49. We camped at Scampsite #8. This park is amazing because of its unique rock art that dates back about 10,000 years, and because of its interesting boulder formations. However, it was probably our most disappointing state park experience because of the bureaucracy.
First, we had to watch a 15 minute video about the history of the park, including the horrific graffiti vandalism that has been added over the years. That was expected and not a problem. We had the dogs with us though, and because state law says it's illegal to leave pets in a car, the park rangers told us to bring them in to watch the movie too (the dogs said it was boring, not enough animal action).
We were informed of the rules of the park as well, including the 6 p.m. curfew. Yes, all campers MUST be in the campsite by 6 p.m. and STAY there until 8 a.m. They did give us the gate code in case of emergency, but we've never experienced the curfew at a state park.
Hueco Tanks isn't hospitable for dogs: the only place we could walk them was the road. Because of the rock art, dogs aren't allowed on any of the trails in the park. They can't be left alone at the campsite either unless you have a trailer / RV with air-conditioning.
And actually, people are restricted as well: North Mountain is open to the public, but you have to have a reservation because there is a 70-person limit. East and West Mountain are only accessible with a ranger or guide. So when I made the park reservation weeks ago, I was able to reserve our access to North Mountain as well, as long as we "claimed" it before 10 a.m. on the 14th. So we went to the office at 9:30 to "claim" our reservation and were told that there was already a line of cars outside the gate and that we would have to wait and see how many of them had reservations, despite us having been camping in the park and already having a reservation ourselves. We were able to "claim" our reservation at 10, but it was frustrating that invisible (to us) cars had been given priority over campers who had a reservation already.
We were only able to hike and leave the dogs in the site because we have a trailer with air-conditioning that we could safely leave the dogs in while we were on the trail.
Once we got hiking, all worries melted away. A ranger had recommended the Cave Kiva trail, so we traded Aaron's driver's license for a map of that trail and were able to find the rock art that is used as the Hueco Tanks logo, and in my opinion, is probably the best rock art in the park. It's located inside a "cave" - not a cave like you imagine, but huge boulders fitted together that create a large open space underneath - so it's protected from the elements; the colors are vibrant and clear. I suspect it doesn't get a lot of visitation because it's a little difficult to find, even with a map; the trail isn't marked at all. And from that vantage point, we could also see a pond below that we were later told was the only standing water in the park. That is pretty remarkable because Hueco Tanks is in the high desert; there is probably no other standing water for at least 50 miles in any direction. So, we felt like we saw the best rock art and the best scenery in the park and weren't disappointed that the guided tours were all filled up already.
I would recommend Hueco Tanks, but not during a busy spell, as it turned out Spring Break was. We have been there before as a day trip in the middle of summer (hiking ended by noon), and it was much more relaxed - although the rules all still applied, there just weren't as many people for the rangers to worry about and we didn't have dogs with us that day.
Even on our way out of the park, the rangers still had to exert authority - Aaron talked to a ranger outside the park office as we were leaving and he said we were good to go. Then at the main gate (a ways down the road), we were stopped and told that we hadn't checked out. Apparently the ranger Aaron talked to didn't inform the rangers inside the office that we had talked to him. GRRRR....
I understand that people are idiots, people have died at Hueco Tanks, and people like to leave their own mark. The desert is tough, even on natives, and it's very easy to forget sunscreen or enough water or enough snacks. But we felt there has to be a better way to police the idiots and still let law-abiding citizens have a good time without feeling parented.
Scampsite 8, sunrise. The picnic table is located in the trees behind the trailer - very private and lovely. There was a Verdin nest and a very angry Verdin in our site too!
The pond from the Cave Kiva "trail".
The "cave" where the best rock art is located.
Hueco Tanks logo art. Inside Cave Kiva.
Us, inside Cave Kiva, with some art.
The "trail" going down, Aaron ahead of me.
The pond. There were LOTS of little birds here: House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, White-Crowned Sparrows.
Hueco Tanks is about 30 miles outside of El Paso, which is the farthest western point in Texas. El Paso is also the location of the end of the Rocky Mountains, a county seat, and home to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). The UTEP campus is built in the architectural style of Bhutanese monasteries and is one of the most energy-efficient university campuses in the US. Juarez, Mexico, is safe to visit again, and El Paso has a burgeoning craft beer scene that is pretty good. There are tons of things to do in El Paso, I highly recommend stopping and staying a while (and not just because it's my hometown :-).
