Tuesday night was windy in Albuquerque, and it continued breezy as we golfed at Black Mesa north of Santa Fe. But it was sunny and warm, perfect for golf. Technically I was the winner on Tuesday, but Casa was the obvious winner on Wednesday. It cost me a dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant on the way home.
The day before I broke my wedge at Paa-ko Ridge, so I bought another one at Black Mesa.
Yesterday morning brought another great day weather-wise. I headed west on I-40 and tried a couple exits which offered primitive roads down to Rt. 60 driving across the reservation. In both cases there with negative signs and vibes at the start of the rough road, so I moved further west.
At Grants I stopped and played a wide-open golf course Coyote del Malpais. Been there several times. Again, the golf was OK with an occasional hiccup good shot. But still had a great time.
Then I back tracked a few miles down I-40 and headed south on a small road to Quemado (Rt 187).
Great scenery, very few other cars. At Quemado I continued south to Reserve, then further south toward Silver City. My plan was to see Mogollon, stay there if possible. There were very few options for overnight stay within a 100 miles. Now it was getting late in the day. It gets dark at 7 PM, and I got to the turnoff for Mogollon at 5. The signs said 9 miles to go. There were many signs warning about no road maintenance, best not to drive it at night, narrow, yadda yadda. But it was a great late afternoon and I headed on.
Right away steep switchbacks, which ended just as quickly as I popped out on an upper plateau. After a couple miles, the switchbacks kicked back in. They were very steep with hard u-turns. No guard rail and the road was narrow, then REAL narrow. At best, a lane and a half, at worst one narrow lane. Thank God the road was rarely being used. But I did see maybe 6 cars on the round trip. Just a matter of luck if you run into one on a blind 1 mph curve 1000 feet up.
I heard a lot about this town, but the road was a complete surprise. It was very intense, and I have seen my share of those. But I KNEW I did not want to return on that road in the dark.
The road was the narrowest just near the end. But I went over one last rise, then dropped quickly down into an interior canyon, and suddenly I was there in Mogollon. I am sure there were people there, but I saw nobody. It was not what I expected at all. I expected a tourist trap of sorts, but that was not the case. Just a quiet little town. Many old vehicles sitting around. Not a sound. I drove through town and over the one lane bridge spanning the creek that ran through town. Then the road was blocked and I turned around. I wished I could stay around. There were few signs pointing toward the mining history of the town. But I simply did not have much daylight left.
So I headed out. Just as the sun dropped beyond the desert mountains, I came to an intersection where I had to make one last decision. Go left to Duncan Arizona and hope to find a room. But it was a small town and I was unsure of what was there. So I headed out of my way to the north and MORENCI. This is a big mining town in Eastern Arizona with a long mining history and it is stll cranking. A very unique town built on the edge of a mountain.
Will check it out Friday AM, then off to Tuscon.
Joe and Dot Kentucky just celebrated 59 years of wedded bliss. Can you believe that?!
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Happy Anniversary JOEKY and DOTMOM!
May you make it to 60 and 70 and more.
Congratulations, Dotmom and JoeKY, on your 59th! JoeKY, next year means a BIG PRESENT for Dotmom, so say you weren't warned! :)
1. You will do barely half the miles per hour to get there than you ever imagined was the worst case scenario. So much so at some point you will imagine that either a) you are on the wrong road, b) you could have walked here faster than drive or c) your destination ceased to exist in the last century.
2. The road will always be narrower, steeper, longer and more winding than it looks on any map. You will at some point try to ascertain how long it would take for somebody to find and rescue you. If that conservative estimate starts to run into the months with family birthdays and anniversaries where your absence might be noted then you can rest easy about the search party getting under way. Just as soon as they've finished eating your birthday cake.
3. When you finally reach your destination the place will be much smaller than you'd imagined and it will appear to be closed. What did you expect? A welcome party? There was one but it ended a couple of hours back when the cake ran out. What took you so long? Did you walk or something?
My map legend has enlightened me no end on US road classifications (for there are many). I have been known to accidentally follow drainage ditches over in Norfolk (easily done) so now I pay attention to the details. From primary routes with multi-laned and divided highways (thick pink lines) to earthy (mud) connecting roads that are 'nearing completion' (grey linked sausages). Unhelpfully these are identical to the grey linked sausages which highlight fully completed earth roads as well as the still under construction earth roads.
