Caballo Reservoir, NM to Las Cruces, NM

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Shawne and Jo say...
Day 25
Mileage Today: 66.6
Total Mileage: 987.0
Flats Today: 1
Total Flats: 28

Things we've learned so far...
#1 The entire Southwest looks like Nevada, but is dotted with Ocotillo
#2 Pert Plus can be used as bodywash, shampoo, laundry detergent, and dishsoap
#3 Instead of stopping to use the restroom, truck drivers pee in plastic drink bottles and throw them out the window, and they are everywhere!
#4 There are thousands of dollars worth of tools that can be found on the side of the road
#5 An entire gallon of milk can be consumed in one sitting
#6 In Arizona, do not run over anything that resembles vegetation because it most likely has thorns which will flatten a tire
#7 In NEW MEXICO, do not run over anything that resembles vegetation because it most likely has thorns which will flatten a tire
#8 Check your tires for flats, and fix them, prior to showering
#9 If all your gear unexpectedly fits really well one morning, don't get excited...check camp again because you forgot to pack something
#10 Do not take traveler's checks with you when traveling...we've nearly starved several times because even large, reputable stores no longer accept them
#11 New Mexico has no sunrises or sunsets to speak of. The sun is simply up, or it is not.

The local scenery was getting dull because this was the fourth day in a row we've seen the same area. It was nice to get moving and check out some new territory. Thousands of acres of chile plants appeared as we passed farm after farm. Every small town had a chile roasting plant that filled the air with a wonderful scent. The only problem was that in between the towns, there would be dairy farms which did not smell so wonderful. Nonetheless, the aroma of fresh roasted chiles made our mouths water. Huge piles of chiles were scooped up by loaders, and crates full of drying chiles stacked ten feet high rested inside warehouses. Tall trailers overfilled with chiles fresh from the fields would drive by us, occasionally dropping loose vegetables on the roadside. There were chile dying plants, chile roasting plants, and small farmers who had thousands of chiles drying on the roofs of their homes and outbuildings.
Soon we saw fields of pumpkins which appeared as hundreds of orange dots in the distance. As we drew closer, Jo said they looked like deflated balloons. Most of them were half rotted, and some were still green. Shawne says they are reject pumpkins, not fit for consumer use. It seemed like such a waste...all that food rotting away. Later, we saw thousands of acres of chiles which were also wasting away. The peppers were turning white and falling to the ground. We couldn't figure out why all these fields had been deserted. Later we were told that the recent rains damaged the crops (the same storm we conveniently missed), not allowing them to dry properly, and causing mold.
Passing through the town of Hatch, NM, we heard dogs barking across the street. Jo yelled that there were dogs on a roof! Sure enough, we saw three dogs on the roof of a general store, barking at traffic and chasing the cars from one side of the roof to the other! We've never seen anything like that before.
Shawne was feeling very tired, so we decided to stop in Radium Springs and set up camp early. Once at the State Park, we asked the camp host where we could find some gasoline for the stove, and somewhere to buy groceries. She told us the nearest gas station was "at mile marker nine". We asked how far that was, and she said it was about ten miles away. She said there was a general store a few blocks away, but they had limited supplies. The State Park wanted $10 to camp, and there were no showers there.
We dumped our gear at the campsite and headed to the store. We hoped that if they didn't have gasoline, they may sell white fuel we could use for the stove. We hoped they had some good hamburger fixings, too. Our stove was completely out of gas, so fuel was a priority.
Pulling up to the store, we could see they used to have gasoline at some point...years ago. Now, only an empty fuel island remained, sitting out in the dirt parking lot, stripped of its gas pumps. The front of the store was worn and faded. Old license plates were nailed to the front of the store, and tree branches nearly covered the entrance. Stacks of old newspapers and other odd junk cluttered the front porch. There was a ditch in front of the store, and the proprietor had dumped old newspapers into the ditch and covered them with a dirty scrap of carpet to create a bridge at the entrance. The newspapers were rotting and our feet sank a little as we walked over them.
We entered to find a dark, dingy room. Our eyes were drawn toward the very tall ceiling which was open to what used to be an attic. Spray-on insulation had browned with age, and spiders looked down on us from their webs on the open beams. The place was a disorganized mess. An old collection of VHS tapes covered in thick dust were stacked against the back wall. One one side of the store was a line of coolers full of more old newspapers, and the other had cold soda and a few dozen eggs. The shelf in the center of the room displayed old cans of soup, also covered in a layer of dust which hid the price tags. We found some Bisquick and Jo ran her finger through the dust on the top of the box, revealing its faded yellow top. It was so cramped that there was barely enough room to walk around the one set of shelves in the middle of the room.
