DAY 117- Ashville & Great Smokey Mountains…

After getting settled in my hotel in Asheville, NC, I opted to stay close for dinner.  I went to a place nearby called Fatz.  It’s a local chain restaurant that was started in a renovated peach shed in 1988 by some friends and now is a southern chain that has 48 restaurants.  It was packed as it should be on a Friday night.  I sat at an open spot at the bar between two guys. 

It ended up being three guys and myself chatting and hanging out; one worked at a tire store, another worked for a utility company, and another was retired, I think.  The tire store guy was a regular and it was funny because I had a roll and silverware while he was being ignored.  The utility guy who we ended up calling Mr. Glitters, because he came in with glitter on his face from being in the toy section of Kmart (ahh-haa!), and myself were giving the tire guy all kinds of a hard time about the pitfalls and pluses of being a regular.  Meanwhile, the retired guy was talking about feeding his kids and grandkids, which happen to be living with him.  The retired guy was buying all of us rounds of drinks and they were all telling me about the Asheville area and North Carolina.  They were also all razing me about if Utah would allowed plural husbands for me because they wouldn’t mind be a candidate.  It was a fun time.  Mr. Tire guy told me to come back and spend more than just one day.  He would be here for me to find when I came back this way.

Photo- Biltmore Village.

The next morning, I was on my way to the Biltmore Village and hoping to take a peek at the Biltmore.  The Biltmore was the largest privately owned home and was built by the George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895.  It’s still owned by the Vanderbilt family and is quite the tourist attraction in the area.  It’s also about a $50 fee just to walk in the door and then you can shop or walk through parts of the gilded house and HUGE garden area.  It sounded like it could take hours and sounded very expensive which wasn’t on my agenda for the day.  I put this on my list of come back and see later.

I did however take a bit of time to visit the nearby Biltmore Village which is a quaint little shopping upscale shopping village near the Biltmore.  In fact, the village was built by the Vanderbilt’s for the employees of the Biltmore Estate.  The village covers about a five block city area.  There’s little cottage like houses which contain various shops and restaurants.  There are cute little street lamps, brick sidewalks, trolley tourist cars, and horse drawn carriages too.  There’s also a Catholic Church that takes up a large corner area.  I wandered around the area with plenty of free parking (something Helen, GA could learn here).  The place was packed with all kinds of holiday shoppers. 

Photo- The outside of the glass art shop in Biltmore Village.

There were some wonderful shops.  My favorite was a shop that had blown glass art.  Some of the round glass balls looked like they had flower blossoms inside.  Another shop that I thought was fun was a Christmas Store with all kinds of thing Christmas.  In fact, I got a kick out of a tree that was self-flocking  with little white pebble-like beads that would shoot out from the top of the tree and be caught on the tree or by a round green saucer at the bottom of the tree.  Sorry, I didn’t venture a look on the price tag on this one.  I know all of you want one of these for Christmas. J     

Photo- In the River Arts Area of Asheville, NC.

Next, I drove over to the River Arts area in Asheville and on the way I tried to take a peek at the Biltmore but the trees surrounding it are like a full forest.  I drove along the river and down by the railroad tracks for a bit.  Then off to the side there is an area that has old brick warehouse buildings.  This is the river Arts area of Asheville.  I guess I was hoping for more.  It was just one large warehouse row with artists’ studios inside and a large graveled parking lot out front.  I explored a few studio areas and there was some wonderful art but there wasn’t much else out that way.  They needed a restaurant or a coffee shop or something out there.  At one end of the warehouse row, there was a large antique store.  I drove back to the interstate and headed west towards the Great Smokey Mountains National Park which I had planned to visit for most of the day.

Photo- The Blue Ridge Parkway.

From Asheville I headed west and then south to Maggie Valley.  I stopped for a quick lunch at a fast food chain restaurant called Bojangles which is a bit like a KFC but very southern type touches.  You could order dirty rice as a side and it appeared that everything on the menu had a Cajun version to it.  Next, I headed west to Soco Gap and turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the spine of the Smokey Mountains and there are some amazing views but I will warn you there are some steep and curvy areas of road.  But with these views it very worth it.  Thankfully, there was no snow yet or this section would have been closed.  The elevation of the road runs between 5000 to 6000 ft. and closes in the winter quite often.

