We really liked Fort Stanton/Snowy River Cave NCA too - it even brought back memories of limestone hills in Texas’ Edwards Plateau. It eventually got too warm in mid-July while we were there but we plan to go back in cooler weather. In addition, the easy access to Capitan for supplies and Amazon locker deliveries at Brewer’s gas station was convenient (I did some van repairs using some Amazon supplies we picked up).

At the time Rob Jagger’s Campground was closed for an equestrian event unfortunately, so we ended filling up water in Capitan at Mama Bear’s RV park for a small fee ($5 I think).

Reminds me of a few months ago when part of Lincoln National Forest closed due to the the fires near Ruidoso.

The closure notice described the designated area for closure in such a way it was very hard to understand and visualize, and this closure notice didn’t include a map of the closed area. I had to just call the Capitan Ranger District HQ and ask if the area in which we planned to dispersed camp was open or closed. I thought it was in the designated area for closure, but the ranger said it wasn’t closed and was open!

We moved from Fort Stanton/Snowy River Cave NCA up into the Capitan Mountains - it was a scary drive up the mountain, but we loved it up there.

Update: near Los Alamos/Jemez Springs, NM we had a pack rat build a nest in the engine bay right under the Rid-a-Rat between my periodic checks of the engine bay, so perhaps it doesn’t work as advertised.

Re: mouse wars:

I’ve been using a Rid-a-Rat Model RC-2 for over a year now and haven’t had any rodents in the engine bay yet.

It is overpriced for what it is (low power flashing LED light) but it was easier than making my own or doing something manual every night.