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.
...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.
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.
posted by ellie at 16:06
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