Photo- One of several views along the Blue Ridge Highway.

Next, I took a right hand turn onto Hwy 441 and was at the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center for the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  I turned in and went into the center.  It was packed and there were tons of people sitting listening to some live Christmas music being played by local people.  People were singing along with the music.  I talked to a parks employee and every Saturday before Christmas they have this event.  All of the musicians are locals and it’s like what they call a “front porch” session.  They all just show up and they go around and have each musician pick a Christmas song that they would like to play.  One of the guys on a banjo played “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” which had everyone laughing by the end of the tune.  I sat down and enjoyed singing along for a while.  It was a very festive atmosphere.  People and musicians would come and go. 

Photo- Some southern Christmas FUN at the visitor's center.

After a while, I got up to go see the park but first I went through the museum part of the visitor’s center.  It told the history of the park and how it was finally made a national park in 1934.  The museum told the story of how the roads were built for the park with the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp.) during the Great Depression.  The museum talked about the culture and the life in the area but what got me most was there was a HUGE fake pig hanging in an area.  It was a strange site to see at a National Park Visitor’s Center.   

Photos- The Great Smokey Mountains!

Next, I drove through the park and stopped here and there to take pictures.  It was rather cold and very windy day.  I was a bit disappointed that the road to Clingman’s Dome was closed for the season. At 6643 ft., Clingman’s Dome is the highest point east of the Mississippi.  There were quite a few roads to trail heads that were closed in the park.  I just stopped here and there; deciding not to do any hiking today.  Eventually, I got to the other side of the park and the Sugarlands Visitor’s Center where I stopped to use the restrooms.  I also got a bumper sticker and a couple of postcards too.

Then, I was off heading north through the crowded town of Gatlinburg.  It was stop and go traffic coming out of the park and I was so glad that I decided to drive into the park from the south.  From there, I took some back roads and worked my way up to I-40.  On I-40, I headed west to Knoxville, TN where I would stay the night.  The sun was going down and it was starting to rain so I slowed down and took my time.  It was dark when I finally got checked into my hotel for the night.

DAY111- Mobile to Montgomery with a Florida Pit Stop…

I woke up to pure fog this morning and I was being to wonder if that was all they got along the coast during the winter time.  I took my time before checking out because I didn’t want to be driving and trying to find my way in the fog.  About 10am, it had finally lifted.  I headed south through the downtown area of Mobile.  It was quite the skyline to look at and it was rather cool to drive through a tunnel under part of the city area.  But I didn’t stop.  I wanted to check out some of the coastal communities and make a quick drive through Pensacola, FL before heading north to Montgomery, AL.   On the way out of Mobile, I passed a HUGE naval warship, the USS Alabama.  I thought better of trying the inside of another warship after my panic attack I had inside the last one.  But I did get to admire the bay as I drove along.

Photo- The city skyline of Mobile, AL.

Photo- The tunnel under part of downtown Mobile, AL.

I drove along the scenic highway route to the small township of Fairhope that I had heard was a small artistic community.  It was a cute little town.  I saw bicyclists and runners along a path that ran parallel to the road.  There were three square blocks of businesses for the downtown with a marina off in the distance.  There were quite a few artistic looking shops and a cute garden shop with metal armadillos walking across the front lawn area.  But it being Sunday, mostly everything was closed up and the only areas packed with cars were the churches; especially the Catholic Church as I went by.  I wasn’t dressed for church at all and so I continued on.

Photo- Bicyclists along the street near Fairhope.

Photo- Armadillos for Christmas anyone?

