April 28, 2017 by Rae

Mérida or Bust — Day Three: Castle Rock, CO, to Amarillo, TX

Total Kilometres to Drive: 5,400

Kilometres Driven Today: 630

Total Kilometres Driven: 1,860

Kilometres Left: 3,540

Amount of Trip Completed: 34.44%

It can be freaky how much people know about me because of what I write on the blog, but it also means hosts can make me a lovely dinner to my taste and serve me delicious things like this toasted coconut beer:

I may have fallen in love last night. 😀

I went to bed pretty early and was out the door by about 6:35. My host and some friends meet at Panera’s at 7:30, so I went there to get coffee and do internet stuff before she arrived so she could make some introductions. I forgot how expensive Panera is, but their coffee is good (I had a huge plain coffee, then a refill of hazelnut!) and they owed me a free birthday brownie. 🙂

I had to take a picture of this really odd coloured sky:

Pike’s Peak in the distance

My host showed up around 7:30 with goodies for the road — homemade cinnamon buns — with raisins! It wasn’t until I dug into them this afternoon that I realised there was chocolate in the bag too. 😀

By the time I left Panera’s it was about nine, much later than I’d planned to leave since I knew there was bad weather incoming and I was going to lose an hour. But I also had the wonderfully fast US interstate speeds working in my favour and only a six-hour drive to Amarillo. So I didn’t stress the late departure.

Of course, I didn’t make it far before the coffee had its revenge. I needed fuel anyway, so I picked an exit at random in Colorado Springs.

As it turned out, it was the exit with the Walmart on Razorback Road. So I popped in there to use the bathroom and get a gallon of drinking water, a Chap Stick, and a 98-cent pair of flip-flops. I love it when I can maximise a stop like that. I then went to a conveniently located gas station to get fuel. Fuel prices have been great, by the way, $2.50/gallon to start in Montana and I’m now at $2.19/gallon in Texas.

Some time later, stopped at a rest area in Colorado City, just after Pueblo:

(How are y’all liking the few photos I’ve taken so far on this trip? That’s my “new” iPhone 6 hard at work. I think I’m going to retire my beloved Pentax except for when I’m hiking or in a context where there is a possibility of breakage. I can’t believe the picture quality difference compared to my iPhone 5C!)

The sky was starting to look ominous. I didn’t dilly-dally and instead drove determinedly to and over the Raton Pass (7834 feet or 2388 meters elevation) into Raton, New Mexico. There, I stopped for a very quick bite since it started to snow! This was the real start of my adventure since I was heading east towards Texas instead of going southwest towards Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

The snow didn’t follow me, but very hard rain did. The sky cleared a tad as I crossed the Texas state line, but that didn’t last. I got a break long enough to not drown as I got fuel in Dalhart, but I came into Amarillo in pouring rain that is going to last all weekend. I think I’m travelling with a dark cloud over my head or something…

It had been a super easy day of driving to that point and the time had flown by. But Amarillo was a nightmare not dissimilar to Montreal, with tons of construction and piss-poor signage. My GPS somehow managed to find my hilarious looking hotel (I’ll share a pic after I checked out). My room was a ridiculous 47CAD for the night (booking.com “genius member” perk), so I had very low expectations. Therefore, I was delighted to find a very clean and recently updated room with a fresh bathroom, good WiFi, a mini fridge, and the ability to back up right to my door. Soon as I confirmed that I had enough work to fill tomorrow, I paid for a second night!

I was famished by this time and there was no way I was getting back into my truck, what with the mess of construction outside, even if it was pouring rain. So I pulled on my rain gear and schlepped across the street, under the overpass, and a ways left to the Cracker Barrel (less than 1KM distance). Every time I decide on Cracker Barrel for dinner, I think, “Rae, you’re smarter than that,” and every time, I come out delighted and with no regrets. You just have to order smartly. Tonight, I had a pork chop (honey mustard on the side), with mac & cheese and their brand new Brussels sprout and kale salad! OMG, that was so delicious. 🙂 I’ve been insatiably parched for days and two of their not-too-sweet and made with real lemons lemonade helped immensely with that. I got a third to go to enjoy tomorrow (no extra charge!). 🙂

So I’m in Amarillo through to Sunday morning. Laredo is a much too long hop from here, so I’ll stop somewhere partway that will let me get to Laredo not too late on Monday and have time to do any final preborder things I need to do (like get truck insurance and pesos). That would put me crossing the border on Tuesday, May 2nd, and, as long as things continue to go so smoothly, I’ll be in Mérida by this time next week!

