Friday, February 8, 2008 - Alamogordo NM

Walking up-canyon on the Second Bench at Milepost 2.75, Dog Canyon Trail, Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Alamogordo, New Mexico, February 2, 2008:)

The Dog Canyon line cabin is just ahead

The remains of the stone line cabin in Dog Canyon is less than 1/4 mile ahead of where I took this picture but is well hidden down in the canyon. In tomorrow's journal I'll post a picture of what is left of the cabin down near the stream. I'm not sure of this and I might have it wrong but I think the cleft you see in the rocks a bit left of center in this picture is the route of the trail as it heads up and out of the canyon above the line cabin. The brochure I so conveniently misplaced describes the section of trail above the cabin as rather difficult and if that's the route I would tend to agree with that assessment.

Today I broke camp to head off toward Deming New Mexico

My three weeks at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park are up and I need to move on. The rules at New Mexico State Parks limit the length of time one can stay to three weeks on and one week off. My plan is to meet up with my new friends Andy and Kate & Terry at Rockhound State Park when they move over there in a couple of weeks. Today I went into Alamogordo to run some errands and do laundry and tomorrow I'll wander the 125 miles or so over to Rockhound.

Night camp

Wal-Mart Parking Lot in Alamogordo NM

Wal-Mart Supercenter in Alamogordo NM

Wal-Mart Supercenter Store #1306, 233 S New York Ave, Alamogordo, NM 88310 - (575) 434-5870

• Good level parking
• Verizon cell phone service- I don't recall
• Verizon EVDO Broadband service - I don't recall
• Find other Wal-Marts in the area
• Check the weather here

Messing Up Their Results

... Jack Panksepp found that laboratory-reared rats who've never seen or smelled a cat stop playing the instant you put a tuft of cat hair in their play space. Since frightened animals don't play, that's a good indication that those rats are afraid. ... This experience got Dr Panksepp to thinking about how many research laboratories might be messing up their results due to researchers' coming to work smelling like their pet cats.

more...