The topography of the canyons is dramatic and beautiful. The canyons around the campsite are over 300 feet deep, covered with vegetation, and a far cry from the typical desert Southwest rockcrawling.
Our little group of extreme rock aficionados, the Rat Pack, has ranged far and wide across the western United States in search of rocky fun. After many, many years of rendezvousing in Montrose, Colorado, each Memorial Day, we were looking for something new and fresh. Clint Cates of RDY2ROK Off-Road had been trying to get us to visit a private ranch in northwestern New Mexico for several years. Although the photos and descriptions looked very promising, we had always somehow managed to miss each opportunity. After hooking up with Clint at the 2007 Chile Challenge, we decided to try again, and Memorial Day weekend was chosen as the target date.
Arriving on the VERY rainy Friday evening prior to Memorial Day, we were unsure of what to expect or what we might find. We found the simple gated entrance to the pasture just as Clint had promised us. We slowly and carefully crept down the two-track across the mesa top, mindful of any potential wet spots from the recent rains. Rounding the corner, we spied a collection of motor homes, campers, tents, and numerous trailers full of rock-conquering machinery. Yes, we were in the right place! We hunkered down for the night with the sound of the occasional remaining rain shower splattering on the roof.
A quick look outside the next morning verified that the rain had moved off during the night and we could at least hope for some wheeling before it returned. After breakfast, we hunted down Clint and got our instructions for the day. Clint volunteered to lead us to the trailhead to get us started but had other duties for the day. Since we had not been there before, he suggested starting us with a "typical" extreme trail so we could get a feel for the general difficulty of the trails. We formed our short caravan of eight capable vehicles and followed Clint through camp. At the edge of camp, the road tipped over the canyon rim and dropped quickly into the depths of the Canadian River canyon system.
The Canadian River is born in the high country along the New Mexico and Colorado border and winds it way across northeastern New Mexico, the Texas panhandle, and most of Oklahoma before dumping into the Arkansas River near Tulsa. It is at its most spectacular for a 50-mile stretch in northeastern New Mexico where the river and its tributary canyons have cut a labyrinthine pattern down through the grassland and up to 1,000 feet of sandstone. We felt truly privileged to enter this private rockcrawling paradise.
RDY2ROK Off-Road utilizes the Ray Ranch for its rockcrawling adventures. The Ray Ranch comprises 18,000 acres and over 100 miles of Canadian River tributary canyons. It is located a handful of miles west of Roy, New Mexico, and just east of where Highway 120 crosses the river canyon. The ranch has been around since 1907 and remains a working cattle ranch today, specializing in the Corrientes breed. In an effort to diversify, the ranch is also marketing itself as a haven for recreationists, including four-wheel-drive enthusiasts. Clint, working with a small group of fellow four-wheelers over the last couple of years, has pioneered an unbelievable set of trails in the ranch's rocky canyons.