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...
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...
posted by ellie at 16:25
1 Comments:
Wish I'd have been there with you, but I love to hear your stories and see the pictures of your exploits... Love you, babe.... :)
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