From Roswell, NM to Show Low, AZ (days 3 & 4)

i left Roswell and traveled on US 380 through the beautiful Hondo Valley....



...which divides Lincoln National Forest into its northern and southern portions. This, by the way, is where Smokey Bear is from. (The natives say they have no idea where his middle name, "the" came from... and they ought to know.) He was a real black bear who was orphaned in a huge fire in the Lincoln National Forest. The town of Capitan, on this road, hosts the national museum of Smokey Bear.

As i left the Lincoln National Forest, i found Carrizo Mountain, and found it stunning.


Oddly enough, i hunted only one ghost town on the Safari. White Oaks, New Mexico. Here is a photo from above the old schoolhouse. Everything was off limits, as some eccentrics have moved back into the town since its desertion, but it is mostly lifeless. Too bad, because it's such a beautiful setting.


There was another long stretch of US 380 between White Oaks and Socorro, which tracked along the northern border of the infamous White Sands Missile Range. It is completely off limits to the public, and the Trinity Site is inaccessible except during two weekends of the year. Luckily for us science teachers, those two weekends are in April and October.

As i neared Socorro, where i slept night 3, i crossed the Rio Grande. Here it is as it flows off to the south to form the Mexican/American border.


Day 4 began as i excitedly left Socorro and headed west on US 60. i passed through Magdalena and then turned south on a barely paved road toward the NRAO VLA. On the way, i saw my first of many pronghorn antelope. All totaled, i saw over 50 of them, often grazing right by the side of the road. And i never saw a single dead one. i guess they too, are smarter than whitetail deer.



The NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) runs the VLA (Very Large Array) outside of Socorro because there are very few people around, the Plains of Augustin are extremely flat, and it is surrounded by mountains on all sides to block radio interference from towns and cities. i don't think i can begin to aptly describe the vastness of this high, chilly desert. It was astounding. i also managed to spend hours... many, many hours... exploring this site and photographing the radio telescopes.



There are 27 radio telescopes at the VLA, each over 40 feet high. They are also - and i didn't know this before going - all mobile. Yes, these babies can be picked up and moved. Not quickly, mind you, but effectively. There are 9 telescopes on each arm of a Y shape. When they are all close together, they encompass and area only 1/2 mile wide. Fully extended, each arm of the Y is 13 miles long, and the whole array would not fit within the Washington, DC beltway.




i dragged myself away from the VLA to continue west on US 60 and in so doing crossed the border to Arizona. When i put my feet down for the first time in Arizona soil, my state count reached 47.



This is Escundilla Mountain, the third highest peak in Arizona and home to it's last grizzly bear:



Shortly after entering Arizona i crossed into the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. i cannot begin to describe to you the beauty of this land. It truly must be sacred.


i stopped at around 4pm to hike the Mogollon (pronounced Muggy-own) Rum Trail. The trail was only about 3 miles, but the Rim itself stretches across a large portion of eastern Arizona. It divides the Reservation from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.




i stopped in Show Low, Arizona on night 4, a small town that, legendarily, was named for the card game in which it was won. It is also outpost of private land in a sea of National Forests. This section of Arizona is mostly public land, mostly Forest Service land. Within an hour's drive from the town is Apache-Sitgreaves NF, Tonto NF, Coconino NF, and Prescott NF.

i managed to haggle my way into a $60/night motel room for $40 flat. i honestly wasn't trying to bargain with the guy, i just didn't want to pay $60! So i told him thank you but i was going to check out some other motels in town. He wouldn't let me go. It was a very nice room, probably the second nicest of the trip, but made nicer for the extra $20 i saved.

i was really looking forward to staying in these little motels where you walk in and meet the owner, pull right up to your room, and still use regular keys. i managed to do this every night except one. But that's a post for another day.

From Wichita, KS to Roswell, NM (Days 1 & 2)

Well, so begins the chronicle of my Southwest Safari. On Monday i slept later than i thought i would be able to, and had some errands to run so i did not leave Wichita until after 11am. But Safari or none, i am on vacation, so i didn't mind so much. This, by the way, was my ride....

How much does THAT rock? At the Hertz, they were all out of the compact cars i wanted, so they gave me the 'Stang for the same price. The gas mileage was a little lower than i was hoping for, but c'mon... who wouldn't want to tool around New Mexico and Arizona for ten days in that hot little thing? So i set off west on US 54, and followed it through Greensburg, Kansas (the once and future town) almost exactly a year after the tornado leveled it, as well as Pratt, Meade, and Liberal. From there i crossed the Oklahoma border and had to ride through the panhandle before getting my first new state, Texas, officially number 45. i only went through the corner of Texas's panhandle, but passed through a number of small towns. This was the only photograph i took of Texas:



i entered New Mexico near a small town called Nara Visa, barely a wide spot in the road, and continued south to Tucumcari.



i stopped in Tucumcari and stayed my first night in what would turn out to be my favorite motel of the 9 i slept in. It was called, simply enough, the Tucumcari Inn. It had a queen bed, air conditioning, a clean shower, and only cost me $25.16. The next day i was headed to Roswell, and, determined not to use an interstate, i drove some very questionable state routes that took me past a number of places like this...


...and directly through several cattle runs. Seriously. i turned west on NM 252 in a "town" called McAllister, only to see a large herd of cattle on the road ahead of me. i drove carefully up to the back of the pack and asked one of the cowboys if there was another way around. He was very pleasant and just told me to drive right through 'em and they'd know to get out of my way. i guess cows are smarter than whitetail deer.


Once i got to Fort Sumner, i took another state route south to Roswell. Talk about lonely road.... i might have seen two other cars in 80 miles.


Roswell is a very cute, very modern town. It has CD stores, Wal-Marts, Applebees, and a lovely, historic downtown. Think of Anderson, South Carolina, only in the desert. Very close to the center of town is the Roswell UFO Museum and Research Center. They have a lot of great exhibits (presenting both sides of the story)...

...as well as art, a theater rolling documentaries, and a gift shop.



Just down the street you can catch a bite at this quirky restaurant...