Although it was sad to leave Yuma it felt good to be heading east – to home. We took a picture of Muggins Mtn on our way, which literally lay straight before us in the unbending highway. We encountered Saguaro cacti, which are beautiful against the mountains, and barrel cacti. Our plan was to get some to take home but trying to find anything small enough to dig up was nigh to impossible. Saguaro National Park was a stop along the way. Forests of Saguaro looked animated, almost dancelike among Cholla and Barrel cacti. One mustn’t take anything from National Parks, but once outside we found a little bit of a gold mine in terms of getting something to take home. Donning leather gloves with sharp knife in hand we walked a short distance from the road. We didn’t think about what we were walking on, (and my “spidey senses” were on high alert looking for slithering reptiles) but there were dead cacti all over the place. We got our treasures and upon returning to the RV we discovered cacti pricklies on our shoes. It was a job to remove them all and Doug even had one work its way through the sole of his shoe the next day. And although the leather gloves helped, I was still pulling pricklies out of my hands with tweezers for days. Just call it “the revenge of the cacti” – touchy! And we found a cactus farm near Tucson that had every sort of cactus for sale. So, we got some more! Now Doug has to build a new room at home! I think he will need something to do anyways.
As previous posts have mentioned that there is a plethora of free or cheap camping places in the west, and county parks are the best. Some have free electricity and water, but all are well maintained, and campsites are spacious. We frequented a couple this week as well as the Hilton Walmart. One night we stayed at a BLM on a lonely dirt road in the middle of nowhere. We were all alone. It can be a little unnerving, especially if the cell service in those areas is spotty or nonexistent (and usually that is the way it is). I don’t usually let my mind wander, and besides, I am in Good Hands! We stayed at Las Cruces NM visitor centre, which is on the mountain outside Las Cruces. The iconic huge roadrunner that Olin Calk built in 1993 still stands looking over the city. It is an enchanting piece of art that is 20 ft tall and 40 ft long. We first saw it the last time through. It is made from junk found at the landfill. It has been refurbished twice – in 2001 and again in 2014. Doug even found some Yucca seed pods to take home. We felt really safe there because a private security company has two cars with guards parked there at all times.
Along Hwy 70 to Alamogordo from Las Cruces is the White Sands National Monument. In the heart of the Tularosa Basin the world’s largest gypsum minefield spreads over 275 sq mi. The dunes are huge, and sleds can be borrowed from the visitor’s centre to slide on them. Just below the earth’s surface is water that keeps the gypsum moist enough, so it doesn’t blow away – although it does drift on the roadway. White Sands Missile Range is next door where regular missile testing can close the park for up to 3 hours on testing days, and at times will close Hwy 70. 60 miles up the highway is Trinity Site where the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.
We travelled through Lincoln County where Billy the Kid frequented. He is the most remembered gun fighter of the Lincoln County War of 1876-1881. The conflict began when John Tunstall and Alexander McSween, backed by cattleman John Chisum, built a general store that gave competition to the existing rip-off store owned by James Dolan. Both sides had their cronies and Tunstall was murdered by Dolan supporters. Lincoln’s sheriff, Brady, was murdered in retaliation by The Regulators, a group friendly to Tunstall and McSween. Revenge killings continued for months and ended after the 5-day battle of Lincoln, where many Regulators including Billy the Kid were scattered. Pat Garrett was named sheriff in 1880 who hunted and killed the Kid in 1881. Lots of movies have been made telling the story. A couple of years ago we watched “Chisum” starring John Wayne.
The landscape changed from desert to almost prairie like fields amidst large rolling hills. Every little (and bigger) town has a Dollar General store, and we were very surprised with the large amount of garbage along the sides of the road.
The day is July 8, 1947. The local newspaper headline reads “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region”. The army quickly retracted the statement and said instead that the crashed object was a weather balloon. In 1994 the USAF published a report identifying the object as a nuclear test surveillance balloon. But not everyone is buying that. Conspiracy theorists abound and Roswell is reaping the benefits. The UFO Museum has numerous eyewitness accounts and affidavits of a flying saucer and unhuman bodies and even one survivor (where did that go?). And stories abound of US officials handing out death threats if people told what they saw. The museum also has written accounts of some people who said they were “snatched” and returned in the years since. I remain unconvinced, even though I have met some pretty strange folks during my lifetime!
The Llano Estacado (in English it means Staked Plains, referring to its steep escarpments) is one of the largest mesas or tablelands in North America. It encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and NW Texas with elevation between 3,000 and 5,000 ft. Oil and gas production are prevalent as is cattle ranching and agricultural crops that include cotton, sorghum, corn, and wheat. It is a wide open vast empty and lonely place. A 225-megawatt solar facility that is 1600 acres huge containing more than 800,000 solar panels and 204 Greenpower inverters is located in Gail, West Texas along Hwy 180, which is prairie land as well. In addition, wind power is being utilized in the area. So, I guess Texas isn’t all about oil!
Next stop…Dealey Plaza, Dallas.
Let's Do The 180! 