Next, there was the town of Foley which had a few more people out and about.  Pickup trucks and trailers were more common and I was driving away from the coastline over towards the Florida state line.  After that, there were several other communities that I drove through very similar to Foley with most of the businesses housed in metal warehouse like buildings off to the side of the road.  The land was very flat.  There were a lot of fields that looked like they were fallow cotton fields and other crops that I wasn’t sure what they were.  I drove over a bridge into Florida.  Here the landscape changed a bit and became more hilly.  There were also a lot of Naval Base areas.  I drove by a large Naval Medical area.  I followed the signs to the historic downtown Pensacola. 

Photo- Andrew Jackson Statue in a Plaza Square in Pensacola, FL.

I stopped at a town plaza square that had a statue of Andrew Jackson.  In July of 1821, General Jackson received West Florida from Spain and raised a flag in this very square to claim it as part of the US.  But as I read the inscription on the back of the statue, it sounds like this square got a lot of use as they listed other dates that other countries were raising flags over this part of Florida.  In fact, there had been ten times that the flag had been “turned” over prior to General Jackson earning the flag the last time.  This was a career boost to Andrew Jackson who ended up being a military governor and then ended up in the position of President shortly after that.

Photo- A statue of Ponce de Leon near the shore in Pensacola. 

Next, I walked down through the historic downtown area towards the shoreline.  The only places that seemed to be open were restaurants.  There were a fair amount of people down by the shoreline; some sitting on benches and enjoying the view with friends and family, while others were fishing.  It was an overcast cloudy and rather windy day along the coast.  I could see sailboats out on the water.  Here there was a statue of Ponce de Leon standing in a circle with fountains spraying behind him.  The fountains were accessible to play in, but with the cooler temps there weren’t any takers.  I slowly worked my way back to the car.

Photo- Fishing and watching the sailboats.

I still needed to work my way north towards Montgomery where I was staying the night.  I drove north through some forested land where there was new growth and old growth.  This land was being used for logging.  I had noticed seeing some logging trucks and I now knew where some of them were coming from.  The more north I went the more hilly the landscape became.  There wasn’t many small towns just off the road in this area and gas stations were sparse I’m glad I filled up before leaving Pensacola.

I came to one small town just after crossing the border to Alabama and stopped for a late lunch at a Hardee’s.  I didn’t know any of these existed anymore.  I used to work the graveyard shift during my college years at one in Iowa.  I stopped.  The menu was quite a bit different but it looks like they still made their biscuits for breakfast.  I asked one of the girls behind the counter if they still made their biscuits from scratch every morning.  Yes, she said there were two different people trained to do that and they would take turns coming in at 4am.  I told her I used to do that in my college years and that they didn’t have Hardee’s up in the mid-west anymore.  She didn’t find that very interesting; I guess because I got the doe in the headlights look.  I sat down and waited for my food.

It was just starting to get dark when I drove up to my motel in Montgomery and I have to say that my hotel was a bit of a dive.  In fact, right next door there was an abandoned dilapidated old motel but it was easy to find and relatively cheap.  The room was clean but was in poor need of updating.  I had been looking at the money situation of late and it was starting to dwindle faster than what I had planned.  I needed to find cheaper places.  I may only have about another 30 days before I may have to stop and do some work. 

Photo- Downtown Montgomery, AL.

But enough of this, I drove around and explored some of the downtown area of Montgomery.  There was a whole street area where there were Christmas lights along both sides of the streets.  It was a rather nice little downtown but was a bit annoying to get around because they sure do like their one way streets here.  On the way back to the hotel I had quick and cheap dinner at a Captain D’s which was like a different version of a Long John Silvers.

DAY 89- El Paso & Carlsbad Caverns...

The day didn't start out good.  My stomach rejected breakfast shortly after coming back up to the room.  I had a headache and I still had a 5 hour drive planned to get to my next hotel room for the night.  I swung by a nearby Wal-Mart for some Tums and then swung by a gas station where I amazingly paid less than $3 per gallon of gas.  I started the drive to El Paso, TX which is only about an hour’s drive southeast from Las Cruces. 

About 40 miles down the road the traffic started to pick up.  I entered into Texas with the sign “Drive Friendly the Texas Way”.  I was within a few miles of El Paso, TX.  The speed limit dropped from 75mph to 60mph.  I took the exit for the downtown area of El Paso.  I had about 1.5 hour to spend before I needed to be back on the road. 

