from the SE corner of NM

Lakewood, NM  (SE New Mexico between Carlsbad & Artesia) Tuesday, June 7, 2011

OK, I have a vivid imagination, another fall-out of spending so much time alone.  So Saturday night, as I laid down to sleep in the motel in Boerne, Tx that was certainly NOT the Hilton, I thought, “Man, I hope they don’t have bed bugs!”  And then I spend the next several hours convinced that bedbugs were crawling all over me.  Finally, I got to sleep, to wake at 6 am exhausted.  I dragged out of bed & was slightly uncomfortable about making multiple trips to my bike to load my gear because of the vacant parking lot and non-Hilton neighborhood. Then a police officer in a marked vehicle pulled up.  I thought, “Wow.  This was not a good place for me, but at least I have armed supervision while I repack.”  Then a second, third, and fourth marked unit arrived, quietly, without lights.  They sat together in a huddle at the far end of the parking lot, and I stowed my gear on the bike.  As I was finishing up, all four cars emptied and the guys followed the owner who had just unlocked the door of the restaurant 20 yards from my bike.  An officer looked at me and smiled; I asked, “Do they serve breakfast?” – “Yes, ma’am. “  So I left my bike, locked the motel room behind me, and enjoyed Machaca for breakfast (spicy dried beef & green chilies in scrambled eggs, tortillas & refried beans) and great coffee.  When I pulled out of Boerne it was so cool I gave fleeting thought to putting the liner in my jacket, but I knew what was coming down the road and instead enjoyed being too cool.

Much of the Interstate west of Boerne has a speed limit of 80 MPH, so I was making good time.  Soon the trees were growing in splotches, with long stretches of mesquite, creosote, and cacti.  Miles later the trees went from “not stout” to down right scrawny; further down the road there were no trees, except those bushes (mesquite and creosote) that the locals call “trees.”  Most of the riverbeds were dry, lined with rocks and sand.  I stopped at a KFC and of course ate inside in the AC.  On the tables sat plastic bottles of catsup and a second bottle, filled with green salsa.  Green chilies and salsa are as common in the desert as is hot sauce for turnips in the South.  Around 3 pm on Saturday, a cloud passed over the sun for 30 to 45 seconds – I mention that because it was the only cloud I saw all day.   On Sunday afternoon, one lonely cloud covered the sun to create a shade about as wide as an over-pass.  Then the wind blew it away.

Sunday, I stopped at an exit in Ft. Stockton, TX, just before taking SR 285 north towards Carlsbad, and saw a young man standing by his Harley. It seems that whenever I get a bit cocky and begin to think I’m DOING something, I meet someone who has something to teach me.  This time, it would be Shaun.  It was clear he was NOT just riding to the Sonic or a bar.  He was in good physical shape and appeared to be either military or law enforcement; his bike was obviously well equipped for long-distance riding.  So of course we began talking.  He’s in training for a motorcycle marathon – 10,000 miles as a timed event.  He’d left Miami, Fl, on Saturday!!  Rode 1,300 miles on Saturday, so he explained, “I only have to ride 1,000 today.”

As I headed north on SR 285, the world dried up, and there were few vestiges of green.  I’m trying to learn a new trick, one JoeJoe from the Sandies has down to a science – how to take pictures while riding, without looking at or through the camera.  It is not exactly as crazy as it sounds; I wear the point & shoot camera around my neck, lift it up, point & push the button.  Then when I get access to a computer, I go through and hopefully have one or two I can share.  As hot as it is, I’m NOT interested in pulling over for a photo op, and often there is no safe place to stop anyway.  I stopped at Wal-Mart in Carlsbad, NM, to replenish my stash of protein bars and to grab a quick sandwich at SubWay.  On their choice of options for your sandwich – green chilies.  Welcome back to the West!

Sunday afternoon I rode into the Ranch, an RV park north of Carlsbad where I have leased an RV lot for several years.  Of course, this time I don’t have my RV with me, so I’ve been staying in Chris’ shed/casita (which is air conditioned).  Sleeping on the floor, I’ve “sampled” a couple of air mattresses; one leaked down, the other seems fit to travel the 4 corners.

I “planned” to be here only Sunday night, but I had to deal with some unanticipated personal business Monday and Tuesday.  From the Ranch, I had “planned” to go north to Ghost Ranch, NW from Santa Fe; however, the smoke from the fires cancelled those plans this afternoon.  Today, I was in Roswell, NM, at 2pm it was 105 degrees with a humidity of 7 % and the smoky haze was obvious; tonight I have a sore throat and cough.  So, now I find myself plotting a route to dodge as much smoke as possible as I head to California.  Looks like I’m going to have to cross the Arizona deserts low and on the Interstates – not at all what I had in mind.  But all the pretty, cool (i.e., not hot) routes to the north are burning, & I have significant upper respiratory problems.  Part of me hates it when discretion wins out!  But breathing is a good thing, so I’ll act like a grown-up and head due west in the morning.  It’s something over 1,000 miles from here to San Ysidro, Ca.; I’ll probably be there Friday.  Unless my “plans” are altered.

For those of you who don’t know me – I’m not known for long range planning or my organizational skills.  I’m a bit dyslexic & don’t “do” numbers very well.  That being said, I’ve ridden about 1,400 miles from Pensacola, Fl.  I’d be more precise, but I can’t find the tablet on which I’ve written all those details.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) , I look forward to the ride across the mountains, through Cloudcroft, down to Alamogordo, and over to Las Cruces.  If the winds are up (today, we had gusts of 40 MPH) and the haze is down, I’ll stop short for the night (about 200 miles).  Otherwise, I’ll head further west, to get beyond the smoke.