New Mexico Detour

As soon as I crossed the New Mexico border, the roads improved from potholes and cracks to smooth as silk. Justifying my detour, I kept thinking It's too soon for Arizona. Why not see more of New Mexico? It was high on my list of homesteading options.

 

"...Gallup, New Mexico..." Everytime I say that I start singing the song "Route 66". The city limits is spread out like a overgrown strip mall and very low income, but the downtown with part of the original Route 66 is very cool populated with vintage looking tourist shops. I'm disappointed Route 66 has been cut up into sections due to the added Interstate 40. I hate Interstate 40. The scenery is horrible, the semi-trucks clogging the lanes are awful, and I'd rather be on a country highway without people forcing me to speed to save my life.

What brought me downtown was the Montzanita Co-op which is a health food store chain in New Mexico with stores in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I'd been to the one in Albuquerque so I had high hopes for this one. This store is tiny, but packed to the roof with more than you could imagine, but with a lack of fresh produce. Then I went to Hobby Lobby to buy a sketch pad and some cheap paint brushes. We'll see if I can creatively motivate myself.

I drove to the Three Mesa Trailhead parking area off Interstate 40 and Mentmore Road for the night. It's sunny. low 70s and windy. Lots of hikers in the afternoon in and out, but as soon as the sun set, it was a quiet and peaceful night. (The write-up on iOverlander said it was prone to rowdy locals and noisy trucks going in and out the mine located on the same road...I experienced none of this.)

The next morning I headed east on Interstate 40 (BLAH!) and then south on Highway 117 through the El Malpais National Monument which was spectacular featuring sandstone cliffs, arches and caves on one side of the highway:

And a bunch of black on the other side of the highway. What is that? At first I thought it was fire damage, but then I realized that is the Zumi-Bandera Volcanic Field (or the Grants Lava Flow):

There were lots of hiking trails I would have liked to explore. The highway was quiet and peaceful, but half way down the landscape turned a bit barren and ugly. I've often said New Mexico is the ugliest of all the states and provinces I've seen. Granted, every state has bits of beauty and bits of ugly, but I think New Mexico has more than its share of ugly.

I arrived in Pie Town, a miniscule town with a trailer for a post office that has a history of pie making. I stopped at the little cafe that advertised PIES in big, bold, colorful letters and hobbled to the front. I noticed big signs stating "GET YOUR PIE HERE" with an arrow located at the far end of the building so I hobbled further only to find the door locked. On the way back a waitress passed me, "We are out of pie." PIE TOWN IS OUT OF PIE!?? Now, I had hoped they might have gluten-free pie although it was doubtful, but NO pie at all to gaze upon! I was aghast! I stomped with my walker back to the van. Stomping with a walker or four extra aluminum feet is very satisfying and therapeutic. I can make a lot of noise when pie-less.

Population: 192...LOL!

I found the BLM land just behind the tiny town. Many of the dirt roads were pitted with water damage and large deep ruts. I avoided those, but I found a place and parked for the night among the juniper trees and ants.

I recently discovered a van-living danger! Someone asked on one of the FB groups about invection cooktops. Since I have one I gave my opinion. I like mine. Another woman said, "It's a fire hazard. Be very careful. I learned the hard way." WHAT? I asked her for details. It seems invection cooktops heat up and if you place it on a metal table as most people do, it will heat the metal and anything flammable touching the metal will ignite!!! OMG! She set everything on fire and nearly burnt the county down! For a long time I was cooking on top my metal table outside my van...sometimes there is dried grass or leaves on the ground. If I cook in my van, the table is on the rugs. I've been doing this for nine months without an issue. Why not? Why have I not burnt down my van? Then I remembered I've been using my glass plates underneath the cooktop to protect the table and the rugs!!! It's not heat conducive! Wow! The things I don't know....I'm a walking danger zone!

Zero sleep last night. My sinuses are still killing me and I'm taking way too much Afrin which can cause "rebound congestion" so I woke with a sore throat and lung congestion. If I don't take it every night, I can't breathe! I wish I knew why my sinuses hate the southern states. AND, I confess. I started buying Olipop Root Beer. On a hot day it just tastes good, but like any soft drink, healthy or not, it has sugar. Why do I torture myself? I know better and I buy and eat/drink junk anyway. Awake most of the night, I ruminated about the ants on the ground, too, worried they would get in my van. Ants all over everywhere!

Got up early and left driving north toward Colorado. Every route I had planned toward Arizona is heating up to the high 70s and low 80s. Nope. Let's go back to the coolness of Colorado! It's only four hours away. The drive was boring. Again, New Mexico is still the ugliest state I've seen so far. Not much there to write home about (if I had a home).

As I approached the north, I started seeing the rock "cathedrals". I kept asking, Is that Shiprock? It doesn't look like a ship. Is THAT Shiprock? Nope, that doesn't looke like a ship either. None of them really looked like a ship, but I took a photo of the one closest to the town Shiprock. According to the map, this should be Shiprock:

Doesn't look like a ship...

Worse, the poverty is astounding in New Mexico! Lot of manufactured homes and trailers as residences scattered all over the desert. Too many junky vehicles and garbage surrounding the homes. I'm guessing the only upper class areas are probably in Taos or Santa Fe? I've heard they are out of my budget.

Shiprock was shocking. Approaching from the south one is faced with a neighborhood of dirty, white, little, square rectangle buildings with a door and a window, two dwellings per rectangle, flat roofs. They almost look like shipping containers only cheaper build. Clothes hanging outside, junk and garbage all over. These "homes" go as far as the eye can see, scattered in no discerning order. The stores and other businesses are run-down or deserted. People milling all over the place, some offering to wash your windows for money when you get gas. One scruffy guy approached my parked van and asked for money. Lots of vendors selling out of their vehicles on the highway. During all my adventure, I've never seen any area this bad. It was pretty shocking. I kept praying, Please don't let my van breakdown here!" Crossing the Colorado border was like night and day...scenery became beautiful and the houses large, beautiful, and well-maintained.

Back to Colorado...