Oversized Nuts, Weird Names and Wigwams
And the consequences of truly random decisions
Today I am heading to Almogordo and White Sands National Park. Of course I am not going directly there - that is for amateur road trippers. First stop : the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. This is an amazing place and, once I got beyond the usual caution inspired by these sort of signs, I had great time exploring.
I suspect it would be possible to spend days here … although not for those of us with packed itineraries! There are thousands of petroglyphs, representing animals, religious symbols etc.
I am once again struck by the similarity of some of the symbols here to other cultures. Now this could be explained as some of the symbols being quite basic and therefore likely to arise in multiple places, possibly something embedded in the collective unconscious or evidence of contact of cultures or a common root much further back in history than generally accepted.
Whatever the explanation, in amongst the petroglyphs I once again spotted Elder Futhark runes along with ankhs, swastikas and symbols that looked like a caduceus. Coincidence? Food for thought…
Onwards toward Almogordo, but not without a stop at Pistachio Land to take in the world’s biggest pistachio nut. Now it is one of the rules of the road trip that if you encounter a “world’s biggest” roadside attraction, you have to pull over and take look.
I’m a little conflicted about this one. Impressive it may be but does it count? Most “world’s biggest” are just large instances of the object in question - a giant rocking chair of frying pan etc., but indisputably just a bigger instance of the object for which superlatives are being espoused. This clearly is not actually a pistachio nut, so does the claim stand? The jury is out but might as well go peruse some nut-based merch while I am here.
On to White Sands? Not so fast. Almogordo has a Turin Shroud exhibit and museum. Clearly I cannot pass that by. I thought that the sat nav had bowled me a googly at first but then realised that the museum is actually in a shopping mall. Next to an LA Nails. Only in America!
The staff/volunteers in there were very helpful and welcoming (to be fair I was the only visitor) and I asked them what such a place was doing in New Mexico. It seems that some of the scientists and engineers who undertook studies on the shroud were from here.
Reading one of the displays, I can’t help thinking that when they refer to thousands of people travelling to encounter the ironic shroud that perhaps they meant “iconic”? Or maybe the shroud holds even more secrets than I thought? Anyway, they have been so friendly and accommodating that I don’t have the heart to raise it.
And finally, on to White Sands National Park / Missile Range. What to say about White Sands? It is exactly as advertised: white and sandy. It is a very hot day and the the reflected heat off the sand is brutal. I have never felt less inclined to take to a trail in a national park.
And somewhere out there of course is the Trinity test site of the first atomic bomb.
On the way to my hotel for the evening, I see a sign for the missile museum which I think might be fun, and veer off to take a look. I have either misunderstood the sign or missed a turn as I approach the checkpoint for White Sands missile base with many signs demanding having ID at the ready etc. This doesn’t seem as though it is for me. Hopefully the U-turn just before the checkpoint doesn’t look too suspicious!
Now tomorrow I have to travel some distance west into Arizona on my way to Sedona. Sensibly, I would have stayed somewhere local tonight then driven half of the distance tomorrow. We have already established that I lack any common sense in matters of logistics (the fact that I cross the continental divide 3 times in a few days might be some indication of the efficiency of my route). And so my travel plans are shaped by the fact that
(a) I want to stay in Truth or Consequences (just because it has a ridiculous name) and
(b) I really want to stay in one of the iconic Wigwam motels on Route 66
So, on I drive to Truth and Consequences, which turns out to be a very pleasant town with a penchant for murals (and for staying at home on a Friday evening if the ghost town vibe is anything to go by).
Now I had imagined that the name came from some incident of high drama in the Old West. Not so. It seems that Truth or Consequences was a radio quiz show. The host was looking for somewhere different to broadcast a special anniversary edition and offered to broadcast from the first town willing to change its name. The town voted and in 1950 Hot Springs became Truth or Consequences. Apparently there is still an annual festival celebrating this landmark decision.
Now this leave me with about 300 miles or so to drive the next day, but that is not too onerous on American roads. Or so I thought. US 60 West, it turns out, is pretty bleak and I travel about 150 miles along it passing very little but a couple of one horse towns. Admittedly one of those was Pie Town and I was quite tempted to stop for an early lunch as, as far as I could see, Pie shops/cafes was pretty much all that was there. I figure that a stomach fill of stodge will not be conducive to the long drive and pass through, sorry, thru.
A couple of distractions along the way. I pass the Very Large Array (one for the astronomy nerds!), although it seems not on a route with an entrance…
… and some quite fetching landscape of extinct volcanos…
… before turning on to US 77 north and blasting through to Holbrook, AZ, Route 66 and my digs for the evening.
All good fun, but when a train goes past on the line behind the motel (and these are US freight trains which take about 5 minutes to pass) the whole wigwam shakes. That’s the price you pay for buying into a genuine piece of American heritage :-)