Alamogordo

Today, we headed out for our weekend. We had decided that it was time to go some distance. So we decided to check out the area around Alamogordo, NM. We left the trailer about 9:30 and took Hwy 35 and 61 to Deming. We then traveled on 26 to Hatch as a round about way to Las Cruces. Got lucky with our lunch choice, Sparky’s restaurant is right on the corner in downtown, Hatch. It looks like it’s been there a while and lots of folks know it’s there, because it was constantly busy during the time we were there. The specialty of house is a chili cheese burger which we tried (less the chili, of course). It was a good burger. A good burger. My side dish was pineapple coleslaw and R picked fries, both were outstanding also. So if you are ever traveling down I-25 between Siccoro and Las Cruces, stop in Hatch and have lunch at Sparky’s.

From Las Cruces, traveling east on Hwy 70 over the pass for 40 miles brought us to White Sands National Monument. 275 square miles of the Tularosa Valley is covered with white gypsum sand. The prevailing wind keeps the dunes moving northeast at about a foot a year. From the visitor center which is next to the highway the road goes 8 miles into the dunes. As you travel into the interior, the road goes from paved to gravel to a road covered in white sand and the land changes from semi arid land covered in bunch grass, buckhorn cacti, soap root yuccas, and several blooming hedgehog cacti to more and more white sand dunes. By the time you arrive at the turn around the “whiteness” is almost overwhelming.

After leaving White Sands we continued on to Alamogordo (fat cottonwood in Spanish). The town sits at the base of the San Andres and San Francisco mountains. After driving the perimeter of the city, we grabbed a mediocre dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant and checked into our motel.

Tomorrow we head up Hwy 82 to Cloudcroft. The sign at the intersection says “Steep highway, altitude gain of 4300 feet in 16 miles. It should be an interesting drive.

The "Tour of the Gila"

Last week-end was the Tour of the Gila a huge 5-Day bicycle event in Silver City that included over 700 participants. some days were spent out on the open road traveling fast and others were negotiating the mountainous roads of this area. Saturday was the Criterion which meant a fast and furious race run on teh streets of downtown Silver City. A one mile loop was roped off with one of the legs being the main street of town. The race began at 8am, ran all day, and concluded with the Mens 1,2,&3 at 3:15. It was great fun watching lots of expensive bikes being riden by riders in brightly colored outfits traveling a break-neck speed through the downtown streets.
The weather cooperated with temperatures in the 60's and no rain. It was great fun.

Sunday was the final day and it moved out into the country for a 100 mile jaunt with lots of mountain work. The group climbed the steep grade into and out of our valley, turning around in the parking lot of the National Monument Visitor Center and ending in the village of Pinos Altos.
We at RV park had two views of the racers as they went by our place on the way to and came back from the VC. The racers were basically in three groups: the lead group of 9-10, the main group of about 30-40 (about 10 minutes behind), a third group of 10 (another 5 minutes) and then several stragglers following along at various distances behind.

Behind each group of riders were their support vehicles who were there to provide assistance in case of breakdowns, etc. Nourishment was provided at specific areas called feed zones, that were at the uphill parts of the routes where the riders were going slowly anyway. It would have been interesting to watch this process. The "food" is liquid because the riders do not stop.

Watching these bikes zoom past after handling the mountain and then zoom past again only to be faced with going back over that same mountain made me appreciate the physical condition that these atheletes are in. It also helped me define masochism.

Recycling

A look at recycling in a “non-green” area.

I am from Oregon, land of no sales tax, land of no self service gas, land of the first or one of the first “bottle bills” (a five cent deposit on soda and beer cans and bottles). Recycling is big in our state. Most everything is recycled in Oregon. Under the sink in our kitchen are two containers. The smaller one is for garbage and the larger one is for recycling. Every week when we put out the trash bin for the sanitation truck, there is a larger bin sitting next to it. One week it is a bin for yard debris such as trimmed branches, grass clippings, etc. Theses are taken to an area and turned into yard mulch to be sold for yards, gardens, etc. On the alternate week, the household recycling bin sits next to the trash bin. In the bin are all recycling materials including plastic water bottles and milk jugs, plastic vegetable containers, paper, cardboard. Glass bottles go in a separate small bin and used motor oil is put in plastic milk jugs, both at the curb.

