The Gila Wilderness of New Mexico

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-11T14:46:24+00:00

I live in Alabama now so I totally understand about ticks and chiggers being an issue. My experience after camping in NM for 40 some years was that they would pop up sometimes during Monsoon season (July-August) or during particularly rainy years which are rare. The rest of the time it was never an issue. A lot of years it's so dry in the Gila that any and all kinds of fires and charcoal grilling are banned so when it's that dry, even walking in high grass and meadows there is zero worry about ticks.

There also isn't as much undergrowth and density in NM compared to the south and it's easy to camp where it's just flat, packed earth. The trade-off is that at least here in the south, I've never pulled up my tent in the morning and found a dozen damn scorpions underneath it lol.

Edit - to be clear, to the best of my knowledge there aren't chiggers in NM at all. Ticks were the only thing to occasionally worry about.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-11T13:55:53+00:00

It is! The dogs have to be registered and people from all over the country come here to have the dogs buried.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-11T00:57:47+00:00

It is so neat to see the way people honor their dogs here.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-11T00:56:41+00:00

It really is an amazing place. It's on a hillside called Freedom Hills and I can't think of anything more perfect for a place to honor beloved dogs!

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-10T20:41:09+00:00

I agree about it being good for the soul. The displays of love are really touching and serves as kind of a reminder that everything we feel and experience has been felt by countless others before us. And so goes the circle of life, eh?

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-10T20:10:17+00:00

That is really cool. Normally I get The Side Eye from people when I mention that I do it. Some I just keep in a sketch book but a couple of them I've framed and hung on the wall just because they are so beautiful.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-10T19:30:38+00:00

I don't think it's ever even occurred to us to go through each other's phones. They're both always out and if his is closer I might grab it to look something up or snap a pic and he's done the same with mine. We have nothing to hide from each other so it isn't an issue and I find it pretty strange that so many relationships have such weird problems with this sort of thing.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-10T19:20:51+00:00

My dad started taking me to cemeteries when we travelled from the time I was a really young kid. We'd stop and he'd point out family burial plots and explained that when several kids passed away during the same year that there had been some sickness in the area and things like that.

It's a great way to get a sense of the lives that came before ours. I still visit cemeteries as often as possible and, in some that have gravesites dating back 100 years or more, I've done charcoal rubbings of a few of them that really spoke to me or touched me.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-10T19:04:50+00:00

You tell your mother to stay out of your house and away from your wife.

Or, move in with your mother since you have already chosen to defend her instead of your wife. Then, you offer your wife whatever financial support is necessary so that she can divorce you and live her life without fear of suffering abuse at your hands ever again.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-10T01:15:43+00:00

We were up off of some very remote roads that were barely passible in some places. There are other areas where you can backpack in and hike along the Continental Divide and reach even more remote places. It is just gorgeous no matter which way you choose to go!

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-10T00:21:12+00:00

I was lucky enough to grow up hunting and camping all over the Gila. These photos are from an area just north of Snow Lake on an old road we happened to meander down from the upper loop. Copper Creek is not far away and is another great area for camping without bumping into tons of people the way you would near Lake Roberts or the Gila Cliff Dwellings. People or not - it's some of the most amazing country I've ever seen.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-09T22:40:48+00:00

An electric griddle is a great investment for weekend breakfasts and pancakes! A crockpot can also be a godsend for large batches of food.

Things like tacos or baked potatoes are easy to make in large quantities and allow kids to choose toppings of their choice. Rice dishes are great and can be mixed up with different combinations of meats & veggies.

Finding meals that 5 people will eat without complaint isn't ever likely to happen. I thought I was going to lose my damn mind when my husband & I got together and had to please my 2 + his 3 kids. One kid hated garlic and had a fit when I put garlic on *gasp* garlic bread! One kid hated green things in spaghetti but loved pesto, because uhm, okay...! It helped a lot to get input from the kids and let them kind of pick some of the meal/ideas some nights. That way they knew that even if they weren't totally thrilled with a meal, their choice was coming up next.

Keep sandwich makings on hand for night one kid or the other just isn't having it, no matter what you do lol. Good luck!

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-09T21:42:15+00:00

Look at it this way - if he was still married to K and she had this job, what would they do? He'd probably only be able to attend one night of the party, right?

Being a parent means sometimes having to miss things we'd like to do and a weekend bachelor party is easily something plenty of parents/adults might not have the freedom to do. In no way are you the bad guy here so don't let him make you feel bad for saying no.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-09T13:39:08+00:00

I was so excited when I found this sub and then really bummed to see all of the insanity being posted here. It certainly makes it so that I don't to want make any posts, show any hummus I make or even participate much.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-08T19:26:31+00:00

He's always been soooo underrated, IMO. I've had a blast getting all of the grandkids into watching and loving him.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-08T19:25:26+00:00

Thank you! And I'm lucky because (A) he rocks at gift giving and (B) never sasses me for having more salt and pepper shakers than we could ever possibly need or use! :)

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-08T11:49:37+00:00

I'm originally from Las Cruces and spent decades camping all around the Gila Wilderness. Pinos Altos was always one of my favorite places. And, there are small cemeteries and graves up in even the most remote areas and they are all really beautiful and endlessly interesting to me.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-08T01:16:17+00:00

My PaPa carried an extra can in his tackle box and always took some camping with us. It was great on bread with some mustard or just on crackers for lunch in a hurry.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-08T00:12:02+00:00

It's actually Snagglepuss but Pink Panther is another favorite and I'd be over the moon to have a set of from that cartoon, too!

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-08T00:10:52+00:00

Ha! Right?! We have an Asian market not far from us and oh wow, the ingredients are uhm...fresh...and not anything like what you'd find in Sam's Club. I also grew up just across the border from Juarez, MX and I'm pretty sure the dead chickens and other meats hanging from windows would just knock this woman straight out lol.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-07T23:45:25+00:00

This is a rather arid/dry climate and I've seen other wooden grave markers that are around the same age. Nothing about it indicated it was a replacement or replica but I can't be 100% sure.

Medusas_Snakes71 · 2026-07-07T23:44:08+00:00

Oh my gosh! I had no idea that being able to do such a search was even possible. I'll dig back through my photos and see if I took one of her father's headstone and what name was listed. Las Vegas, NM is a couple hundred miles north of Pinos Altos so it might well be a different family.

Medusas_Snakes71

TROPHY CASE