Is this the way to Amarillo?
Pringle Epiphanies
Hopefully not. Amarillo may be next to Gallup in the song but if I end up there I will have overshot my destination by some distance!
Having stayed in Gallup last night on a whim, I find myself with something of a dilemma, being in the North West of New Mexico when ideally I need to be in the South East. Given the proximity to Arizona, a sensible person would perhaps just abandon the rest of the New Mexico itinerary and just move one. Obviously I am not that person.
I look at the options. Ideally I want to be within striking distance of Roswell tomorrow, and that is quite some distance. I could just drive, see how far I can get and just stop there, or just book somewhere in Roswell to force me to go all the way..? I am wracked with indecision. Meh. I’ll just head out and figure it out later. The journey is all!
Looking at where I had planned to go, it seems that one of the places I had planned to visit going west is not far away and I can come at it from the opposite direction. That seems like a good start.
And so I find myself at the Bandera volcano.
[Sidenote: I also crossed the Continental Divide again, going in the opposite direction from yesterday. I like to keep saying “crossed the Continental Divide” as it makes the journey sound more epic than it is.]
This is a great place: a pleasant walk up to the caldera of the volcano, then a scenic route back down via an ice cave. The ice cave was apparently known to the local indians (and there is evidence that they built some dwellings from the lave here) as the winter lake. The cave never gets above 31F (which was welcome in the heat today) and the ice at the bottom is apparently 20 feet thick. Cool indeed!
The cave amongst the bushes is part of a dwelling built from lava blocks.
I have tried selfies over the years but, as can be clearly seen, have never quite mastered the art. I used to try smiling but that just came out as some disturbing gurn, so I thought it best to stick with resting glum face. I like to think that it encapsulates an appropriate level of disapproval of and disappointment with the world in general.
I am inordinately fond of lava (don’t judge, we all have our things) and the lichen covered areas remind me of Iceland - the temperature not so much. Having had my fill of fire and ice, I am ready to continue my journey - whatever that should be. I retreat to the car and aircon to consult the interweb as to my next move. Not going to happen it seems. New Mexico is not the best for phone coverage I have discovered.
Enter plan B. Go old school and consult the road atlas ( I know some of you will struggle with this concept) brought along for just this sort of eventuality. Looks fairly simple. I will take a route in the direction of Roswell and defer the accommodation question.
Now having blamed the interstates for killing the romance of the road, they have now become my best friends as I have some distance to travel and need to barrel across the state at speed. What a hypocrite!
Anyway, a brief, miscalculated comfort break finds me in the Walmart car park. I will use their toilet but then feel obliged to buy something. I had thought of getting a sandwich, but there was nothing to be had that was not infested with meat. I grab a few snacks, an energy drink for the road and then spot a bottle of Makers Mark bourbon for $23. It would be rude not to really.
Back in the car park, with a phone signal, I return to the question of where to stop. I look at places between Roswell and Almogordo (my next two scheduled stops). It may mean more driving, but the thought of being able to say in the same hotel for more than one night, and possibly getting some laundry done, outweighs other considerations and I book somewhere in Ruidoso. On the suggestion of my travel consultant, I have downloaded reward apps which cover most of the hotel chains and so snag a quick discount too. Accommodation booked, I hit the road again as there are another 160 miles to go.
This of course does not leave much time for stopping for random points of interest. Not that the drive is without its own rewards. This was probably the most beautiful drive I have done in the US, and that’s a fairly high bar! Once off the interstates, the section between Belen and Ruidoso is absolutely gorgeous. It has everything you expect from a US road trip: roads across arid scrublands vanishing into infinity, winding roads through verdant mountain passes. If you are ever in the vicinity I recommend it.
And of course the long drive leads to musing…
I pass the Cowboy Church - “the church for everyone”. Is the cowboy the epitome of the the average Joe or does the church just cater for people with a penchant for Stetsons and boots?
I pass through Los Lunas and am left gently rocking with irritation. My Spanish is fairly basic but should that not be Las Lunas?
Pringles. I t strikes me that the small tubes of Pringles are the ideal driving snack: you can just prod a finger in and it instantly flips a couple of crisps into your hand without the need to look or think too hard. Genius
As ever, all the big philosophical questions with a long drive. Focus Tony, focus.
And so on to Ruidoso. I selected this purely on the basis of proximity to Roswell and Almogordo. Turns out it is a really pretty mountain town. The hotel is great and there is a brew pub directly opposite, with live music just waiting for my evening victuals. Couldn’t have worked out better if I had planned it. I take this as yet more evidence that I am a Tao master and that the power of wu wei should not be underestimated!
Roswell tomorrow. Beam me up Scotty!