I just hope this weather stops. Pardon the French in this, but isn’t Siri a great personal assistant?! 😀

October 26, 2015 by Rae

Deming, NM, to Nogales, AZ

I had a decent stay in Deming. My hotel room at the Grand Motor Inn was really good and a bargain at $48. It was freshly renovated and the bed was super comfy. I got my best night’s sleep in a long while there. But I did not appreciate that they vacuumed from 8PM until well past when I finally fell asleep past 10PM. It didn’t stop me from going to bed, but it did make it hard to listen to the show I was trying to watch and it felt almost impossible to relax. So points off for that, but after such a good night’s sleep, I can forgive a lot!

The only real restaurant within walking distance was the one attached to the hotel and it was well rated, so I ate there. First time reviews have lead me completely astray. All but one thing in my meal were appallingly abysmal — the watery salad, the super cheap instant potato flakes covered in canned gravy, and the overheated frozen veg. But the steak was absolutely perfect by my standards, a sharp contrast to the rest of the meal. They at least got the important part right! Thanks, Ed and Linda, for commenting so late with restaurant suggestions. 😉 😉 😉

After dinner, I walked to the Walmart just for the leg stretch to see if they had what I wanted clothing-wise. Nope, it was all plus size cold weather gear, not a tee-shirt or a pair of sandals in sight. So that confirmed that I needed to stop in Benson today.

I had thought to do a lazy morning at the hotel, but was ready to go around 7:30. Or, rather, I wanted to hang out with a huge pot of coffee and a book. I didn’t even trust the coffee at the hotel restaurant (even though it smelled good) and didn’t feel like making my own, so I decided to drive to the IHOP down the street because I knew I could get a giant carafe of good coffee for just $2. After sitting for a bit, I decided to try their food for the first time and ordered two pancakes with bacon, which wound up being surprisingly good. Glad to know that a pancake house knows how to make pancakes! 😀

I left Deming just shy of 9:00 and headed for the Walmart in Benson, directly on my way to Nogales. I discovered it on the way to Nogales last year from Tombstone and like it a lot better than the one in Nogales. I got there around 10:30 local time, so 11:30 by my body clock.

Unfortunately, they also didn’t have any warm weather clothes. I guess Walmart stocks its stores the same regardless of the climate. 🙁 I did get one thing on my list, some comfy cheap capris to wear around the house. There were two identical size medium pairs in black, so I snagged both. At $3 a pair, I would have been silly not to! But I struck out on tee-shirts. They had lots of camis and tank tops, though. I also got all the things on my friends’ shopping list.

I then made a stop for lunch before pointing the truck towards Nogales. I like this drive a lot, off the interstate and through some windy and scenic backroads.

My first stop in Nogales was the post office, where there was a package waiting for me. I was amused that my driver’s license signed Rae was not good enough to prove that I’m Rae versus my legal name (it’s been good enough for banks and other post offices), but my business card was satisfactory!

The hotel was just a half mile from the post office and if it hadn’t been so dang HOT, I would have parked there and walked. It would have definitely been easier than driving. Nogales isn’t an easy to city to drive in.

Even though my reservation said check-in was at 3PM and it was only about 1:45PM, there was no problem with letting me have the room right away. I’d booked through Priceline.com and had followed up with a request for a quiet room preferably upstairs because I would have to work. The hotel is undergoing major renovations, so they put me up in a block at the back that is not in service yet, in a HUGE newly renovated room, and told me to make sure I ask if I need anything because they might forget I’m there! 😀 They also put in a proper desk and computer chair for me! Wow, talk about service! I also get a full cooked breakfast every morning, all for just $65 per night including the tax! I figure I can take advantage of breakfast by monitoring emails on my phone as I walk to the restaurant and bring my laptop there to do any assignments that come in.

I just wanted to crash by this point and not have to go out again for a bit, so I went right back to my truck and drove to Mariposa Road to run a few more errands. First stop was Don Smith Insurance, where they still had me on file. I got a liability only policy with legal coverage for $127, roughly the same price as last year in USD. I was in and out in probably two minutes!

Next stop was Safeway, literally next door, to get some lunchy and snacky stuff to make simple meals in my room. I also got a six-pack of Bud Light and have four nights to get through six beers… 🙂 Final stop was Panda Express for dinner.

I’m ready to drop; it’s been such a long weekend! But I’m so pleased I made it here without incident! I start work in 12 hours (5AM), so I’ll be turning in very, very, very soon.