One reason the throw away bin is so small is that food items such as egg shells, apple cores, coffee grounds all go in the five gallon pail that sits outside our back door. When it’s full it gets carried out and added to the mulch box out back behind the shed. The mulch next year makes a nice addition to the flower beds.

So this brings me to the Southwest, meaning Arizona and New Mexico. Two things we noticed as we drove around, soda and beer cans and bottles along the highways. (See a previous blog concerning litter) I’m not saying that you don’t see litter in Oregon, but because of the five cent deposit , people are less apt to throw. Without it……

And then there is Styrofoam. You do not see it in Oregon. It may have been banned, but you do not get your take-out in foam. You do not get your drinks in foam. Your shipping items are protected with bio-degradable “peanuts” instead of foam ones. Down here? I shutter when I see Styrofoam used everywhere.

Because we are working in a federal facility, an attempt is made to recycle. There is a bin at the headquarters for paper and at the maintenance yard there is a trailer where cardboard, aluminum cans, and numbers 1 & 2 plastic is collected (but must be in plastic sacks). Theses are then hauled into town along with the park’s trash. Because we are so far out in the sticks, there is no garbage service available. I don’t know the locals do around here, probably burn their trash.

The point I am trying to make it that recycling works and the more we do it, the more it will be available to all of us everywhere, even in Arizona and New Mexico.

Arizona Wild Flowers

Spring is in the air.

The trees have started to show a little green on their branches.

The wildflowers are popping up.

Here are some we saw during our week-end in SE Arizona.

Wildlife in Gila

Sky Island

Sky Island is the term given to mountain systems here in the Southwest. The Dragoons and the Chirichahuas are prime examples. They stick up in the sky in this dry, warm place and present a cool, wetter environment for this area. The flora and fauna in this place are completely different from the surrounding area. Sky islands present an oasis for us to explore and enjoy.

Such a place is the Chiricahua Mountains of SE Arizona. The mountains are the sky island and the Chiricahua National Monument is a gem in the middle. If you ever get a chance to visit, do so. You will not regret it. I have given you a few pictures.

They do not come close to showing what the place is like, but enjoy anyway.

Rodeo, NM

Yesterday, R and I got up early (5:15) so that we could get ready and be in Silver by 8:30. We made it on time and saw 9 deer on the way. We met with our friend, D and headed SE on Hwy 90. Within a few miles, you are out in the grasslands sprinkled with juniper and yuccas and, as you drive south, the vegation gets sparser. It's about 50 miles to Lordsburg, NM which has nothing going for it except the railroad and I-10. West on I-10,south on Hwy 80 into Rodeo which sits in a large flat valley with some nondescript mountains on the east and the Chiricahua Mountains on the west. Because it is spring and there has been lots of moisture this winter, the valley is green. I can imagine by summer, the color will become much browner. However, right now it looks good, with several wildflower types starting to bloom, Not sure what some were but I will show you just the same.

Stopped by the Sonoran Desert Museum. R wasn't that excited to see snakes on display so we only perused the very large and well stocked gift shop. Lots of items to look at including the requisite hats and t-shirts with repiles on them. There was even a large selection of snake-handling equiptment like grabbers and wands and leggings for the active reptile person. (Not the perfect gift for R, by the way.)

Then it was time to head west to Portal which is about 10 miles west of Rodeo, and in Arizona, at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains. Birds that are normally only found in Mexico often stray into this warm portected valley making this a haven for birders. We stopped at the general store and purchased a few food items for a picnic lunch. (Another, slower, trip will have to be made to this area to explore it further.)

Then we drove up Cave Creek looking for a place to have our picnic. As we drove into the canyon, the wildflowers gave way to rock formations and they enclosed us and we were forced to stop often to enjoy the formations and attempt to capture the feel of the area with photos. It never happens.