An old man in a sportscoat sat behind the register. His hair was long and gray, tied in a ponytail. A long mustache covered his tired, grizzled face. Surprisingly, he did take traveler's checks, but he had no fuel for our stove. We weren't very interested in eating anything purchased from this store. We gave a "thanks but no thanks" and walked outside. Our only options were to ride the twenty mile round trip to the gas station, or keep pushing on to Las Cruces which was sixteen miles away. We rode back to the campground and reloaded our gear, thankful that we had not yet paid for the site. Shawne was still very tired and unmotivated, but we had to push on.
Back on route, we passed through orchards of pecan trees. Signs along the road read, "No Nut Picking! Pecan Thieves Will Be Prosecuted!" There was no fence between the road and the trees. We supposed that the farmers would get upset if every tenth car stopped to pick a handful. The trees were thick, their branches reaching over the road to create a pecan tree tunnel. It was shady and cool. We initially thought there were rocks all over the road, but we discovered that they were fallen pecans. We wondered if they could prosecute us for picking pecans off the road as well. We saw a few dayriders on this stretch, and the route made for a pleasant ride.
Reaching Las Cruces, the rush hour traffic squeezed us against the curb as the shoulder disappeared. We stopped at a Chevron for gasoline. "Fifty cents on pump three, please," Jo said to the cashier. She got a strange look as a response. Outside, Shawne put on his handy gas mitten and filled up our stove fuel bottle. He could only fit thirty-two cents in, so Jo had to go in for the change. An employee came outside to ask what we were doing with thirty-two cents worth of gas in a small metal bottle. Shawne explained to him that it was for our camp stove and that it can run on white gas, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and jet fuel. He asked about our trip, shook Shawne's hand, and went back inside. Meanwhile, the woman at the counter explained to Jo that they only use PROPANE at their house for camping, and felt that was a better way to go. We joked about propane and the show "King of The Hill".
We got directions to the RV park from a couple of guys in the parking lot. Well, sort of. They argued with each other for about ten minutes about which way to go, then called the RV park for us. They argued again about how to get there, finally reached an agreement, and pointed the way.
Traffic rushed past us on the busy street. We pulled up to an old, run-down RV park and almost didn't even pull in to ask the price. The bright lights and tall buildings of a few hotels across the street lured us with thoughts of beds and clean showers. We stopped in anyway. A tough-looking Hispanic man with tattoos all over told us the fee was $10 and invited us into the park to see the "grassy knoll" tent camping area. All the RV's were old and looked to be permanently parked. A small patch of grass next to a mudhole was ours if we wanted it. He told us that this is where the longer RV's usually cut through the park to turn around, but we could pitch our tent there.
"You'll need a key for the women's restroom. It's locked for safety," he explained.
We made an excuse that we still had some errands to run. We asked where the nearest grocery store was, and told him we would be back later. Neither of us wanted to stay there. The place was gross and felt unsafe.
Across the street, we searched for a hotel room. The first hotel had a sign on the door reading 'No Vacancy'. The second told us that every place in town was booked solid, so "Good luck finding a place to stay." then we remembered reading in the paper that the X-Prize competition was this weekend. Private companies were challenged to build interplanetary landers and rockets that would fight for the X-Prize, a government sponsored private space travel award. Busloads of science nerds were pulling up and funnelling into the hotels.
Well, there goes that idea! Crappy RV Park, here we come! Of course, Jo got a flat before we could leave the hotel. But, once patched, we rode to a burger joint for some grub. After pitching our tent, we were given a bathroom key and Jo went to check things out. She went inside and couldn't find the lightswitch, but she had a flashlight with her. After using the restroom, she finally found the lightswitch and turned it on so she could wash her hands. She found big cockroaches all over the sinks, and a black widow spider with a huge web on the garbage can.
We had a brief encounter with a couple named Doug and Sharon who were staying the night also. Jo and Sharon had to share the only bathroom key, so they came up with a secret hiding spot in an old tree stump so they both had access.
Later, a man emerged from an RV with a bottle wrapped in a paper bag. He was very inebriated and said that it must be cold in our tent...and if we wanted to come inside his RV, it was nice and warm (wink wink). We declined and he went back inside. A few minutes later, he re-emerged and made the offer again while holding his fingers up to his mouth and puffing on an imaginary joint. Again, we declined and he mumbled something as he went back inside. With the always-relaxing sound of the freight train's whistle just across the road, and the pleasant hum of Big Rig jake brakes on the freeway behind us, we finally got to sleep.

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Photos

No back yard?
Get a new roof dog!

The general store
Radium Springs, NM.

No Nut Picking!
These signs cracked us up.

Comments

[Tia Cheri]

Peppers
Dudes, what an experience. A field of chili peppers. Did you run through it, or merely Gringo out and look at it???? (justta kiddn')