Photos- Downtown El Paso.

I drove by the visitor’s center but didn’t see a place to park.  I drove around the block and managed to find the closest parking spot along the street.  The meter wasn’t taking any money and it only listed certain days for free.  I moved my car up two stalls and tried another meter; and found the same thing again.  I just figured I would take the chance of a ticket and walked to the visitor’s center.  I walked in and asked the gal at the center about the meter.  She said that she thought that it was free today and that if the meter wasn’t taking money that it probably was a free day.

I then told her that I only had short time to spend in El Paso and asked what she would recommend as a quick sightseeing thing in the area.  She suggested the historical tour of downtown.  I immediately crossed the street and started following the brochure.  But then I got side tracked and found myself about 2 blocks from the Mexican border and in a part of the downtown area that was filled with all kinds of shopping activity. 

Photo- Spanish section of downtown El Paso,
they've got Elvis inviting you to sell your gold!

It was like being in Mexico; everything was in Spanish and everyone was speaking Spanish.  Women had suitcases that they were pulling along with them as they were shopping.  I was trying to figure out if it was because they were buying so much that it was easier to get it home or if it was a case where they had walked over the border and were on their way to somewhere else for the night; naïve of me I know.  But it was all very interesting people watching and they didn’t even seem to mind or notice me walking along in the area.  There were some good prices on some of the stuff; I will say that.

Photo- Spanish section of El Paso's downtown, a hive of activity
with a Mexican singers moving along.

I walked down one side of the street and about half a block before I got to the border I turned around.    There was a solid line of cars with Mexican plates and some Texas plates too out on the road.  I walked back to the historical part of the downtown which seemed bland compared to what I had just seen.  I decided it was time to get back on the road.

Amid the El Paso traffic, I managed to find the exit I needed for the highway 62/ 180 that would take me to Carlsbad Caverns.  I drove east out of El Paso through a fair amount of heavy traffic.  Before I knew it, I was climbing out of the El Paso area and heading further east into a rocky layered terrain with curvy roads.  It looked like hills that had been lined with different colors; almost like sand art.  Then, I turned north after a while and got to a large flat area where there were mountains towering off in the distance.  The general direction of the road started towards those mountains and I kept on seeing a sign for a Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  Another national park?  I was already planning on going to Carlsbad Caverns National Park but I might be able to hit two in one day?  Bonus!  I thought to myself as I continued to drive north towards the mountains.

Photo- El Capitan in the Guadalope Mountains National Park in Texas.

Then as I got closer I noticed this amazing cliff face of one of the mountains.  This turned out to be the El Capitan and the Guadalupe peaks surrounding it.  It was amazing and I pulled over into a picnic parking area off to the side of the road to take a couple of photos.  Wow!  I drove a little bit further and around a bend where there were layered rock areas that the highway cut right through.  Shortly after that, I stopped at the visitor’s center of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 

I talked to a gal behind the counter and it turned out that there were mainly just hiking trails in this national park.  It was all roads accessing trailheads from the outside of the park but there were no actual roads that went through the park area.  It was very non-developed and in the natural state of how it was years ago which was wonderful but bad for me when I just wanted a quick look through.  I had to make it to Carlsbad Caverns before the 3:30PM deadline.  Nope, I would have to save this park for another day in the future sometime.

Photo- The scenery climbing up on way to Carlsbad Cavern's Visitors Center.

I jumped back in my car and headed north.  About another 35 miles down the road I came to sign for the turn off for the Carlsbad Caverns.  Yes!  It was 2:40PM and I would arrive before the 3:30PM last chance to head into the caverns.  I quickly drove the last 7 miles up winding roads to the visitor’s center that is situated at the top of a mountain.  I changed shoes to something with a gripping sole because caves can be wet and slippery.  Then, I grabbed my National Parks Pass and headed in.  I got a ticket for the cave, paid for a recommended audio tour player, and got in line for the elevator.

Photo- The red number tells you how far down you are.
I couldn't pay much attention on the way down
but was thankful on the way up that the number was getting smaller!

