Trip Report: Monticello box canyon, Luna Park CG, Cibola forest down south

[alia176]

My Easter weekend gift to the wife entailed getting the heck out of dodge with Isabelle. Momma gets some peace and I get to bond with our daughter. Lynn with the cool Taco with a Flippack shell joined us, so off we went to our first spot the night, Luna Park CG, about 20 miles West of the Red Rock exit #100, off I25

Off we went into the Cibola Nat'l forest land:

This CG is rather interesting, located right next to a huge rock amphitheater like surrounding:

From there, we simply drove around aimlessly, scouting out new camping spots that are not well traveled. This usually resulted in many dead ends but well worth the hunt to bookmark those locations.

We saw a sign for the Springfield CG so it had to be checked out. It's a nice CG, nesteld amongst the Ponderosas, complete with a pit vault toilet and nice shelters at each site:

We ran the following trails: FR 73, Bitter canyon, Pigeon canyon, FR219, FR140 and Old hwy 52. Often times, Delorme Topo doesn't jive with Benchmark paper map which doesn't jive with reality! Still, having extra fuel onboard allows exploration w/o the worry of running out.

For the first time, we actually went through the town of Monticello, before going through the box canyon. This is an interesting town and very clean and tidy. Everyone waved as we swung through town, twice!!

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this sign as you exit the town and head north to the box canyon:

Gratuitous water crossings shots

Not a whole bunch of water this time of the year but it was nice to see some water in NM!

We came out of the box canyon, parked the rigs and went for a short hike up to the source of the warm spring. It was a nice chance to get wiggles out of Isabelle!

 

[alia176]

The stream was too wide to cross for Isabelle, so I had to help her out

Approaching the source of the warm water

Isabelle went in for a soak and look for fish

After the hike, we wondered around some more and found a spot to camp in a canyon called the Big Pigeon canyon, near FR 73

Isabelle shot her first .22 pistol and she wants to do it again! Picking up the brass from the ground wasn't as much fun for her, she said!!

Setting up the tent while I cooked dinner:

Mmm, pork chops

Supplemented with some sushi

The following morning, Sunday, we tooled around some more, looking for camping spots. Found a nice place to eat lunch on FR 211, which took us to the bottom of a canyon with a beautiful huge meadow.

After that, we headed back out using old hwy 52, passing by the Bear Trap CG, going over Mt. Withington, and ending up on Hwy 60. Aired up and headed home through Magdalena and Socorro. Overall, a great way to spend the three day weekend with good weather and empty trails. We passed one Rubicon in the box canyon and that was it!

I think there are many potential spots where a large group of campers can be accommodated in this region of Cibola. Hopefully, we can go as a club before the temps begin to climb!

 

[evanz80]

Looks like it was a fun trip!

 

[pappy]

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this sign as you exit the town and head north to the box canyon:

Sign link mia?

 

[alia176]

Fixed, thanks!

 

[pappy]

Does that mean the locals are not chasing people out of the canyon any more?

 

[alia176]

Does that mean the locals are not chasing people out of the canyon any more?

I don't know, we were only two rigs so that may have something to do with it? There is another way to enter the canyon w/o going through the town. This entrance is further North, far away from the town proper. I believe this trail comes off of Burma road.

 

[TroutRunner]

Cool trip!

 

[slimbuddha]

Very nice.

 

[jstncse]

The last time we made that trip, the distributor on one of the vehicles got wet and we were informed by one of the ranchers that we needed to keep moving. We were not welcome but they didn't stop us from going on.

Nice trip report Ali.

 

[marcfj60]

The last time we made that trip, the distributor on one of the vehicles got wet and we were informed by one of the ranchers that we needed to keep moving. We were not welcome but they didn't stop us from going on.

Nice trip report Ali.

I understand the concept of leasing the land from the government for the purposes of grazing your cattle but I didn't know that meant that it belonged to the ranchers and they could run anybody off they wanted from said public land.

 

[alia176]

Well, we kept seeing large signs that said "private property, stay on the main road". I'm guessing that most of the land is private property and no camping/hunting/loitering is really allowed. I can respect that.

 

[SteveLCetc]

Well, we kept seeing large signs that said "private property, stay on the main road". I'm guessing that most of the land is private property and no camping/hunting/loitering is really allowed. I can respect that.

Well, it depends...

http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/recreation/hunting/unitmaps/documents/high_res/GMU17.pdf

 

[Jake The Snake]

Nice trip Ali! I've been to Spring Time CG and points south but not over to Monticello. Putting that one on the list. Thanks for the pics. Looks like you had a lot of fun!

 

[alia176]

Nice trip Ali! I've been to Spring Time CG and points south but not over to Monticello. Putting that one on the list. Thanks for the pics. Looks like you had a lot of fun!

Thanks Jake, maybe we can do a club trip to Springtime CG.

 

[Jake The Snake]

Thanks Jake, maybe we can do a club trip to Springtime CG.

I'd be down with that. Its surprising how green it is back there after driving through all that desert scrub!

San Lorenzo Canyon would be a good one too. Its close to Gordy's hill and super pretty.

 

[Ctenosaurian]

I have spent a lot of time along Alamosa Creek there in Monticello Box and I have never been hassled by the ranchers. I am currently working on a project and that creek is one of the sites that I survey as it is perennial and is one of the few spots in NM where Chiricahua Leopard Frogs, a federally threatened species, still exist. It is a pretty common spot for 4WD drivers and I typically see other people there. My impression from talking to other people is that the land owners don't have a problem with people going through the canyon as long as they are respectful and stick to the road. Springtime Campground is nice, but I had a tent get stolen there when I was out working one day. Last thing, if there are any members who do any climbing, there are some routes anchored there at Luna Park.