Getting to Carlsbad

Second Chance wrote:
285 heading north out of Pecos is the worst road on the planet - especially the NM part. It's so beat-up from the heavy rigs it's rough as all he!!, two-lane, and has heavy oil pipeline construction traffic. With the gas burn-off torches at the oil wells and the desolate scenery, it looks like something from a post-apocalyptic movie. The whole thing makes me embarrassed to admit I'm a native New Mexican.

Rob

TRUTH!! - we went through there when we went down to San Antonio from carlsbad Caverns.

It won't be there long enough

frizzen wrote:

SleepyBadger wrote:
2gypsies, was looking at some of the reviews for that site and it looks like there are issues with rats. How long ago were you there?

I stayed at Brantley a year ago. Didn't see any rats or rattlers but there were a lot of quail that keep roaming through the camp ground. Take a bag of bird seed.

Bird seed draws in the snakes and rats! :W

SleepyBadger wrote:
2gypsies, was looking at some of the reviews for that site and it looks like there are issues with rats. How long ago were you there?

I stayed at Brantley a year ago. Didn't see any rats or rattlers but there were a lot of quail that keep roaming through the camp ground. Take a bag of bird seed.

Another who does not take the road from Pecos to Carlsbad. Horrible shape road and very RV unfriendly big rigs on the road.

Pack rats (& snakes) are all over this country - probably in your town, too. We've camped in the desert Southwest for many, many years without an issue.

I just went on the RVParkReviews.com site and read the reviews for the past 2 years and didn't see any mention of pack rats. You didn't mention where you read this. It's a very popular park.

Brantley is a nice place to stay but in summer there are rattlesnakes. This time of year is still a little cool in the mornings but watch for them later in the day especially where the sun is on a heat absorbing surface like gravel or roads.

I think the reviews you read were for pack rats. They will try to nest in your vehicles and trailer. They are big nest builders and use cactus spines, sticks, dog/coyote poop for nest protection. You need thick gloves and pliers to dispose of the nests.

2gypsies, was looking at some of the reviews for that site and it looks like there are issues with rats. How long ago were you there?

For Carlsbad we stay at Brantley Lake State Park.