October 25, 2015 by Rae

Walsenburg, CO, to Deming, NM (with a Stop in Santa Fe)

Another very, very, very long day, but it was the last big one. It’ll be a short haul tomorrow, then three days of sort of rest, then 2.5 reasonable days to my Mexican casita.

I had an okay night of sleep and was on the road by about 6:45 because I had plans to meet John for brunch in Santa Fe, 3.25 hours away. It being the crack of dawn on a Sunday, the espresso bar I’d been hoping to get my coffee at was shut tight, but there was a fresh pot of decent coffee on a the 7-Eleven, where I had to get fuel anyway.

It was still quite dark out when a car passed me honking madly. It wasn’t until the passenger rolled down his window and yelled, “GO RIDERS!” that I realised they were fellow Saskatchewanites!

I paused at a rest area and caught a Colorado sunrise.

Next rest area, probably in New Mexico at this point, had markedly different vegetation than what I’d been seeing up to that point:

I’d asked John to choose a place not too far from the interstate and he suggested Cafe Fina, which was right at the on and off ramp to I-25. Very convenient! You order at a counter, get a number to place your on your table, and then your meal is brought to you. John had Tex-Mex brunchy food and I had lunch food. We both had a very delicious coffee. We ate outside and the weather was perfect for it!

Vicki has requested photos of food, so here is the yummy chicken, bacon, caramelized onion, and cheese sandwich (hold the mayo) I had with a really good salad:

John and I had a quick catchup, then it was time for me to head off again. I was due for fuel, so I asked him where I should go and he said that if I wasn’t desperate, I should wait to get fuel at a pueblo a short distance down the road. He was right. I paid less than $2 a gallon!!! AND they gave me a free coffee. 😀

My next stop was Socorro, where I paused to do some hotel research and scored another deal on Priceline. From there, it was a very long 2.5 hours to Deming, where I am hoping to get a good night’s sleep. I’m in no rush tomorrow and probably won’t get going till mid to late morning. There’s a Walmart almost right next door, so I might do my shopping there instead of stopping in Benson. Perhaps I should check the sales tax rates before I decide!

I’ve been seeing Mexico tourism-related signs for a bit now. I can’t believe I’m already essentially at the border!

Off to find a cold beer. It is HOT out!

May 18, 2015 by Rae

A Taste of Bandelier National Monument

Bandelier National Monument lies just an hour or so northwestish of Santa Fe and is huge open country of mountains and mesas scattered with archeological ruins, cave dwellings, and petroglyphs. So pretty much my idea of heaven. I knew I couldn’t do justice to the more than 70 miles of hiking trails in the monument, but decided to at least go do the main day hike that would occupy a few hours.

The monument is named for Adolph Bandelier, a Swiss-born scholar who came to the southwest at 40 to fulfill his dream of studying the native peoples of the area. He learned many of the local native languages and in 1880 was the first person to report on the peoples of the Frijoles Canyon, where the monument that bears his name is located.

There was a lineup of cars ahead of me that took the same picture.

The scenic lookout was… scenic.

I love the mesas.

The shadows were impressive.

By the time I arrived around 11:00, the place was packed. A ranger guided me into an overflow parking spot I was certain I could not get out of and then told me to go into the visitors’ centre to register my annual pass, then come back and hang my pass from my rearview mirror. Without a pass, access is $12 per carload, good for a week. If you want a trail guide for the two day hikes, they are $1 and $1.50 each. Please don’t be cheap and not get them, otherwise you won’t get much out of the hikes. After two Japanese tourists kept asking me, “What’s that?” I gently told them that they needed to go back for a guide, they did, and they thanked me for it.

The hike I did today is called the ‘Main Loop Trail’, with the addition of the Alcove House spur. The literature say that this should fill about two hours and it took me closer to three because I read everything and went up every ladder. Every ladder? Read on. Those with a fear of heights may wish to stop here. 😀

The visitors’ centre is built into what was once a guest ranch.

I’m really falling in love with this style of architecture.

The visitors’ centre.

I thought this exhibit about not leaving any trash was quite clever.

The ‘Latin names’ were the best.

Depositus nonreturnii.

Proboscus wipus was my favourite.

Starting the hike.

You start the hike on the floor of the valley and then climb up to the cliff dwellings.

Frijoles Canyon means Bean Canyon.

Kiva.

Lovely contrast of textures.

Village ruins.

Looking to the cliff dwellings.

Another kiva.

Approaching the cliff dwellings.

Take the longer path is my motto.

Only enter caves that have ladders? This is going to be fun!

Stairs carved into stone.

First ladder.

