March 2021: Camping in the Organ Mountains started off rough. Our night had wind gusts of 50 mph and the temperature dropped down to 22 degrees. Sinus and allergies were kicking both our rear ends. We forgot chargers for our phones. Not a big deal but when the phone is your only device to take the breathtaking pictures of the area , you get to reflect back to the days where you had only 12, 24 or 36 pictures to take as that's all you had on roll of film.
The weather forecast ten days out showed no wind, no rain and sunshine. New Mexico had a different idea. However, we still got a hike in and some campfire grub. We met friends from New Mexico at Aguirre Springs who took great measures to put up a kitchen area along with an area to clean, both being a challenge with the wind. I can't begin to really emphasis the wind! In Kansas we have wind but usually it dies down with the sunset. Not here in New Mexico. That wind was go go go all hours of the night. Danyle and I opted to sleep in the back of our SUV just to get out of the fatiguing sound of the plastic from the tent. Our friends stuck it out for four nights, tent sleeping and all! Danyle and I made it one night and headed into Las Cruces but came back out to hike. Sometimes the cold, rain and wind just win.
Aguirre Spring Campground is a hidden gem just off U.S. Highway 70, heading down a paved road, Aguirre Springs Road. The weather was bad enough to tear up tents in other campgrounds and cold enough to make most leave so the entire campground was our adventure. We called campsite 52 home. The views to the north were breathtaking and we had a bit of shelter from the wind, but not much. The group areas cost a bit more but the three smaller sites, 52 being one of those is the same price as others. When other campers were there we did have an issue with loud music when walking over to the eastern part of the campgrounds. The facilities were updated and clean. Definitely worth another trip to camp in weather without wind.
FEE DESCRIPTION:
Day use is $5 per vehicle and $15 per bus.Camping fees are $7 per campsite.Group sites are $50. Group site reservations are required. Aguirre Spring Campground includes 55 individual campsites that are at a first come, first served basis. There are two group sites that can be reserved for $50 each. Please call for reservations. The campground includes pit toilets, picnic tables, fire rings, as well as the Baylor Canyon and Pine Tree Trailheads. Water is only available at the entrance to the campground by the Camp Host Site area. Make sure you bring enough water!
Our gear: The tent we used is an old Coleman four person tent. That baby held up in the worst wind ever. The other tents that had the poles that were together and connected at the top, like the canopy did not work. We saw a few in the trash, several hundred dollars gone. If camping in wind like this, make sure you've got a smaller tent with separate poles, (and yes a few prayers too!) Our night ended up in the back of the SUV with a foam mattress. The barrier from the wind was much needed as we were fatigued from the constant sound from the wind.
HIKING:
Indian Hollow Trail was our pick as the trailhead was in the area of our campsite. In the map below we also hiked the Pine Tree Trail, which is the smaller loop just under Aguirre Springs Campground. Map is a screenshot from www.alltrails.com. Great app to have as even with a cell service interruption your GPS shows on the trail map.
Mesilla, NM
We went into Mesilla to have breakfast after our night of wind terror. Danyle and I met Anna Juarez while she volunteered at the gift shop for Basilica of San Albino Catholic Church. Catholic Churches in New Mexico have a deep meaning to my family, many of which ancestors were baptized, married or funerals held; heading back to the 17th century.
Anna was a bright light, full of excitement and couldn't wait to show us all the artifacts and history of the church. A newly constructed santuario in the back area of the gift shop was created by a boy who just completed his Eagle Scout badge. The rocks are from The Organ Mountains. While inside Anna talked about her college years at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas. Since this was my home town I asked her why there for college as we were so far south in New Mexico. Anna said she grew up in a small town in Kansas and was one of the only Mexican Americans in the town. I knew the area well as I also grew up in this small town. I asked her about her high school memories and if she remembered a teacher, the English teacher there. Anna's emotions got the best of her and she began to cry. This teacher, my father was her inspiration, her teacher who made sure she knew she was worth it all. You see, growing up in a small town in Kansas it can be hard for those whose families weren't generations there and also hard for a minority. Anna was just that in the 1970's in Kansas. Anna said my father, her English teacher was the reason she went to college and became an attorney to help others in her community, women who were domestic violence victims. Now how is it that I'm 12 hours away from home, at a small church in New Mexico and I run into a women whose life was touched so much by my father. We called my father and Anna spoke to my father.
Keep yourself off the highway, away from crowds. Hiking or heading down a small town's business district. Connecting with those who we would never see if we stayed on the highway. Aquirre Springs Campground is one of those hidden journeys (Taisteal) you need to experience.
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