A Michigan Journey: Movin' on

Tuesday was our last full day at Poncho Villa State Park and we wanted to see more of the "local" attractions in this area. We saw signs on the freeway coming in, and on the map, for City of Rocks State Park and Silver City to the north. I checked the distance to the park and it was about 80 miles. Silver Springs was a little beyond that. Distances in the western desert are very deceiving since the mountains you see on the horizons can be anywhere between fifteen and fifty miles away. So on we went.
After driving for an hour and a half we made it to City of Rocks S.P. This is the site of an ancient volcano that erupted 1000 times larger than Mt St Helens. The area is strewn with the weathered relics of that eruption and some of the rock formations were truly awesome. Another thing the area is known for is being a dark sky area for viewing the night sky. We toured the campground and visitor's center, watched a filmstrip and hiked amongst the rocks. Later we drove to the top of a lookout and had our lunch.
From here we drove the next thirty miles north to Silver City. We were looking for an old mining town, but what we were seeing was a lot of modern development and urban sprawl. We stopped at the local Walmart to get a couple of things we needed at camp and asked about the old historical downtown area. The nice lady at the register told me that it was a bit further up the highway to the north. As we left Walmart I noticed a sign that said "Historical downtown area" with a sign pointing straight ahead! We found a parking area and walked main street to do some window shopping and get some exercise. Neat old town and lots of interesting antique shops, taverns and cafes.
As we were driving back to camp I realized this trip was no small ride, and we both decided that 220 miles was a bit much just to see the "local" attractions.
On Wednesday morning we watched the weather and they were threatening a strong storm with rain and high winds, possible dust storm and cold temperatures. We could see ominous clouds to the west and the winds were picking up. We decided to wait and see if it would be feasible to make our move to Patagonia Lake in Arizona. Soon the wind was howling and the rain started. It rained and blew for about two hours and then the sun started peaking and the winds died down some. We decided to pack a lunch, pack up camp and make our move.
The ride was kind of windy and we drove through a couple of rain showers on the way, but the rain kept the dust from blowing. By four fifteen we were at Patagonia Lake State Park. They are promising temperatures in the seventies here for several days, so we are hoping to get the kayaks off of the roof!

Some pictures....