Our last few weeks had been very fast paced without any down days to break it up. Justin and I were itching for a day to just hang out and get odds and ends done and the girls were telling us in more than one way that they needed some time to play and to be in charge of what they did for the day.
Even though it wasn’t the most picturesque place, we made our last day in New Mexico in a free dirt lot between Carlsbad Caverns N.P. and Guadeloupe N.P. (Chosa Campground). We figured even though it wasn’t a great camping spot, dusty, prickly and not pretty, there were other kids for our girls to play with.
Unfortunately the other family was gone all afternoon, but the girls at least had the late afternoon into evening to play, which they enjoyed. There was a 4 year old girl and two middle school boys who were super sweet and responsible.
During the time when the other family was away the girls busied themselves with creating a swing with ropes, straps and garden pads. I thought for sure it would break but it stayed strong while they played on it for hours. The girls strung rope across the corner of the heavy duty metal fence that outlined the dirt camping lot. This corner just so happened to house the garbage can for the lot as well! Haha. They didn’t mind in the slightest. We called them guardians of the garbage.
When disputes over the rope swing became too much I got our little one interested in painting the many rocks we found. She busied herself with washing and drying the rocks then painting them with the intention of leaving them for other campers we find along the way.
Since we planned to dump the tanks the next day, I washed both girls hair and trimmed off 4” from the bottom. It looks so nice and healthy now and hopefully this will make morning hair grooming easier. I have a feeling I put my Mom through a similar hair-brushing whining routine when I was young. What goes around comes around I guess!
Do you have time to tell me more about Chosa Campground? I might be heading to Carlsbad to find trucking jobs, to work in the man camps…and I’m planning to use Chosa as a place to stay until I land a job.
So…some basic questions…how far, from Chosa campground, approximately, is the nearest gas station or convenience store? What services are available at that business? Do they sell, for example, fishing bait?
How far from Chosa is there a place to fish?
How often does the trash get picked up at Chosa or does it just pile up? I figure the “Guardians of the Garbage” will know this one!
That shrubby desert area beyond the fence…is that BLM land where people can hike or even pitch a tent?
Any other detail or information you can provide about Chosa would be great!
By the way…sweet and entertaining blog! It’s great you get all that family time. My one son is grown and doing well on his own…how I treasure all those moments we had together, the traveling adventures that I managed to throw together. God bless and keep you all safe in your wacky wanderings.
Hi JWH– we’re not fishers, so I can’t answer your questions regarding fishing or fishing stores.. but I certainly don’t remember seeing any bodies of water there– it’s dry as a bone out there. The closest services are “White’s City”, about 10 minutes away.. although it’s really just a tourist stop. I went in their gift shop but I don’t remember what they sold as far as groceries– might be worth giving them a call. They do have a gas station there. They also have an RV park, so I’m sure you could dump tanks for a fee. For anything that they don’t have at White’s, you’ll need to drive to Carlsbad 30 minutes away. We were only there a few days and didn’t see anyone empty the garbage during that time, but there were a good number of campers coming and going and none of the garbage cans were overflowing, so they must get emptied regularly.
Yes, it’s BLM land on the other side of that fence.. but there’s not much out there! What I can say about Chosa is it’s convenient to Carlsbad Caverns, and it’s open and flat with plenty of room for whoever shows up. Beyond that, it’s definitely not one of the more interesting or scenic places we’ve stayed.
Good luck on your adventures! Glad you’ve enjoyed reading our stories– yes, we’ll definitely treasure these times!
Cheers,
-Justin