Al Capone's Vault-Deming, NM

More on Al Capone in a second.  First, we didn't go to Silver City NM- as usual, the weather is really putting a kink in our plans.  Silver City is at a higher elevation, and because of that, the forecast called for a low temperature of about 20-not something we are interested in experiencing on purpose.  So, instead,  we headed for Deming, NM, which is on the way to El Paso.  We stayed at another Escapees Park, although if I had it to do again, I would have stayed at the State Park-the trains were very LOUD, and so was the highway noise.  Our first day there I experienced my first major dust storm EVER (I still feel like I can taste it).

Dust storms are one of the things that we don't have back east- snow, yes, dust, no. They are one of the many differences between the eastern part of the country and the western states. I have also started to learn the names of some of the flowers and cactus that are prevalent in the west.  I can now recognize plants such as Palo Verde,  Prickly Pear, Ocotillo, and Mesquite.

Yesterday we spent the day rockhounding at Rock Hound State Park. Usually at the state and national parks you aren't allowed to take anything from the park, including rocks, flowers, even driftwood, but Rock Hound  State Park is different.  It is home to a wide assortment of stones, geodes, and quartz, and you are allowed to take them with you if you find anything you like.

       Paul and I hiked several miles, digging, looking for geodes (a hollow rock sometimes filled with crystals). So here's where we get to the part that reminds me of Geraldo Rivera when he went on live TV searching for Al Capone's Vault.  He had no idea what he was going to find when he dug, looking for the vault- he just hoped he was right, and the vault was where he thought it was.  Geodes look like regular rocks on the outside, except they are usually pretty round.  You have to cut them open to find out if there are any crystals inside.  We found what we THINK is a geode, but we haven't cut it open yet, so we could easily find out that its just a rock!  So now that I have said that, I am sure everyone is waiting with bated breath to find out if we have a beautiful geode, or a plain Jane rock. I am really curious myself. Oh, and Geraldo was wrong, so on National TV he dug a hole and found absolutely nothing.

This morning we left for El Paso, put the Everest in storage for a month , and we are back at Paul's parents' house.