Small cozy cave.

It would have been a lot of work to excavate the caves using only tone tools.

It would have been a lot of work to excavate the caves using only stone tools.

Looking into a reconstructed ruin; the architecture is quite sophisticated.

Look at that masonry!

I like how the vigas (beams) stick out.

It impresses me that they built structures with several stories.

The layout of the village below becomes clearer. The first floor had 240 small rooms and there is evidence that there were several stories above.

Impressive rock formation.

Looking back to the masonry.

Pictogram of a snake, a major feature of these people’s religion.

Ladder into the larger home.

Just room after room. All of us in it kept joking about what prime real estate it was.

“Oh, look, another bedroom!”

View to the village below.

Makes you realise that European and Native American development really wasn’t that far apart.

So much living happened in this cave.

“I think this was the dining room. I mean, look at that view!”

“Nah, maybe the living room.”

More cool rocks.

More twisty narrow stone steps.

Climbing into the reconstructed caveate.

Anchor points for the looms.

Not original soot. They have to smoke the room every few years to get rid of the graffiti.

The view is growing on me. I think I want to move to a cliff dwelling.

Path to a campground. I did not follow it. This used to be the only way into the valley to get to the ranch where the visitors’ centre is located.

Towering mountains.

It’s like an apartment complex.

So many foundations.

The holes represent a floor. Can you see the petroglyph in between?

This painting was found behind layers of plaster.

Looking back to the cliff dwellings.

In bad weather, you have to turn back at the end of the cliff dwellings and go back the way you came. In good weather, you can walk back down to the valley and do a loop back to the vistors’ centre. You have to cross the river several times if you end up doing the Alcove House Spur.

This guy was very nice and posed for several pictures.

2012 floodwaters reached this level.

The damage from the flood is still visible.

These ‘bridges’ brought back memories of the Chilkoot Trail!

I eventually came to the point where I had to make an important decision.

Time to decide if I’m doing the Alcove House spur…

140 ft of vertical ascent not suited to those with fears of heights? I’m over my fear of heights (mostly) aren’t I? Let’s go check it out!

The spur is through forest. There are so many ecosystems in this small section of the monument.

More debris from the flood.

It was all moved out of the way.

More cliff dwellings.

More flood damage.

Impressive contrast of colours and textures.

Yet more cliff dwellings.

Last warning.

In case the signage hasn’t been clear, it’s four ladders, a few staircases, and 140ft straight up a cliff to check out Alcove House…

Oh, I can do this. Up I go.

That looks doable.

I had to wait at the second ladder for a terrified man to come down. It took ages. Everyone at the bottom told him great job, way to go, you should be so proud of yourself, etc., but he just looked down in shame, focusing on the fact that he was afraid, not that he had conquered his fear. 🙁

This ladder’s challenge was that it’s slightly tilted, so you feel like you might slide off.

That doesn’t look so bad.

I made it!

Down is starting to look far away.

Okay, that’s pretty tall, but I’ve come this far.

I should have taken a short break before doing that third ladder, the longest of the four, as my legs got shaky midway, but I pushed on. I wasn’t afraid, just tired.

Pfft, that’s nothing.

Almost there!

A few steps and…

A kiva is the first thing I take a picture of?!

Ah, now, THAT was worth the climb!

Wow!

I’m obsessed with kivas, apparently.

So worth the workout!

Looking back as I head down.

It looks really bad from that angle!

The ladders were all anchored, so they felt safe. The super long one felt interminable to climb down, but the others were fine. It would have been easier if the rungs had been a bit closer together. I wasn’t even apprehensive. How far I’ve come!

My knee had had just about enough abuse by the time I got to back down, but the climb up was so worth it! And it was such fun. I love trails like these!

It was then time to head back to my truck.

More flood debris.

Magnificent.

They still have signage that call the local peoples Anasazi, a word of Navajo origin that has fallen out of favour because it means something like, ‘Our bitter enemies.’

Wish this path was part of the trail.

Back at the visitors’ centre.

Thankfully, the car next to me was gone when I was ready to pull out, so I had only had to do a little manoeuvring to get out. It was a rare case where I would have been better off to nose into a spot and back out of it, but it all worked out in the end.

My taste of Bandelier National Monument was delightful, but not quite enough. I’d love to come back and do a full day hike next year!

