May 26 - “IT WAS A WHAT??”

We pulled out of Albuquerque around 8:15 or so. After a stop for gas we hit I25 and headed to our next stop - that would be traffic coming to a complete halt due to a wreck. Two sheriffs and a city police car were already on scene, though, so the stoppage quickly became a slowdown. We were back up to the speed limit (75!) in no time. 

Our only National Park stop of the day was a place called Fort Union. On the way there we saw three or four antelope playing, as the song goes. Beautiful critters. 

The fort had been a sprawling bastion of a large military contingent built right on the Santa Fe Trail. All that’s left are ruins. Reminded me of Fort Davis, only much bigger in scale. As far as hikes go, this one was the hardest of all we have attempted. For me anyway. Why? Well, not because the trail was at all difficult. It was flat and only a little over a mile long. The problem was the wind. We were out on the prairie. Temp was 72 with a “feels like” of 68. Nice.  But the wind. Oh, the wind. Sustained winds of 22 mph. Gusts up to 39. That kind of sucks away all the moisture in your body. And of course we left the water bottles in the car. “Hey,” we thought. “It’s only a mile. What could go wrong?” 

Well, by the time we finished, I was feeling all in. My esteemed medical opinion  was that I by getting dehydrated. Maybe not that drastic yet, but I sure downed the water when we got back to the car. We went ahead and ate our leftovers for lunch. 

Fully sustained, we began the long trek to - believe it or not - Lubbock, Texas. Not that we are necessarily finished with New Mexico. It’s just that our great-nephew (is that what you call it? My brother’s grandson) is graduating from high school this afternoon, and we really wanted to be there. 

We did decide to take a scenic route, though. The fastest way is one we have driven many, many times over the years after camps at Glorieta. To be different we choose an alternate that added just 15 minutes to our ETA. But, oh, the places we did go through to get here from there. And the sights we did see. How about a sampling?

Wagon Mound (they had a gas station so we topped off the tank). 

Resting deer (an actual deer taking a rest. Head was up and watching the surroundings, though. Can’t have any unwanted altercations with lions or tigers or bears. Oh, my!)

Quail (the critter, not a town name. This little dude waddled right across the road like he desperately needed to get to the other side). 

Canadian River Canyon (not really in Canada. At least I don’t think so. And not much of a river. Just a puddle, actually. But quite the impressive canyon. Hence the name). 

Bunches of cows (OK, so not very exciting. But they were out there nonetheless). 

Roy (that one’s a town name. Two key things there. Well, three if you count that’s where we turned. One was an abandoned hotel named “Kilmurray Hotel.”  Spread the word. Murray, stay out of Roy. They are out to get you there. Finally, they had a very nice stadium there for competitions involving cowboys and cowgirls. That would make it ROYdeo Arena, wouldn’t it?). 

Solano (this town’s claim to fame was its cemetery that had its own road sign. No real town, but they had a cute little post office). 

Mosquero (NOT Mosquito. These guys were really on the ball.  They changed their speed limit so you’d have to slow down and take note of the actual human presence. At least so we thought. The town was actually very pretty. Murals on most buildings. Even a sign to public restrooms. BUT … there was not a single human being in sight. Anywhere. It was … The Twilight Zone). 

LEAVE US ALONE! (Whew! During one particularly long stretch of the winding road outside of Mosquero, we began to worry that the person in the car in front of us was falling asleep. It would drift first to one side, then back. Scary stuff when you are considering how best to pass them. Chris timed it perfectly, and took off. And as we passed I glanced at the driver to see if I could discern his condition. And IT WAS A LITTLE KID! Maybe 6 or 7 years old. He had to be in someone’s lap, but he had full control of the steering wheel. No wonder all the residents of Twilight Zone-ville were staying behind closed doors). 

Tumbleweeds (again, not a town. Just a New Mexico Thing).

San Jon (guess that means Saint John in Portuguese. We got gas there. That tropical storm force wind was a little worse). 

Grady (the place where we turned left and drove through a wind farm. Turbines were working overtime). 

Broadview (home of the running dog)

Texico (wonder if they’re just confused as to where they are as I am. Texas? New Mexico? I’m so confused!). 

Speaking of confused, we were in Texas, but almost immediately we lost the hour we gained last week. 

Glad we factored that into our hotel planning. 

Speaking of planning, we did some on-the-fly locating of a McAlister’s Deli, one of our favorites. We found one not very far from the hotel. Thank you, Texas Tech students for creating the need for such an establishment. 

Father, thank you for all the wacky things and places we have seen so far. Your world is just amazing. Amen.