Mine fields would be a better name for them. Avoid grey sausages Pud, they are trubba.
I now know the difference between interstate routes, a provincial route and ones the AAA have designated as scenic (closed in winter). I also know if they are US Federal, Indian, County, Local or Mexico Federal routes.
Let me know if you need any help with that last bit Joseph. Your rental insurance doesn't stretch into Mexico, assuming you bought some to cover you in the US this time? How very unique...
I can also enlighten you as to other interesting and important to note features on the US landscape that you might otherwise miss/ accidentally drive into, such as large rocks, dry lakes and caves. With or without rest rooms. I don't suppose there are too many ferry terminals around Chollas way, much less coral reefs, but I can see many a customs station. Which bodes not well, given Joes history.
I don't suppose that rental car comes with a border fence repelling device does it? Something that can counteract your inexplicable magnetic draw towards it.
Thin end of the wedge = deep end of the bunker.
Happy Anniversary to Dotmom and Papa Joe – 59 years? I can believe it – 'cos I know how old Pudden Head is next birthday!
You can enjoy your celebration cake in Kentucky without fear of indigestion, the Chollas are in charge of any rescue missions today!
Joe, you are giving me serious nostalgaitis. My old alma mater, New Mexico Tech, is celebrating its homecoming this weekend. It's called Forty Niner's Days. The school was founded in 1889 as the New Mexico School of Mines. I'd like to go to one, but the time, distance and expense -- and my own infirmities -- sort of rule it out at least this year.
But, this is really the magical season down the Rio Grande Valley and through the New Mexican west. I so miss the smell of pinion fires, drying chiles, and roasted pinion nuts. As a student, my friends and I used to drive up to the country around Quemado to buy peck sacks of roasted pinion nuts from Navajos selling them by the roadside.
I think this was in a region known as the "Checkerboard Reservation". Navajo families were a frequent sight in Socorro. They would come to town to do laundry and shop. I recall one Navajo man who had just gotten a haircut gathering all the clippings into a paper sack when the barber finished. They believe that if anyone can get so much as a hair from their head, that one could use it to make black magic against them. They take hair and nail clippings out in the desert and hide them where they will never be found.
You can get a real understanding of this part of the world by reading Tony Hillerman's detective novels. Joe, you should be looking for a house in Socorro. The college has an excellent 18 hole golf course. I don't know if it's PGA or not, but they do play the Conrad Hilton Open there every year. Conrad was from Socorro in his early days.
According to WU, we are supposed to see our first serious rainy weather commencing Sunday and lasting through Tuesday. We do hope so! My black 4Runner looks like it's in desert camouflage. I'm sure the solar panels could use a good rinse too.
Joe, by the time you get here, the rain should be pretty much over. The weather is supposed to be on the cool side of mild: mid-60s and partly cloudy but dry. I'd guess that is pretty great golf weather.
Truly, we feel blessed to have a great family, good health and a bright future. Oh yes, we take a number of pills for this and that, but who doesn't. JoeKy had a bout with colon cancer in 1999, but no repercussions since. So we have agreed to forge ahead with vigor into our 60th year of marriage. It's less than a year away you know.
JoeAlaska, are you rested up and relaxed as yet?
I agree with Cybersuze. Why not rent to see if that is really the place you want to be, etc. Think about it, scout it out, but take your time.
Speaking of roaming, Joe, I can't see you getting too settled...but then you could buy your own 4X4 and to heck with a rental contract telling you not to take that road! You could travel to your heart's content, get rid of that "island" mentality of being limited to that speck of dirt surrounded by the ocean...take off as often as you want.
Happy trails!
Enjoying the trip and talk. I can't wait to see the pictures.
We remember that while visiting us Joe mentioned that he had forgotten to bring some critical part for his camera. We think it was the cable used for downloading photos from the camera to his laptop, but we're not sure. He had gone to a Radio Shack to buy what he needed, but they didn't have it.
We hope he finds what he needs soon, and can update us with pictures of his wanderings.
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