The elevator goes 750 ft. down to the cave.  This I had not known ahead of time and that was a good thing.  I was a bit concerned about my still uneasy stomach and the elevator’s descent but my stomach was fine; it was my ears that kept popping as we went down in the elevator.  The elevator has red numbers that show every 50ft down or up inside.  It was a very smooth elevator ride.  We arrived at a small waiting room at the bottom with a line of people waiting to come up; and there are circular rotating push through doors on each side of the room.  They had to install these doors to help ensure the proper air circulation was maintained to help conserve the caverns.

The cavern was a very wet humid type of environment, and it was HUGE.  There was a map that showed a 1.2 mile walk along the outer edges of the “Big Room” part of the cave.  I started on the path; stopping and taking pictures and listening to the audio as I saw numbers to enter for it.  You could take pictures of the inside of the cave all you wanted to though they did ask that you be considerate of others while taking pictures.  I waited till a couple had some distance in front of me and then I played with several different settings on my camera to try to figure out what would work best.  There wasn’t much lighting and what there was of lighting was focused on playing up certain parts of the cave.  I wouldn’t know if any of these would turn out for sure until they were downloaded into my computer later. 

Photos- A few of the pictures that turned out of the interior of Carlsbad Caverns.

The audio went on to give a description of the size of the cave and it was giving a comparative of a couple of football fields that could be covered over with the estimated amount of water to fill the cavern.  The ceiling looked to be about 50 or 60 feet above me in some places and here I had been concerned about being claustrophobic in the cavern.  There was more than enough room.  I stayed on the well fenced path area and didn’t touch any of the insides of the cavern as instructed by the elevator attendant. 

I found it very interesting that we as visitors leave something behind that needs to be continually cleaned by national parks employees… It’s lint!  I thought it would be something on our shoes or perhaps Carbon dioxide that we left in the cave but lint?  They said that the environment was similar to being in a wet dryer and that is when the dryer forms/collects most of the lint in its cycle.  You learn something new every day!  I did manage to make the full 1.2 miles around the “Big Room” of the cavern 15 minutes before the last elevator heads up to the top the last time of the day. 

Next, I ventured into the gift shop and of course purchased a couple of postcards and a bumper sticker.  I looked at the shirts but none of them appealed to me; in fact, I thought some of them were rather creepy looking.  Also, I was a little unnerved because they had a mechanical bat toy flying around in the gift shop area.   I didn’t stay long and out onto the 7 mile descent I went to the main highway I had come on.  I still had another 54 miles to drive to get to Roswell where I staying for the night.  And thus, I was driving towards one of the premiere UFO Capitals of the world as the sun was setting.  I was really hoping that I didn’t get abducted along the way.

DAY 88- White Sands...

Everyone told me that I definitely needed to stop by and see White Sands while I was in New Mexico.  They would mention other places but always would reference back and say that I HAD to see White Sands for sure.  So I left my hotel in Deming and headed to Las Cruces with the intention of driving straight through Las Cruces to White Sands and then coming back to Las Cruces for the nights hotel stay.  Yeah, it was a bit of back tracking but there’s a bit of planning in my “madness”.  It just doesn’t always seem the most obvious (and sometimes it’s not always obvious to me either) but it seems to always work out.  So… here I am doing a bit of an out and back later in the day.

The first hour was a straight shot on I-10 heading east.  I was singing along with my iPod; as the radio was kind of in a dead zone for the most part except for a few Spanish stations.  Along this stretch, I-10 is about 15 to 20 miles north of the border to Mexico.  I’ve got my cruise control set and I imagine the people looked at me weirdly as they pass by and watch me singing along; crazy woman!

Just before Las Cruces, I take the exit for Hwy US-70 heading east.  I’m taking a chance driving to White Sands and not checking to see if they might have closed this road for a test at the White Sands Missile Range.  The National Park website for White Sands has a phone number you can call to see if the highway is going to be closed that day or not.  I was taking a risk of possibly sitting in my car on a closed section of highway for three to four hours. 