May 18, 2015 by Rae

Santa Fe, NM, to Walsenburg, CO

I’ve decided to split my day up into two posts. The more interesting one will follow. 🙂

Unfortunately, I got to bed very late last night, a combination of having dinner with John (I cooked and he can attest to the fact that I can cook, even with a very limited pantry! 🙂 ) and the File From Hell that would not finish. So it was a slow and molassy kind of morning for me. My to-do list felt daunting — finish packing up the fifty billion bags I brought into the rig, schlep them all the way to my truck and repack it (John fixed my tailgate again, btw, THANK YOU!!!), and then clean the rig and throw on laundry. Of course, it all came together very quickly. I was ready to pull out at about 9:30, an hour and a half later than I would have liked, but still a half hour ahead of my ‘this is the absolute latest I want to leave’ hour.

John and I both tried to figure out how long I’d been there and drew a blank. I later figured out it was 12 days!!!. My Santa Fe stay really felt like a moment out of time. I am really grateful to have been there as it enabled me to recharge my batteries and my bank account a little as well as do loads of touristy stuff. It was definitely time to move on, but John said I was welcome to return if I wanted to tonight since my day’s fun was to be had not very far down the road. It’s nice to feel that welcome. 🙂

After getting fuel, it was time to head to Bandelier National Monument, the subject of my next post.

It’s unbelievable the places my life takes me…

Right to Bandelier!

After several hours of fun that I am convinced Disney World couldn’t rival, I decided to go to Los Alamos for lunch and a bit of tourism.

Los Alamos has great significance for me. Judy Blume’s book Tiger Eyes was one of the defining stories of my adolescence. I must have retreated to this story set primarily in Los Alamos more than a hundred times. It painted a world that was absolutely alien to me and I promised myself that if I ever was in the area, I would check out the town and its environs.

I thought I’d done my research and that Los Alamos is now open, with no more guard houses and plenty of museums and other touristy things to do. So imagine my surprise when there was a checkpoint coming into the town. A surely woman asked me where I was going. I told her the truth, going downtown to have lunch and visit the museums. “You’re on government property. I need to see your ID,” she replied. I handed her my passport and she told me to turn around and go the way I came. So, that was that for Los Alamos. Can’t say I didn’t try. 🙂 But I did see the canyons that Judy Blume paints so well with words and they were exactly as I expected. I’m not disappointed about not seeing the town as I doubt it would have borne any resemblance to the the 1970’s town she described.

It was then time to head northeast.

Last chance to go back to John’s for the night!

I put Mount Rushmore into my GPS and it plotted out the same route I had to I-25 and beyond, so I followed its directions, heading northeast through mountain passes. Traffic was very slow through the tourist town of Taos and I had no desire to stop.

Quesnel Road! I wonder how they pronounce Quesnel here.

From the mountains, I eventually emerged into a plateau as I entered Colorado. I went to three places in 1996, Quebec City, Colorado, and New York City. If I had known then that of the three, Colorado is the first one I would return to a second time, I would not have believed it.

Colorado was looking a lot like Florida the last time I was there. 🙂

Snow capped peaks in the distance.

I didn’t want to drive too much today and hoped to stop around 4:00. But motels were far apart and expensive. I decided that I was stopping in Walsenburg, CO, no matter the prices. By the time I got there around 6:45, I’d seen about four roach motels wanting more than 80CAD a night. Google told me that the average price in Walsenburg was about that. So when the first place I stopped in was clean, neat, and 60CAD, my maximum budget, I was done for the day! BTW, it’s cold and rainy; not truck camping weather at all!

Having done so much exercise today, I needed a proper dinner, so I walked the block to a sit down Mexican restaurant. I ordered a beer (Budweiser!) and wasn’t asked for ID. Mexico officially aged me! 😀 The menu was uninspiring, just your typical ‘Mexican’ and American fare, so I ordered the two enchilada special (opting for chicken with green sauce). It was tasty enough, spicy as hell, and a good deal for the price ($7). The beer brought the tab up to $10.30 with the tax, still a very reasonable price. The enchiladas were topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and… black olives. Strange. I started to eat olives last summer and haven’t had them since I left home, so I tried one and didn’t hate it, so I ate them all. 🙂

It was a good day on the road. I could easily get to Mount Rushmore tomorrow, but I’d rather split it up into two or even two and a half days. We’ll see how the weather is. 🙂

A Life By Design

"Sometimes in life, we reach to a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!" ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

New Mexico

Mérida or Bust — Day Three: Castle Rock, CO, to Amarillo, TX

Deming, NM, to Nogales, AZ

Walsenburg, CO, to Deming, NM (with a Stop in Santa Fe)

A Taste of Bandelier National Monument

Santa Fe, NM, to Walsenburg, CO