The Land of Enchantment

New Mexico is blessed with stunning desert landscapes, breathtaking snowcapped mountains, bubbling hot springs, and remarkable national monuments. With its mix of European American, Native American, and Mexican heritage, the state is a unique and colorful place to visit. Given all that, perhaps it is little wonder that New Mexico is known as “the Land of Enchantment.”  -Anonymous

August 18, 2021

It was a rainy morning, when we pulled away from Pinetop. Our route was highway 60 through Show Low and Springerville. The highway took us through the wide open countryside and into New Mexico.  

Plains of San Agustin

In the distance, we began to notice large white discs in the vast grassland. What could they be? As we got closer, we saw that they were Satellite Dishes.  Suddenly, we remembered that we had seen them on a previous trip through the area.  The area is called the Plains of San Agustin. It is the home of the VLA (Very Large Array).  The radio telescopes are huge. Each antenna dish is over 80 feet across. The dishes can be configured in many different ways by dragging them over railroad tracks. The area available for the VLA is larger than many large metropolitan areas.  The VLA was pretty awesome!

Rain seems to be the theme of our summer adventure. The rain continued off and on throughout the day.

We reached our destination in the Rio Grande Valley and the town of Socorro, NM. 

We stayed in probably the most unique RV park that we have ever encountered.  It was the Soccoro Soccer and Rodeo Complex.  We had reservations and upon arrival discovered that we were the only RV in the park!   

In the evening, after the rain stopped, we were blessed with sunshine and a rainbow.  A beautiful end to our day!