Photo- The sign letting you know you are entering White Sands Missile Range.

Luckily, the highway ended up not being closed.  I drove up and over Organ Mountain and then past the White Sands Missile Range.  It made me a little leery driving through this area.  But I continued on.  There were quite a few vehicles with government plates passing me like I was standing still and I was doing 5mph over the speed limit. 

About a mile before I got to the turn off for White Sands National Monument, the speed limit was reduced and there was a border patrol check.  I felt like I had done enough of these as of late that I should be on file, or something.  I pull up to the stop sign and the guy asked the normal are you a US Citizen.  Yes, I am; I said.  Then, he asked what the purpose of my visit was.  I told him today it was to visit White Sands National Monument.  Then, I told him that I was on a road trip and that this would be my 6^th or 7^th National Park that I’ve visited.  He asked by yourself?  Yes, I told him and then said Crazy, huh?  He laughed and wished me a good day.

A mile later down the road I took a left into the White Sands National Monument parking lot at the visitor’s center.  I went in and looked at some displays and watched a 17 minute movie about White Sands.  There was a 6.5 mile loop drive into White Sands.  The entrance fee per car is $3 or in my case free when you have an annual National Parks Pass.  The gal at the visitor’s desk said that I could take 3 more passengers along on my pass if I wanted to.  I told her she hadn’t seen my filled up car or she would not have even mentioned that.

Photo- The White Sands Visitor's Center.

I left the visitor’s center and headed along the road to the gate.  I showed my annual pass and the gal talked about the highlights of the 6.5 mile road with a turn around.  Two miles in there was a desert nature hike that was a 1.2 mile hike in sand but would give me an idea of what the dunes were all about.  Four miles in was a boardwalk that was an easy ¾ mile hike.  There were picnic areas about 5 miles in and the turnabout was 6 miles in.  She really suggested the nature walk if I was looking for the best of White Sands.

Photos- Some of the AMAZING scenery that I saw on the nature hike in White Sands.

I drove in the two miles and parked in the parking lot for the nature hike.  It sounded like the best bet and I was really looking forward to really getting a feel for White Sands.  When I drove in, I could only see the edges of the dunes.  I walked the dirt path over to the base of the dunes and up I went; and Wow!  Man camera was getting a workout as well as I was from walking around in the sand.  I could feel my shoes gaining sand weight as I walked along.  Every so many feet there was a new sign post that had a factoid about the animals and life in the dunes.  I was rather surprised that there was so much life within a sand dune.  It appeared that most of the life occurred at night and that most of the wild life had adapted to their environment in some way like; the lizards were white, and the fox which was the largest predator in the dunes was small and big eared compared to other foxes out in the wilderness.  It was amazing and very educational hike.

Photo- I couldn't resist not putting my mark here!  It might last a day or two at most.

Next, I got in the car and drove to the boardwalk.  I got out of the car and started to walk along but the boardwalk was basically the same signs as the hike I had just done and it wasn’t nearly as pretty as the area I had walked.  I turned around about halfway out.  I got back in the car and drove along the road further into the dune.  It was amazing with the dune all around except for the paved road.  There were areas where sand was venturing onto the road.  I wondered about what kind of maintenance they had to do on the road to keep it clear.  Did they use a street sweeper to keep it clear? 

Photo- The paved road through White Sands.

About another ½ mile down the road, the speed limit dropped down to 25 mph and there was a sign stating that it was the end of the pavement.  Now I was driving on the dune and it was very surreal in that the whole landscape looked white like snow but it was actually sand.  Cars and buses were driving along the area and if it hadn’t been for their presence I would’ve felt like I was in another world altogether. 

About 5 miles along there was a sign for a picnic area and there were restrooms there too.  I swung in their out of curiosity. The picnic table areas were very unique and looked other worldly too.  I drove around that area for a bit and then worked my way back over and around the loop at the end of the drive.  There were large cleared turnout areas here and there for people to get out and climb up a dune, or take pictures, or to sled the dunes.  Yes, I said sled. 

Photo- The boy showing me how it is to sled on a dune.

