eubank]

Boondocking east of Albuquerque is a little tougher than in other areas of the state. Depending on when you're traveling, though, you might be able to locate some places in the Cibola National Forest, Sandia district:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...ev3_065545.pdf

There's also a state park near the interstate just north of Santa Rosa (namely, Santa Rosa State Park):

SantaRosa


Lynn

[the_bosco]

South and east of Albq (on South 14) is a series of areas starting w/ 4th of July Canyon and followed by several ruins. It's all USDA/FS and used to be free camping up to 14 days.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by xbr443

We are going to be near Albuquerque tomorrow heading east and we're wondering if anyone knows of a nice spot to stay?

Yes, My driveway in Estancia 15 m South of Moriarty.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by the_bosco

South and east of Albq (on South 14) is a series of areas starting w/ 4th of July Canyon and followed by several ruins. It's all USDA/FS and used to be free camping up to 14 days.

Check ahead. 4th of July may be snowed in. There are some pull offs at lower elevations.

[eubank]

Good possibility, Marshall! I guess they got a good deal down there, too. We got 15 inches out of this last one.

Lynn

Originally Posted by Lumatic

Check ahead. 4th of July may be snowed in. There are some pull offs at lower elevations.

[the_bosco]

Originally Posted by Lumatic

Yes, My driveway in Estancia 15 m South of Moriarty.

I used to live in Tajique! Many years ago.

[xbr443]

Thanks everybody. We were there in March and ended up @ the State Park on the Rio Grand by the casino. The campground was ok but the water smelled so bad we couldn't stay there.

We drove out to Albequque from New York to buy a used Airstream, when we got it the water tank was empty so we figured we would camp at a campground that had water and electric and fill our water tank. No way I was filling up with that water.

[the_bosco]

Bad water.

Growing up in MO I never realized there was such a thing as bad water. After a few years you get used to it, though, or learn to always carry a 5 gallon jug of "drinking" water.

[xbr443]

I think we're going to buy a filter for the hose, the water at that campground smelled so bad we didn't even shower in it. It smelled like sulfur.

[eubank]

Ah, welcome to the volcanic geologic history of New Mexico and of the Rio Grande rift in particular.

Lynn

[the_bosco]

A filter wont help that kind of thing. About the only thing you can do is R.O. system for drinking water and learn to live w/ the funky water or bring your own. It's a very common issue in the western states.

[xbr443]

Thanks, in the future we will be more prepared but since we had just bought it and the tank was empty it seemed like a good idea.

I think you're right about the filter, but it would probably help in most places.