Day 2 (Ft. Stockton, Tx to Santa Fe, NM)

The wake up call came at 5:30 AM but I had already been up for about 10 or 15 minutes in eager anticipation of the ride ahead. The day would bring the first of many twisty mountain roads, beautiful scenery and blessed cool temperatures. It would also bring an interesting dining experience at midday!

I met Tomas at 6:30 at our "free" continental breakfast courtesy of the Holiday Inn. Once finished, we hopped on our STeeds and made our way to the nearest gas station where we topped off our tanks, then headed north on highway 285 for Carlsbad, NM and eventually to Artesia, NM where we would turn west on highway 82 and head for the Sacramento Mountains.

The ride through the arid landscape prior to hitting the mountains was sort of depressing. The part of southeast New Mexico that surrounds Carlsbad and Artesia is hot, dry and sparsely vegetated with scraggly plants. It kind of made me appreciate the tree filled scenery of southeast Texas.

As my impressions about this landscape were being formed, we went through a very, very, small town in the middle of this desolate landscape called Hope. All I could think of was "Abandon all hope ye who live here!". Luckily we had throttled back on our STeeds as we approached the town because the village LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) was parked on the side of the road. He stared at our "weird" looking machines as if we were escapees from Area 51 but he managed to raise his hand when I waved at him as we passed. I mentally mumbled "I come in peace" as I waved and thought back to the Dolf Lundgren movie by that title.

A short while after waving "Adios" to the Hope, NM LEO, we entered the foothills of the Sacramento Range and our first twisty. It was really hard keeping my squidly tendencies under control after almost 800 miles of straight line riding but I managed to control myself in the sweepers by reminding myself that these were unfamiliar roads. Soon, we were in the mountains and arrived a little burg where we stopped for lunch at the town's only eatery.

As we pulled up to this mountain town's cafe I noticed that there were plenty of cars out front. This has always been a good sign to me because it usually means that the food will be good. Well, this place proved that there are indeed exceptions to every rule. I ordered a cheese enchilada plate and Tomas had a chicken fried steak. About the only thing good that I can say about my meal was that it was protein. Never in my life have I had chili that tasted like vinegar! In the words of my dear departed Uncle from deep east Texas, it tasted so bad it would gag a maggot! Tomas meanwhile managed to consume part of his probably freezer burned, chicken fried steak. As we walked out of that four star mountain establishment, we both agreed that back in Texas these folks would be strung up for serving such a meal. From this point on, I vowed to stick to hamburgers as much as possible because they *should* be hard to screw up.

As we left the site of our culinary disaster (hoping I might add that we wouldn't soon find ourselves hurling chunks on the side of the road as a result of our "meal"), we proceeded deeper into the Sacramento Mountains headed toward Cloudcroft. Along the way we experienced beautiful scenery and mile after mile of twisty mountain roads. Upon arrival at Cloudcroft we took highway 244 north which headed into the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. Just before the reservation, we hit an incredibly beautiful valley filled with wild flowers of every color. It was like something out of a painting. A few miles into the reservation we came to highway 70 and headed northeast, then northwest on 48 to Ruidoso.

Ruidoso was a very "touristy" place and crowded. It was slow going through town as we dodged tourists on foot and in their cars. On the edge of town we hit a light rain shower and proceeded toward Alto on 48 then took 37 to Nogal. At Nogal we hooked a left and headed to the town of Carrizozo where we got on highway 54 and headed north. As it was a relatively major road for this area with plenty of traffic and the LEOs that they attract, we kept a close eye on our speed until we came to highway 55.

At highway 55 we "wicked" the spirited STs up a bit and made good time as we headed for the town of Claunch and beyond. The scenery along this road was pure eye candy. Several times we would head over a rise to find ourselves confronted with a beautiful vista filled with wide, green grass filled valleys and distant mountains. A few miles past Claunch we came upon ruins of an Anasazi village called Gran Quivira . Beside being an interesting bit of history, it was also a good place to stop, rest and walk around a bit.

While touring the ruins we noticed several stone lined, circular pits. I wondered aloud as to what they might be, speculating that they might have been for grain storage. A couple of women nearby overheard my remark and said that they were "Kivas". I said, "They're a who?". One of them looked at me and said that I must be from the midwest (for not knowing what a Kiva was). I told her, "No, it's worse than that, I'm from Houston.". She then proceeded to tell me that they were prayer pits.

After touring the ruins and giving our rumps a break, we proceeded through the town of Mountainair and beyond on highway 55 to skirt the eastern edge of the Manzano Mountains as we made our way toward Albuquerque. Though scenic, this stretch of road had several small towns and settlements that were nothing but incredible pockets of poverty. These settlements were filled with run down shacks and what seemed like hundreds of old beat up cars on blocks. It was a reminder that all is not as it seems in paradise.

Just past Tajique, we left 55 and headed north on 337 hoping to pick up highway 14 where it intersected I-40 just east of Albuquerque at the town of Tijeras. This was not to be however because try as we might, we could not find the road. Instead, we took I-40 west into Albuquerque then took I-25 to Santa Fe.

Tomas and I arrived in Santa Fe just prior to nightfall and checked into the Howard Johnson's where we got very good room rates. We were so tired of sitting all day on our motorcycles that we chose to walk to the nearest eatery rather than ride. After eating we returned to the hotel and made plans for the final, relatively short trip to Durango. It would be nice not to have to travel another 14 hours straight. Tomorrow, after a mere 6 hours or so of traveling, WeSTOC would begin and our STeeds could mingle with others of their kind.

Next Day

Back

Home