I drove up to a mother and her son who were sledding one of the dune areas.  I asked how the sledding was.  The mother encouraged her son to show me how the sledding was and mentioned to me that it was quite a bit slower than snow.  The boy climbed back up the hillside of the dune and at the top jumped into his sled.  He really had to push to get any kind of start with the sled and then had to push here and there as he went down the hill too.  But it did look fun.  The mother said that the sleds were on sale at the gift shop at the visitor’s center if I wanted to give it a try.  I thanked her and her son for showing me; wished them a good day and back in the car I went. 

Photo- It's sand but it looks like snow!

I drove slowly here and there along the road back to the visitor’s center.  I stopped to take more pictures as I went along.  Back at the visitor’s center I went into the gift shop and purchased a couple of postcards and a bumper sticker.  I decided not to purchase the $17 sled; just to give sledding a chance on a sand dune.  What would I do with a sled afterwards?  It wouldn’t fit in my car.  I decided I would head back to Las Cruces and my hotel for the night.  But I will say this it was a wonderfully amazing experience being at White Sands and I would highly recommend people visit this wonderful area.

DAY 87- Truth or Consequence to Sliver City...

I got an early start for the day.  I had almost a 6 hour drive ahead of me planned for the day.  I’m trying to pick up the pace just a bit because I want to be in Dallas for Thanksgiving.  I headed south on I-25.  The landscape changed over the next two hours from distant mountains to flat barren desert like to rolling hills with distant mountains.  There was even one section of between that was referred to by the Spanish as “No Man’s Land” in that many a man had died trying to cross this stretch of land.  I could see how because even with the interstate cutting straight through it; there seemed to be a mirror image of the same land on both sides.  I could see where with no roads or any landmarks one could get easily lost in this area.

Photo- The flags flying high in Truth or Consequence, NM.

At exit 79, I had almost arrived at my first destination of the day.  I was in the town of Truth or Consequence.  Yes, that’s the actual real name of a town in New Mexico.  I drove along through town past the Geronimo Springs Museum and over to the Veterans Memorial Park.  It’s a plot of land just off of the main drag area that has been dedicated to all veterans.  It is only 3 years old.  It started with one of the Veteran’s Memorial Traveling Wall (the “Walls that Heal”) that needed a home that the state of New Mexico bought and a group of businessmen in the area that decided that this town was to be that home; and it grew from there and is still growing.  The land was donated and people have donated their time and energies to help make this into what it is and hopefully into what it will become one day too.

I pulled in and parked.  I walked along a sidewalk where there are bricks with names of those who have served and lost their lives.  Some had flowers or other items setting just off the side of the bricks.  In the center before you get to the traveling wall there’s a grouping of flag poles with flags.  At the center of and the tallest is the US Flag with a POW-MIA flag directly beneath it. Then I walked along the traveling wall that now has a permanent home.  The names; and there are so many of them.  It left me speechless and a little bit emotional that so many have died for our country. 

Photo- Part of the Educational Walk at the Veterans Memorial Park.

Next, I walked around that wall to an area that’s called the Educational Walk.  This walk is in the shape of star of a Congressional Medal of Honor with a globe and eagle serving as the guardian to this walk area.  On this walk there are pedestals with plaques for each of the wars that happened to make our country what it is today.  It starts with a plaque about the Revolutionary war and goes to present day wars.  Quite a few of these wars have the stats on how many died and how many were wounded.  The last of which is blank except for the name of the conflict which I saw as a very powerful statement that this is not at an end.

Photo- Inside the Hamilton Military Museum.

I then walked into the Hamilton Military Museum; where they were two volunteers waiting to greet me and answer any questions that I may have.  This museum is a living memorial to those that served in the armed forces.  There’s letters, uniforms, artifacts, and pieces of history that are preserved for generations to come.  I guess that parts of it change from time to time too.  It was all very interesting but I found myself kind of reacting emotionally to all of these people having died for our country and I made a quick donation in the jar and left.

Photo- Some of the scenery on the way to Hillsboro.

