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Highway
93 2024
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I want
to get on the road early so I have more time to spend with Don and Joyce
who I haven't seen in several years. Breakfast is an easy choice - right
down the street to Denny's which is an easy walk. |
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I'm not
a coffee drink but I have to take a picture of my hot chocolate mug for
those who are. |
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I guess
I'm a boring creature of usual habit since I order an omelet, my favorite
pick when I am on the road. |
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I can
only surmise that some space alien (I am in Roswell you know) teleported
my plate clean while I wasn't looking. At least that's my story and I'm
sticking to it! |
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On my way out of
town I notice the New Mexico Military
Institute off to my right. |
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They have a very large and
very impressive campus stretching off as far as I can see. Their story
is -
The New
Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) was established in 1891 as a public military
High School and Junior College in Roswell, New Mexico. Known as “the
West Point of the West,” NMMI operates under the auspices of the
State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports to
the Governor of New Mexico. The school enrolls nearly 1,000 cadets at
the junior college and high school levels each year from 45 states, 2
U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and American Samoa), and 35 foreign nations.
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But soon I leave
Roswell behind as I head for Las Cruces. But the skies do not look favorable
for me staying dry very long. |
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And the further
I go, the darker it becomes. I begin to hit some rain, but in the heat it
feels very good so I don't stop and put on my rain gear. It feels kind of
like a 'swamp cooler' - just enough moisture to be cool but not drenched.
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The new route the lady has sent
me on to avoid the fires up north proves to be an excellent ride for that
I am thankful. |
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I see a little chapel tucked
away on the roadside and it makes me a little lonesome for my church family
back in Tennessee. |
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One of the places she told
me about was Cloudcroft. It has a bit of interesting history behind it
-
In the
1890s, the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad, organized by brothers Charles
Bishop Eddy and John Arthur Eddy, arrived in the newly founded town of
Alamogordo intending to continue the rail line north to the mining town
of White Oaks and beyond. This required a steady supply of timber. In
1898 the Eddy brothers sent a survey crew into the Sacramento Mountains
to determine the feasibility of extending a line up the summit to harvest
the forests. The crew reported that not only was it possible, but the
area could attract visitors. The name of Cloudcroft – a pasture for
the clouds – was suggested and work on the line soon began.
The village proper
is at around 9,000 feet which keeps the temperatures nice during the summer.
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As I make my way down the mountain
I have to chuckle - I
rode Hard Knot Pass over in the UK where 30% was the 'average' grade. |
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There are some nice
tunnels on my way down that I enjoy passing through and ... |
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Some gorgeous views before I
descend into the flatlands. |
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I'm still amazed
at how the clouds cast shadows over only part of the mountains as I see
here. |
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Too soon I'm back down to the
hot flats and feeling like a tater in a microwave doing a slow cook. |
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Fortunately a storm moves over
the mountains and I get some heat relief in the form of cooler temps and
some liquid sunshine. |
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But then I descend even further
into the heat without the benefit of the natural 'swamp' cooler of rain. |
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When I arrive in the area of
Don and Joyce's House in Las Cruces I blow right by it as lot of it is
new construction and I can't put my hands on their house number. I stop
at the end of the street and call them. Don tells me they're back at the
top of the hill so I do an about face and and land at the right spot.
They have been my dear friends for many years and I try to stay in contact
with them. They moved from Coarsegold, CA near Yosemite down to Las Cruces
after much frustration with the various things going on in California.
I have the pleasure of meeting their new puppy dogs - Layla - the big
one, and Chia - the small one. Chia is not too interested in me until
I start loving on Layla who eats it right up. Then Chia figures I must
be okay and she comes over and tries to get in on the action. It's a great
time as Don and I catch up on what's been going on in our lives since
we last saw each other.
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Their three grandboys are staying
with them, so Joyce has taken them out for a local 'adventure'. But ever
the kind and gracious lady, she fixes up a great supper of delicious spaghetti
and meat balls when she returns. I finally realize how late it is and
I figure I'd best get to my motel before they think I ain't coming. I
hug them both, wish them well and head for my place of rest tonight.
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I arrive at the LaQuinta and
it seems to be in a state of 'refurb'. |
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They put me in the
'annex' up on the second floor which is a long way from the door. It's a
lot of tug and pull to get my stuff up there since there is no elevator
or luggage cart. And the door closest to BlueBelle doesn't work from the
outside. I get my stuff into the room and figure out the door doesn't lock.
I don't even need a key to get in and out of it. I step out of the room
to see if here is a ice machine nearby and there is not. When I try to get
back into my room, the door will not open at all. I wander back over to
the desk and they summons a maintenance feller that has to disassemble/reassemble
the door knob so I can get into my room. |
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I find the wi-fi doesn't work
either but at this point I am just too tired to care. The heat has about
wrung what little energy I had left so I collapse on the bed in a comatose
heap. |
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