Traveling Southern New Mexico to Arizona

Well, we finally made it to Arizona

- written December 16, 2014

Arizona Welcome Sign!

 
 Our last Blog entry had us ready to leave Las Cruces, NM, and not a moment too soon. After a delicious authentic Mexican evening meal, on the way back home, I decided to take Julie on a little side trip with a “different way home”. Due to previous flooding the Rio Grande has been rerouted around Las Cruces. I thought it would be a nice thing to see, so leaving the restaurant we headed west instead of east. Let me tell you the western US is not designed like the eastern part. If you error you can't just go a block or so, make a couple of turns, and all will be right. There aren't very many roads out here. We are in a desert, so when we found the “river”, we crossed a ¼ mile wide completely dry ditch with a very high levee of sand/dirt piled up on each side. I'm thinking we can just travel on a little farther and find a different road back to town. (Julie's eye-roll here) OOOOps. The road curved right and then went through a few pecan orchards and eventually we came to Interstate 10. Sorta, we were down here on a road that ended at the huge mound of dirt supporting Interstate 10 about 30-40 feet above us. Did I happen to mention that it is now totally dark? Well it is! 

 

YES, it was THIS dark!!!!!

 

The road ended yes, but not dead ended. There was a “road” going east, so we turned right and followed the I-10 mound east on a two track “sand road” heading into another pecan orchard (Turn around?? Not on your life!!) Guess what? After leaving the orchard, this “road” turned right leading us to an abandoned railroad culvert with a hole in it about eight feet wide and nine feet high. Did I happen to mention that the dark out here is really, really dark? (see, if you just keep turning right logic dictates you will eventually get back where you started) passing through the culvert the now very narrow lane/road takes us to a huge ramp made of dirt leading upwards. OK, I look at her and shrugging, we head up. At the top we realize where (well sorta) we are. We are sitting on top of the west side levee alongside the (now dry) Rio Grande!!!. We veer (right) onto it and after two miles of nail biting, heavy breathing, and wide-eyed stares we come to the road that we were on when we first crossed the river. I very proudly tell Julie that my trailblazing skills have once again gotten us to civilization. I cannot tell you what she said !!! Yep, I don't know why but I seem to have an undeserved reputation for finding exciting “shortcuts”. Sorry there are no other pics, the camera was shaking too much, and did I mention that it was dark?

From Las Cruces we headed west but only traveled a little over 50 miles, stopping in Deming, NM where we continued our touring. We took in Rockhound State Park, where you guessed it, we picked up some rocks!

The next day we spent with friends, Al and Carol Stevens (who stopped in Deming also), and drove up to Silver City, an incredible little town that was the boyhood home of Billy The Kid. From the Visitor Center we crossed “The Big Ditch Park”. This park used to be Main Street, but since the water rushing down the mountain decided to take the least resistant route (Main Street) and dig a ditch about 20 feet deep the entire length of town, the townsfolk just made a park out of the hole with walks and benches and no longer had a Main Street.

The Big Ditch of Silver City

a walking bridge over The Big Ditch

Jim in a cabin on the site that Billy the Kid lived with his Mother

The Palace Hotel Lobby

Jim, Al and Carol by Silver City shops

a glass decorated adobe wall behind a Silver City shop

A beautifully painted mural in downtown Silver City, NM

 

We took in a few local artistic stores and then stumbled onto/into the Palace Hotel, a beautifully restored 1882 project that the owner Cal Thompson gave us the run of the place to explore.

WOW! On the way home we went by the Chino Mine, a huge open pit copper mine that is still in operation and then continued on to City of Rocks State Park.

Chino Copper Mine

a bizarre looking pile of rocks.......

Now this place is quite different. Out in the middle of a flat valley with nothing around, suddenly there are these rocks of all sizes and shapes stacked up. Seems a far off volcano blew its top a gazillion years ago and these puppies landed in a spot far far away!!!

I guess all was forgiven for the next day we hooked up Monty and headed off to Arizona, where we spent a week in Benson before finally making it to Tucson. 

.