Off down interstate I went.  I turned off on exit 63 and onto a back road Hwy 152.  I was on my way to Silver City, NM which I had been told was an artistic area.  The road went up and down.  There were several signs that said look out for running water; a new sign for me.  The speed limit dropped and the road became curvy and, of course, scenic.   The speed limit dropped down to 25 mph and I entered Hillsboro, a small hamlet amid a mountainous rocky terrain.  A cop car was parked midway through the town with no cop in it.  A few local people waved as I went through the area.  I waved back.  I didn’t know these people from Adam but why not wave back too?

Photo- The rocky landscape and curvy roads between Hillsboro and Sliver City.

After Hillsboro, the road became even curvier and started to climb and climb and climb.  I was driving through the Gila National Forest.  The terrain was rocky with a forest of juniper trees with prickly pear cactus scattered among them here and there.  I thought it was gorgeous.  The speed limit was between 15mph to 25 mph because of the curves.  Every now and then a truck or car would come from the other direction.  Quite a few of them would be waving as we drove past each other.  It was just the local people in the run down vehicles because the BMW’s and the Mercedes just turned their nose at you.  This friendliness was rather nice, inviting, and refreshing.

Photo- The trees are getting taller as I move further up the mountainous terrain.

I was driving in the nose bleed section of these mountains and the view was gorgeous.  The trees got taller and changed into evergreen trees.  I did a bit more climbing in my car and then I was going over Emery Pass.  I could see for miles over my right shoulder just before I went through the pass.  Amazing!  Then, the road descended with curves and all.  There was more waving from locals and a guy on a motorcycle.  The landscape changed back to shorter juniper trees with cactus.  Then, I saw cyclists and slowed.  The road was very narrow and had no shoulder at all in quite a few places.  But with the views and the challenge of climbing, I couldn’t blame the cyclists for being up here.  It would be a great place to cycle.

Photo- Oh the amazing view between the trees as you get closer to the top!

Soon, the road widened and I was at a junction with Hwy 180.  I turned right towards Sliver City.  As I am traveling along on the south side of the road are carved mountains with all kinds of copper and rust colors.  It looks like a mine.  Off on the left I see a viewing area for the mine and I pull into it.  It’s the Santa Rita Copper Mine which claims it is the oldest operating mine in the country.  It’s a pretty good sized hole in the ground and I wonder how it compares with the Kennecott Copper Mine just outside of Salt Lake City.  I took a couple of pictures while 4 older guys there standing looking and talking together; the women are sitting in the cars.

Photo- The Santa Rosa Mine the oldest operating mine in the US.

I jumped back in the car and continue on to Sliver City.  I follow the signs to the Main Street Historic District.  You know, there seems to be a slight correlation between historic district areas and artists.  Why is that?  Maybe us artists are drawn to them?  I park the car and started to walk along the street.  I get several “HI’s” from what I gather are locals.  Boy, they are a friendly lot here.  I walk down one side to another.  It’s about 4pm and some of the shops are already closed even though by their hours they should be opened.  I went into a couple of shops. 

Photos- Older colorful buildings in Sliver City, NM.

 

One shop I went into, I overheard the guy saying on the phone that he can’t close up just yet cuz he has customers.  I went into a jewelry shop with very inexpensive prices.  I couldn’t pass up pairs of earrings for $3 to $5 per pair.  I spent $15 and got 4 pairs of wonderful earrings.  I talked with the clerk and he had moved from California.  He’s semi-retired and just does this to keep himself busy more than anything.  The people are very nice here he said.  I told him about the waving and he said yes that’s the locals.  They are courteous drivers too he said.  I continued on but more and more of the shops were closed.  I went into a textile crafts and art shop.  I talked with the clerk there too.  It was about the same things.  How friendly the people are and that’s why her husband and she moved here.  They were in California.

Photo- Interesting artistic details that they do to the buildings in Sliver City, NM.

I headed back to my car and drove towards Deming where my hotel was for the night.  I watched the flat area between Sliver City and Deming change from dusk to pitch black night.  There wasn’t much out in this area at all.