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Approaching the park, this is the first view one gets. The upright columns of rocks in the distance are the remnants of a major volcanic eruption 35 million years ago. As the ash devris hardened, it cracked a bit, and then began to be worn down by erosion and wind abrasion. As you can see, we arrived on a cloudy, showery afternoon. Date of visit: Nov 2011 |
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The next morning dawned bright and sunny, so I was able to get some better pictures of the campground and park. After entering the park, one passes this old wind mill on the way to the campground. The 10 electric sites are just to the left of the wind mill, while the primitive sites are located among the rocks in the left distance. |
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We're on site 7, Uranus. Every site is named - the electric sites are named for the planets, while the sites among the rocks are named for stars and galaxies. |
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Sites 1-4. |
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Sites 5-10. |
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Site 1, Bootes, shows how the primitive sites are nestled up to the rocks. |
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This is site 2,
Canes Venatici. |
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Sites 4, 5 and 6. |
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You can certainly hide your tent away in site 6, Lyra Vega Star. |
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Site 7, Monoceros - I hope that rock stays up there. |
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Site 9, Phoenix. |
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Here you can see how City of Rocks arises out of the plains. That's site 24, Hercules, down to the right. |
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Site 16, Cassiopeia, is located in the Pegasus Campground up at the north end of the park. |
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Part of a three-mile hiking trail cross through the center of the "city". |
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At times you have to turn a bit sideways to sidle through narrow passages. |
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Along the trail. |
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The Gene and Elizabeth Simon Observatory contains a 14-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain LX200 GPS telescope. The telescope is mounted on a robo-pier that moves it to the exact eye level of the observer while maintaining its position on a particular object. Capable of finding and tracking 145,000 celestial objects (whose exact coordinates are stored in the telescope's database), the 100-percent-made-in-USA LX200 series of telescopes are considered "the optical standard.". Campers can participate in star-gazing activities. |
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A heated bathhouse offers free hot showers. It's located at the Visitors Center, a short walk from the campground. |
55 sites: 10 E(30/50A)/W - $14, 45 sites w/o hookups - $10 Showers available No dump station Verizon Broadband Access (EVDO) service Coord: 32.588455 N, 107.974366 W |
Activities/Nearby Attractions Hiking Simon Astronomical Observatory Gila Cliff Dwellings Silver City, Kingston, Hillsboro Emory Pass
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